Greetings all,

As you may have read in the Arizona Republic over the weekend, the State of Arizona continues to move towards resolving the current year budget deficit. While there seems to be some continued negotiations at the State level, it appears that the current budget reduction for FY09 for all Arizona community colleges is $9 million. Generally MCCD’s portion of that is approximately 50%. These proposed reductions, should they hold true, are much more manageable than the reductions that were expected. You may have also read that the State is still expecting a FY10 shortfall close to $3 billion and the State will soon begin deliberations on resolving next year’s deficit.

At PVCC, the Budget Development Steering Team (BDST) continues to work on addressing FY09 reductions and equally as important, addressing the College’s “structural deficit.” Simply put, our structural deficit is the reality that our annual operating expenses exceed our base budget. Approximately $600,000 annual expenditures have been covered through one year only FTSE incentive and carry forward funds. It is critical that we manage our budget so that our operational expenditures align with our base budget.

When BDST met last week, they developed the following recommendations: additional open meetings be held once this year's budget is finalized; additional efforts should be made to inform the college about the structural deficit issue; budget reduction strategies should also be used to address the structural deficit issue; and adoption of an additional criteria to address the deficit that supports reprioritization of functions/activities (regarding which expenditures need to be base budgeted vs. which could be done only when funding is available). I have accepted these recommendations.

I know that budgets even during a “normal” year can be complicated and I certainly understand how important it is that we uncomplicated the budget reduction process. Your continued input and questions are welcomed.

As always, please feel free to call me directly at 7-6610 if you have further questions.

Paul