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A recent guest column in Lookout Eugene-Springfield from John Anderson about a report I authored on behalf of the Lane Community College Education Association made a number of incorrect claims about the findings and me personally that I feel compelled to correct.
The author incorrectly claimed that I have “not worked in public finance” and have “no professional background in government budgeting”. In fact, I’ve worked on public finance and budgeting for over 15 years — as a state employee working to develop and administer program budgets, as a member of boards monitoring government bond spending, and as a researcher analyzing local and state budgets to inform contract negotiations, to name a few examples.
For two years I was on staff at Service Employees International Union Local 503, but currently work as a research consultant for a number of different clients. I’ve never communicated with Mr. Anderson but I suspect his characterization of my background is the result of a lazy internet search.
The writer claims that “the college’s published assumptions include enrollment growth, routine tuition increases and standard inflation factors. They are transparent and, if anything, optimistic. The report does not identify any assumption that is demonstrably false.” I suspect he did not actually read the whole report, because LCC’s bad assumptions are spelled out in detail elsewhere in the report.
In short, LCC based their staffing cost projections on cost of living adjustments and step increases that are much higher than what employees actually received, or will receive. Personnel costs are the biggest chunk of LCC’s budget, so inflating these staffing cost numbers makes it look like there’s much less money available to spend.
My analysis is based on the actual budget spreadsheets used by LCC’s administration, not just the high-level presentations that the writer linked to. It’s important to look at the actual formulas, and not just rely on public-facing documents to understand what’s going on.
Recently LCC made some smart budgeting decisions, with the support of Lane County voters, to renovate aging buildings to reduce ongoing maintenance costs, and to refinance Public Employees Retirement System debt to reduce annual costs by millions a year. Contrary to the writer’s assertion, these aren’t simply a one-time accounting adjustment – they represent real dollars freed up each year that can be invested in LCC’s staff and programs.
For all Mr. Anderson’s errors, I’m glad to see community members engaged in the LCC budget process, and hope that more people take the time to actually read the report, dig into the numbers, and understand what they are based on.
