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Northland Pioneer College (NPC) Chief Business Officer Maderia Ellison presented the first read of the proposed five percent increase for salary and wages for 2019-2020 at the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board meeting on March 19.
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“The administrative team met with the faculty and staff representatives to look at what our current finances can cover,” began Ellison. “The administrative team made an initial recommendation of a four percent increase and the representatives countered and we reached an agreement on a five percent increase for all eligible contract employees and adjunct faculty, with the exception of employees in the E1, E2 and D1 salary range and employees who are redlined.”
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The estimated impact to the base salary and wages is $600,000 with taxes of $114,000 for a total impact of $714,000.
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Ellison went on to explain to the board how that increase would be applied:
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Faculty and nonexempt employees will move one step up, which would give them a gain of 1.5 percent and then the base salary will be increased by 3.5 percent.
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Professional nonexempt, adjunct faculty and exempt employees will receive a five percent increase.
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Employees in the E1, E2 and D1 salary categories will receive a four percent increase and the salary ranges will be increased by 3.5 percent. These are the highest salary ranges and apply to the vice presidents, associate vice presidents, deans and certain directors.
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Ellison also noted that redlined employees, those who have reached the maximum amount for their position, would receive a 3.5 percent increase due to the adjustment to the salary base.
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Additional benefits being requested are giving all contract employees one additional personal day, for a total of four days.
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Ellison said within the negotiations of the five percent increase, the faculty agreed to eliminate the use of deferred compensation, which in the past has allowed the nine month contract to be paid over a 12 month period.
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“The employees get the same amount of money, they just have to learn to budget it for the 12 months,” said Ellison. “The deferred compensation has become an accounting nightmare. We estimate that it costs the college $40,000 annually to do the deferred compensation due to the need to ensure the financial records are accurate for the fiscal year which differs from the academic cycle.”
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Board Member James Matteson asked, “Does this place us in a more advantageous situation by increasing the salaries? Is this going to keep us in a more competitive position with other community colleges in the same position?”
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Ellison replied, “We are typically at the bottom compared to other community colleges. Our average salary is $58,400, which is higher than Cochise County at $57,855, but less than the other eight counties who participated in the survey.”
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Chairman Frank Lucero commented, “We are one of the poorest counties in the nation, next to Apache County. The average salary here is $24,000. This is double what the average person in this county makes and more than many.”
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Board Member Elias Jouen noted that the increase would put Navajo County between Pinal and Coconino counties, whose average salary is $60,276 and $62,151 respectively.
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If this salary and wage increase is approved by the board at the next meeting, NPC will have the highest increase of all the counties at this time, with most of the counties reporting a one to three percent increase.
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The board also approved an increase of tuition and fees for 2019-2020. Tuition will increase by $3 per credit hour with an estimated overall revenue generation of $90,000. However, due to the declining enrollment tuition revenue for 2019-20 is estimated to be neutral. Fee increases include a $5 increase for late registration and a $10 increase for the Non-Sufficient Fund Check Collection Fee.
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In other business, the board:
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* Approved the request to purchase PowerFAIDS software which included a one-time licensing fee of $115,613, a one-time implementation fee of $33,123 and an annual maintenance fee of $22,737. Annual maintenance is expected to increase at the industry standard of six to eight percent each year.
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* Approve the request for reduction in force of an Apache County funded college position in which the St. Johns Center manager position will be eliminated along with one of the two cosmetology faculty positions.
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*Approved the pre-purchase of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for the Aspen Center at the Show Low campus for a total cost of $50,266 not including the cost of installation.
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*Heard an introductory budget analysis.
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