Committee History

Brief history of budget planning processes:

• Prior to 2008, the Financial Advisory Committee provided recommendations.
• To improve constituent participation, an integrated planning process was developed which included the change to the Budget Planning Committee (BPC).
• In general, the BPC receives and prioritizes funding requests from functional planning committees, such as Technology and Facilities, and other sources. 
• BPC is the point where the various prioritized lists from the functional committees are brought together and prioritized from an “All District” perspective.
• Each year the BPC produces a district-wide prioritized list of funding recommendations.

Typical Tasks

Committee’s Charge:

The Budget Planning Committee (BPC) is a forum for sharing of financial information.  The BPC provides an opportunity for representatives of campus constituencies to make recommendations through the integrated planning process to the Chief Business Officer and the President/Superintendent about budget development and other financial issues likely to have significant financial impact on the District.  

The BPC shall meet on a regular schedule, but not fewer than four (4) times each year.  The BPC shall operate with the Chief Business Officer or designee as the administrative co-chair and a faculty co-chair appointed by the Academic Senate.  Other membership shall be determined by the President/Superintendent and include representation across divisions, employee groups, and student representation.  An Approved member is appointed by each of the constituency groups represented and should be designated to a two year term.  Membership period among the representatives shall be staggered in order to have some level of continuity among committee members each fiscal year. 

The BPC shall provide recommendations in a timely manner so as not to impede District obligations.  Agendas and meeting handouts shall be posted to a publicly accessible location, such as the BPC webpage.  BPC recommendations will be by a majority vote of the committee and will be used as an advisory to the Chief Business Officer and the President/Superintendent.  An annual Charge and Budget Calendar will be developed that will provide guidance to committee members regarding timelines for meaningful input.  At a minimum, the annual budget calendar shall include:

• Review the impact of the Governor’s budgets and legislatively adopted budgets on the District’s financial condition.
• Review a multiyear (minimum three years) student enrollment and budget forecast to maintain a minimum fund balance percentage as determined by the Board of Trustees.
• Review integrated planning budget proposals from program review and other appropriate sources to make recommendations.
• Consider the impact of recommendations on future commitments and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
• Review budget policies, procedures, and related accreditation requirements.
• Close the loop on previous resource allocations as to effectiveness in meeting District goals.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the Committee’s charge and make recommendations for the next year.

Members shall consider the following as the primary and overriding factors for all BPC recommendations:

• Compliance with Accreditation Standard 3, specifically:
  • Financial resources are sufficient to support student learning programs and services and to improve institutional effectiveness.
  • District planning reflects realistic assessment of financial resource availability, development of financial resources, partnerships, and expenditure requirements.
  • When making short-range plans, the District considers its long-range financial priorities to assure financial stability.
  • The District clearly identifies, plans, and allocates resources for payment of liabilities and future obligations.
  • The District has sufficient cash flow and reserves to maintain stability.
  • The District plans for and allocates appropriate resources for the payment of liabilities and future obligations.
• Compliance with legal mandates and other accreditation requirements.
• Compliance with State Chancellor’s Office deadlines and rules.
• The maintenance of the minimum fund balance percentage as determined by the Board of Trustees.
• Additional factors related to the Mission, Strategic Plan, Education Master Plan and the Annual Institution Plan may also be considered.

BPC members shall communicate with their constituencies prior to the time the committee makes recommendations to the Chief Business Officer and the President/Superintendent.  BPC members are to communicate recommendations back to their constituents so that those groups will be informed and able to provide input to the College Council and the Board.

Evaluation and Ranking Protocol

1. Compliance with Federal, State and County mandates.

2. Relationship to and relative importance of the request to the institutional strategic plan and educational master plan and program review.

3. Potential impact on student learning, institutional operations, service levels, effectiveness/efficiencies, total cost of ownership.

4. Availability of alternatives and potential for deferral.

5. Funding history of the unit/area.

6. Degree to which delay will cause larger expenditures in the future and the degree to which annual operating expenditures will be reduced as a result of approving the request.

Integrated Planning Functional Committees (IPFC) priorities should not be altered without sufficient justification; Priorities from various IPFC’s will have to be rank ordered; The Institutional rank order will contain requests from IPFC and operating units; Committee may decide to categorize requests and priorities according to various expenditure categories and recommend levels of funding for various categories of expenditures.

Meetings held each year as determined by the BPC, but at least monthly from October to May; possible additional budget hearings in spring.