NORFOLK, Neb. -- The Northeast Community College Board of Governors approved its 2024-25 fiscal year budget following a public hearing on Thursday afternoon.
Scott Gray, vice president of administrative services, presented the budget and answered questions. Gray noted that because of a change in the funding formula, the bulk of property tax collections have been removed from the board’s authority.
Northeast and other community colleges still have a capital levy of two cents on each $100 of taxable valuation, which can only be used for the construction, maintenance or improvement of facilities. The college does not borrow funds for construction.
Last year’s levy was 9 cents per $100 of valuation, which was .25 lower than the prior year.
The proposed 2024-25 tax supported budget that was approved Thursday was $78,473,924. That included $61,263,645 in operating expenses and $17,210,279 in building improvements.
The 2023-24 tax supported budget totaled $78,696,646. That included $59,147,497 in operating expenses and $19,549,149 in building improvements.
The total budget, which includes self-supporting funds, for 2024-25, was $122,872,985, which was up slightly from 2023-24 when the total budget was $120,383,394.
Leah Barrett, Northeast president, said she appreciated all the input from board members going back several months.
Northeast budget discussions have included various scenarios for expenditures, with staff spending hours reviewing different scenarios.
Barrett said the college works hard to balance the needs of students, recognizing the challenging times for taxpayers. And while state aid has replaced property taxes as a major source of revenue for the college, Northeast had cut its property tax asking in three of the past five years before the current formula was devised.
The board passed the budget unanimously.
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