At tonight’s VCC Board of Governors (BOG) meeting (June 29, 2015, 6 pm Room 240, 250 West Pender Street) , the BOG needs to be asking critical questions and VCC college administration should be providing answers in order for the BOG to be able to be fully informed in approving the VCC budget as presented.
In February, we wrote a memo to BOG outlining a number of very specific concerns about the budget development process. Given that we had no formal response to that memo we want to reiterate our objection to the lack of transparency in that process. Some of the flaws in the budget documents that have been submitted to BOG for approval could have been avoided had appropriate process been followed.
After such a flawed process, the final documents are a disappointment. The 2015/16 budget documents have a shockingly limited level of detail. We note the absence of budget values and principles. We note a lack of analysis, including risk analysis. The attached memo outlines our concerns about the substantive gaps.
Finally, we cannot recall a time during the past 34 years when the operating budget has been approved so late in the fiscal year. Neither the VCC administration nor the BOG has provided an explanation to the union, other college stakeholders, or the public about why the current VCC administration has been allowed to spend public resources for fully one quarter of the fiscal year without proper oversight. We encourage and look forward to improved governance.