NORTHWEST Community College is awaiting final word on its budget for this year which features a rise in its grant from the provincial government and moderate raises for its senior officials.
Although not yet official, college president Ken Burt said no changes are expected to the document calling for revenues from different sources of $31.649 million.
The provincial grant this year is $17.431 million, making it the single largest item on the college’s revenue list.
That’s $653,819 more than last year and partially makes up for revenue declines in some other revenue areas such as contract work, including fee for service workforce training and continuing studies programs.
In total, the budget this year is to be $31.649 million, approximately $353,000 more than last year.
Some of the provincial grant, $280,000, is to arrive to pay for wage increases for the college’s unionized employees.
And there are increases for the college’s union-excluded senior level administrators, said Burt.
“Presidents of colleges in B.C. haven’t had an increase since 2006 in compensation and other managers not since 2009,” he said.
But the province has agreed for modest increases in situations where wages of unionized workers are approaching or passing those of excluded managers, Burt added.
“There are now increases of 1.95 per cent on average for excluded staff,” he said.
The dollar value of those increases works out to $40,000.
And as been the case in previous years, the college is raising tuition to the two per cent maximum allowed which, when combined with an increase in enrolment, is to bring in an additional $142,000 this year.
Overall, college budget officials would place the dollar value for tuition and other student fees this year at $1.98 million or nine per cent of revenue expectations.
