Waubonsee board approves $93.8 million spending plan
The Waubonsee Community College board has adopted a 2016 budget of almost $93.8 million, about $2 million less than this year's budget.
The decrease is most attributable to the college having finished its 2020 master building plan earlier this year with the construction of a field house on the Sugar Grove campus. Last year, more than $15 million was budgeted for such work, a figure that drops to $8.1 million next year for construction and renovation.
About $4.8 million of that construction is planned for the renovation of the Copley Campus in southeastern Aurora. On Wednesday, the board submitted the renovation plan to the Illinois Community College Board for approval.
The budget includes the 5.7 percent tuition increase the board approved in February.
Property taxes will pick up 58.3 percent of the operational costs of the college, according to the budget document. Tuition and fees are expected to account for at least 30 percent. It projects collecting about $46 million in property taxes, $7.1 million of which will be required to repay debt.
The college owes about $71 million in principal on debt it took on for building and grounds projects, including the construction of the new downtown Aurora campus, the Plano campus, new buildings at the Sugar Grove campus and renovations to others.
The college expects a $5 million deficit between revenue and spending, mostly seen in the operations and maintenance/reserved fund. That is where the college socks away money each year for projects such as the field house and major renovations. The fund is expected to start the fiscal year with $49.1 million in reserves and end with $42 million.