MEETING OF THE
SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
October 1, 2009
Minutes
The Board of Trustees of Houston Community College held a Special Meeting on
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at the HCC Administration Building, 3100 Main, 2nd Floor
Seminar Room A, Houston, Texas.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Abel Davila, Chair
Neeta Sane, Vice Chair
Bruce Austin
Yolanda Navarro Flores
Richard Schechter
ADMINISTRATION
Art Tyler, Deputy Chancellor/COO
Renee Byas, General Counsel
Doretha Eason, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor
Cheryl Sterling, Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Success
Betty Young, President, Coleman College of Health Sciences
OTHERS PRESENT
Kim James, Counsel, Bracewell & Giuliani
Carlos James, Financial Advisor, RBC Capital Markets
Other administrators, citizens, and representatives of the news media
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Davila called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m. and declared the Board convened to
consider matters pertaining to Houston Community College as listed on the duly posted
Meeting Notice.
SECOND PUBLIC HEARING OF THE PROPOSED TAX RATE
Motion – Mrs. Sane moved and Mrs. Flores seconded.
Dr. Tyler apprised that this is the second hearing on the proposed tax rate of .092330
and announced that a Special meeting will be held on October 15, 2009 to adopt a rate.
He noted that the rollback rate is .100188; however, the proposed rate is considerably
less than the rollback rate; therefore, an election on the tax rate is not required. He
noted that the other rate to be cognizant of is the effective rate, which is .094756 and
apprised that the recommended rate is also well below the effective rate.
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Special Meeting – October 1, 2009- Page 2
Dr. Tyler noted that a conservative approach was taken regarding expected collections
and apprised that debt service and maintenance tax notes make up the proposed rate.
He noted that the projection for this year’s operating budget is $99.9 million. Based on
the enrollment increase and belief that we will be above the projected tax collection rate,
it is anticipated that there will be approximately $1.8 million above the projected
collection amount, which includes previous actions taken by the Board, such as, waivers
for seniors and collections being below last year’s projection.
Mr. Davila extended the invitation for the public to address the Board regarding the
proposed rate.
There were no citizens present to speak before the Board.
Mr. Schechter asked if consideration has been given regarding the state of the economy
as it relates to the tax collection rate. Dr. Tyler noted that forty percent has been added
to the default rate numbers provided by the Assessor’s Office.
Mr. Schechter asked if the college is operating on a five percent enrollment increase in
the projected revenue. Dr. Tyler noted that the budget was drafted on a five percent
growth factor. He noted that the current growth for the fall is twenty percent and noted
that there would have to be a ten percent loss for the spring and fall to have an adverse
effect.
Mr. Schechter asked that if there is a reduction in the rate from .092430 to .092330
would the college be able to meet the projected financial goals. Dr. Tyler noted that
unless there is a major catastrophe, there is no reason the college will be unable to
meet its goals.
Mr. Schechter asked if the Board chooses to reduce the tax rate to offset the average
valuation increase, what would have to be done with the tax rate. Dr. Tyler apprised
that the financial advisor has provided information regarding the options (page 3). He
noted that an example was proposed to lower the rate to .092220, which would place an
average tax of $182.19 on a $197,106 valuation. Dr. Tyler noted that the rate would
offset the effect of increase on valuation.
Mr. Schechter asked if the rate is lowered to .092220, what would be the financial
impact on the college. Dr. Tyler informed that the projected maintenance tax rate would
provide a levy of $96.758 million, which would lower the collection rate percentage and
does not include the $2.3 million estimated to be collected in delinquent taxes.
Mrs. Sane asked if the enrollment increase has taken into account additional expenses
to accommodate the increase. Dr. Tyler noted that class sessions, not dollars, were
budgeted to the colleges, which provides the option to increase the class sizes. He
noted that the additional expense has been taken into consideration; there is a marginal
increase in adjunct faculty. He noted that if enrollment is sustained, there must be a
review on the student services side.
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Special Meeting – October 1, 2009- Page 3
Mrs. Flores asked how much has been used from the surplus fund. Dr. Tyler apprised
that $6.5 million was utilized from the ending balance, which is being replenished. He
noted that approximately $1.5 million has been received from the state and $4 million
has been received from insurance carriers. He noted that the Board authorized several
expenses over the past year to be paid out of the surplus fund.
Mr. Austin noted that he requested information from the budget specialist. Mrs. Virginia
Parras noted that the information has been provided to Dr. Tyler and was presented to
the Board. Mr. Austin asked if there is a requirement that the information is channeled
through Dr. Tyler. Dr. Tyler noted that the practice has been that information requests
come through Board Services or the Chancellor’s Office.
Dr. Tyler provided an overview of expenditures that were above and beyond the original
budget as noted in the financial statement ending August 31, 2009.
Mrs. Flores asked how long will it take to repay the funds borrowed from the reserves.
Dr. Tyler asked for clarification. Mrs. Flores noted that the reserve has dropped below
ten percent. Dr. Tyler noted that funds were not borrowed and the reserve is not below
the required ten percent. He noted that the reserve is currently at eleven percent.
Mrs. Flores asked for the amount of reduction in revenue if a tax rate of .092220 is
adopted. Dr. Tyler noted that the amount is approximately $130,000.
Mr. Schechter asked if the $130,000 is the difference between .092430 and .092220.
Dr. Tyler noted that it is the difference between the proposed rate under consideration,
.093330, and the rate of .092220.
Mr. Austin noted that in terms of students, the issue would be support services to
accommodate students such as qualitative support. He asked what is being done to
make certain that these issues are addressed. Dr. Tyler noted that there has been
unexpected growth at some of the campuses and noted that Southeast College grew by
almost forty percent. He apprised that the college is trying to improve supplemental
instruction and tutoring; however, these are growth figures, which were unpredictable.
Mr. Davila noted that Mr. Austin raises a good point in that there needs to be a balance
to accommodate taxpayers and to ensure services are available for the students. He
noted that there needs to be foresight on future spending and that the focus should be
on student services and graduation rates.
Dr. Tyler noted that there has been some revamping in the student services area and
noted that there is consideration on how to support the students full time. He noted that
there are a number of strategies under consideration to enhance student services.
Mr. Austin apprised that graduation and transfer rates are very important and expressed
that monitoring of the number of students who transfer to four-year institutions is
necessary.
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Special Meeting – October 1, 2009- Page 4
Mrs. Flores asked for the cost per student to educate. Dr. Tyler noted that the cost is
approximately $10,000 per year for the average full-time student. He noted that health
careers are approximately $12,000 per student.
Mrs. Sane asked if the college is in good shape financially to handle the reduction in the
tax rate. Dr. Tyler noted that the decisions made this year will have some effect on the
budget for next year; however, there will be trend data available when the Board
reviews the budget in January and June. He noted that the periodic reviews will allow
for the recommendations according to growth and expenses.
Mr. Austin noted that he would suggest that the Finance Committee recommend the
type of review. He noted that the Board has requested dialogue opportunities but often
there are only presentations.
RESCIND SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 ACTION ON CONSENT AGENDA ITEM VIII.A.1
APPROVING BOARD BYLAWS
Motion - Mrs. Sane moved and Mrs. Flores seconded.
The Board discussed that the item was not pulled at the September 23, 2009 meeting
prior to approving the consent agenda. Mr. Schechter noted that he would vote yes with
the understanding that the item will be presented for Board approval in October 2009.
Vote – The motion passed with a vote of 5-0.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.
Recorded by:
Sharon R. Wright, Executive Administrative Assistant, Board Services
Transcribed and submitted by:
Sharon Wright, Executive Administrative Assistant, Board Services
Minutes Approved: