Confused about productivity and the budget? Below is a list of frequently used budget terms. Just click on the topic you need info on!
This is the cost of the full-time contracted salaries and benefits, and certain other items such as leases, utilities, etc.
This in an acronym for 'automatic budget reallocation'. The theory is that you can budget in a broad category like a 4000 ABR and when money is spent from a specific object code i.e. 4010, it will first deduct from that code. If there is no money available in 4010 it will pull money automatically from the 4000 ABR pool. The financial reports show a negative budget amount if the ABR does not have enough money. ABR's are used for all major budget categories such as 1100, 2000, 4000, etc.
This represents discretionary funding for the college. It is used for supplies, casual hourly and all other operating expenses such as repairs, postage, etc., that are the college´s obligation. It is distinguished from 'A budgets' which represent the contracted salaries of faculty and classified staff and other agreed upon expenses such as facilities rental, utilities, negotiated release time, etc. The amount of the 'B budget' is set through an historic formula that allocates money to the campus. This amount is then augmented by the income that the campus generates. This campus' generated income includes instructional materials, parking fines, sale of catalogues and schedules, registration enrollment fees, transcript fees and a host of other minor fees/revenues. We have used another term for the capital outlay budgets, the 'C budgets, but the 'C budget' has become the same as the 'B budget' in fund 14 since there is no separate allocation for fund 14 capital budgets. Other parts of the capital budget get a little confusing because the state allocates restricted money to the district for 'instructional equipment' and 'scheduled maintenance'. The amount of money varies year to year as determined by the state budget process. These instructional equipment funds and scheduled maintenance funds are recorded and spent in fund 21 and fund 76 respectively, because they are restricted by the state for specific purposes.
Are for transferring money from one account to another. The appropriate budgeter must sign off on it. You cannot transfer from 'A' budget to 'B' budget or between funds (i.e. categorical project to the general fund 14).
Revenue for this fund is generated by a mandatory fee for use of the campus center. The proceeds are used for payment of the bonds and COPS, which financed the construction of the building.
Students are counted about the third week of the quarter. This is known as 'census week'. Full-Time Equivalent Student (FTES) is defined as 12 hours/week = 525 weekly student contact hours (WSCH).
This fund is established for the operation of the Child Development Center. The revenue comes from parent fees, as well as Local, State and Federal grants.
Classified float is the equivalent of the actual rate the incumbent was being paid at the time he or she left the position. These float dollars can normally be used to hire casual hourly replacements while the position in vacant.
Certificated non-teaching positions also generate float in the same manner. In these cases, float dollars are converted into hourly teaching dollars until the position is refilled). Float can also be used for other discretionary purposes within the college besides salary backfilling.
This is the general operating fund of the district. Basically everything happens here unless the State designates a fund to be set up for a special purpose. This is the fund that receives the state apportionment and property taxes for income and pays most of the expenses of the teaching and support staff in addition to all the operating expenses like the 'B' budget and utilities etc.
The financial impact on the district for changes in WSCH/FTE is enormous. For example, if the WSCH/FTE drops by 10 points from 530 to 520, the district revenue would be reduced by $600,000.
Classified SDL backfill is calculated at the part-time hourly rate equivalent to step A of the salary range of the incumbent. This amount of money would be enough to hire casual hourly replacements.
Certificated non-teaching and teaching PDL backfill is calculated at the part-time hourly rate (about 70% of the full-time rate).
The base revenue we receive from the state is based on the FTES we generate. Generally, the more FTES we generate the more money we receive from the state. However, the state limits the growth in community colleges by a variety of formulas. In our case, we are generally limited to (capped at) a 1% growth rate. We are at cap now, so any funding for growth above the 1% allocated growth cannot be guaranteed from year to year. It is through this method that we receive over 85% of our annual revenue each year (over $93 million dollars district-wide).
This is technically a sub fund of the general fund, but programs are set up here to be self-sustaining. That is, they generally have a source of revenue like the Community Development Program and are expected to pay for all their own expenses. The reprographics department is another example of a self-sustaining department that relies primarily on chargebacks from the college to operate.
This fund is set up for the special education programs of the college. It receives restricted income from the state for the programs as well as general apportionment funding generated by special education students in regular classes.