Translate[Archived] Question # 45: What are the details from Northern Virginia Community College staff on the college’s requests for FY 2021 operating and capital assistance?
Question:
What are the details from Northern Virginia Community College staff on the college’s requests for FY 2021 operating and capital assistance? (Mayor Wilson)
Response:
Background
The Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) receives operating and capital budget contributions from nine local jurisdictions, including Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties; and the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. The college's six campuses are located in Annandale, Alexandria, Loudoun County, Manassas, Woodbridge, and Springfield. Funds are provided to NOVA for services and student activities that enable NOVA to operate and maintain the College for the community’s use. The City’s contribution to NOVA is composed of the following funding sources:
- Operating Funds: Annually, NOVA’s submits a Local Board Budget request to Northern Virginia jurisdictions. NOVA’s College Board uses a formula for a “Local Board Budget” with requests calculated based on participating jurisdictions’ populations. For FY 2021, NOVA’s request totaled $250,000 from nine participating jurisdictions. The City’s population estimate of 161,050 accounts for 6.4% of the region’s total and the requested allocation from the City of Alexandria totaled $16,009.
- Capital Funds: Since 1999,
NOVA’s supporting jurisdictions have also provided a per capita contribution to
the college’s capital budget. In FY
2021, the City’s share of the regional subsidy to NVCC is $362,363, or 6.4%
percent of the total local capital request of $5.7 million. Each jurisdiction’s
share is determined by a formula based on the population of each of the nine
participating jurisdictions. FY 2021, the CIP continues the requested rate of
growth in the City’s contribution at $2.25 per capita.
FY2021 Budget Request from NOVA
For its FY 2021 budget, NOVA is requesting to re-allocate a share of jurisdictions’ capital fund support. While NOVA made this request (attached) last October, the City has no record of previously reviewing it. NOVA states that they will not require that same level of capital commitment since the majority of the college’s capital needs for the foreseeable future will be for renovating existing buildings. NOVA is requesting to reduce all jurisdictions’ existing $2.25 per capita contribution by fifty cents to $1.75 in FY 2021 (Attachment 1) and reoccurring in FY 2022 and FY 2023. NOVA proposes redirecting the fifty cent contribution to its operating fund in order to support the creation of an information technology (IT) employment pipeline. If all local jurisdictions comply with this change, the resultant total would be $1,257,527 in new operating funds that would be used by NOVA to focus on buying down the cost of targeted IT certification exams. For the City of Alexandria, the fifty cents per capita represents $80,750 in budgeted capital funds. NOVA stated that, depending on the success of this workforce initiative, they may seek similar support in FY 2022 to launch a Healthcare Employment Pipeline. More specifically, NOVA contemplates another 50 cent increase in support in FY 2022 and a $1.00 increase in FY 2023. This would require additional increases of $80,750 in the City’s FY 2022 budget and $161,500 in the FY 2023 budget for a cumulative increase of $242,250.
Recommendation
As proposed, NVCC’s request is clearly not intended for capital purposes and supports the transfer of funding to the City’s operating budget. City staff would recommend this as a technical adjustment since the change would have an overall neutral impact on the City’s General Fund expenditures. This adjustment would require decreasing NVCC’s capital and cash capital budget by $80,750 and increasing NVCC’s operating budget by $80,750. Based on a review of NOVA’s request, City staff are supportive of this change and the justification for the usage of funds provided by NOVA in FY 2021, however staff recommends further review of NOVA’s requests in the FY 2022 and FY 2023 budget processes.
Attachment
Attachment 1: FY 2021 NVCC Capital Funding Request