NWCC Board approves 2015-16 Budget

The financial blue print for Northwest Community College received the approval of the College's Board of Governors earlier this month, finalizing the plans for NWCC as they head towards the fall semester in September.

As part of the financial plan for the year ahead, College management had identified 1.4 million dollars in cost-savings to address a shortfall in government funding and a decline in enrolment revenue.

Those savings were found through a number of paths, including early retirement and voluntary severance options across the college system, a solution that NWCC President Ken Burt touched on as part of a statement following the Board meeting of June 19th in Prince Rupert.

“We are sincerely grateful to our unions for the work they did with us to minimize the impact on people ... We are confident that the hard work done this year will put us on stable footing for the coming years and help us grow enrolments and revenues.” --  NWCC President, Ken Burt.

College Board Chair Herb Pond
offered up the thanks of the
Board over the work
related to the College budget for 2015-16

Mr. Burt, has only been at the helm of the college for eight months, having taken up his duties as the new President and CEO in October of 2014, with the budget issues one of the first items to be addressed upon his arrival at NWCC.

The Board of Governors offered up their own thoughts on the process that NWCC had to embark on to try and address their budgetary concerns, as well as any potential impact that those decision may have on campus locations across the Northwest.

Herb Pond, the Chair of the Board of Governors observed as to the tough decisions that had to be made by College administration over the last few months and the cooperation that was required to deliver the financial plan.

“These can be difficult issues to manage and we’re very pleased with the work our management team did with its unions to minimize the effect on people and programs in our communities”

The final approval process was completed, after an engagement process with staff, faculty and students across the NWCC system.

For more background on the budget announcement see this item from the NWCC website.

As we outlined on the blog last week, the NWCC President and CEO is hoping to have an opportunity to discuss issues related to the college with Prince Rupert City Council at a future Council session.

Further notes on developments at NWCC can be found on our archive page.