Fall 2024 Financial Update

By Billy Gunn, Treasurer

Reporting on expenditures and proposing annual budgets is one of the key duties I have as Treasurer of the Faculty Assembly. Since the FA operates on a fiscal year that begins October 1 and ends on September 30, this financial update will consist of a report on last year’s finances, as well as a budget proposal for 2024-2025.

Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget Report

By comparing the budgeted expectations for 2023-2024 with actual expenditures, we see that our financial performance exceeded expectations in several key areas.

Revenue Highlights

Member Contributions: Budgeted at $100,000, actual revenue was $110,946.91, reflecting increased faculty engagement and efforts to promote dues participation.
Interest Income: Budgeted at $10,000, actual revenue reached $17,956.35 due to prudent investments and favorable interest rates.

Expense Overview

Legal Counsel: Budgeted at $15,000, actual costs were significantly lower at $6,082.
Training and Conferences: Expenses slightly exceeded the $6,500 budget, totaling $7,717.27 due to expanded participation in CCCI conferences and increasing travel costs.
Special Projects Reassigned Time: Actual expenditure was $3,000.13 against a $6,000 budget.

Overall, total actual expenditures were $34,793.71, well below the budgeted $56,500. Thanks to our fiscal discipline and increased dues and investment revenue, the FA was able to add over $94,000 to our reserve fund last year.

Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Proposed Budget

In anticipation of additional expenditures for our current contract negotiation and 2024 elections, the proposed budget for 2024-2025 is substantially higher than last year’s. Other moderate increases are in response to rising costs of travel.

Total Expected Revenue: $135,000

Member Contributions: $115,000
Interest Income: $20,000

Key Expenditures

Legal Counsel: Increased to $20,000 (14.8% of expected revenue) in anticipation of higher legal needs during the upcoming negotiation year.
Training and Conferences: $10,000, reflecting a commitment to ongoing faculty development.
Political Activities: Budgeted at $3,500 to support advocacy efforts for the 2024 Board of Trustees election, although this turned out to be unnecessary.
New Category - FACCC Institutional Membership: Placeholder for $9,000, in the event that the Faculty Assembly Council decides to become a FACCC Contract District, which we are currently exploring on a trial basis at no cost to the FA.

Financial Outlook

Our financial position remains strong. With lower-than-expected costs and greater than anticipated revenue, our reserve balance currently exceeds $500,000. While $500K in reserves represents an important financial milestone, it is important to remember how quickly our financial resources could be depleted in the face of potential onerous investigations, PERB cases, or a contentious negotiation. Our firm financial footing puts us in a position to face various unforeseen challenges, but your continued support of the FA is still essential! In order to make sure that our financial future is sound, the FA Council recently organized a financial subcommittee to evaluate the financial position of the FA and make recommendations to ensure continued sustainability and growth. As interest rates remain quite high in the fall of 2024, the consensus of the financial subcommittee was to maintain a conservative investment strategy with most of our reserve funds remaining in CDs.