1 2 --------------------------------------x BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING 3 SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 4 ALUMNI ROOM, BROOKHAVEN GYMNASIUM 5 AMMERMAN CAMPUS 6 --------------------------------------x 7 January 18, 2007 8 8:30 a.m. 9 533 College Road Selden, New York 10 11 12 13 BEFORE: 14 WILLIAM D. MOORE, Chairman 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC. 6 FRANCES LANE 25 PORT JEFFERSON, NEW YORK 11777 631-331-3753 1 2 2 A P P E A R A N C E S: 3 4 WALTER C. HAZLITT, Trustee 5 DENNIS MCCARTHY, Trustee 6 DAVID OCHOA, Trustee 7 DR. SHIRLEY PIPPINS, Trustee 8 AVETTE D. WARE, Trustee 9 JOHN L. KOMINICKI, Trustee 10 FRANK C. TROTTA, Trustee 11 JERRY KANE, Trustee 12 13 ALSO PRESENT: 14 15 GEORGE GATTA, Vice President 16 CHARLES STEIN, Vice President 17 MARY LOU ARANEO, Vice President 18 JAMES CANNIFF, Vice President 19 JOANNE E. BRAXTON, Vice President 20 LAURIE SAVONA, Executive Assistant to President 21 ILENE KREITZER, Executive Director of 22 Legal Affairs 23 TERI KOPP 24 RANDY NELSON, Ernst & Young 25 ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 3 2 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning, 3 everyone. We have a lot to do, let's 4 call the meeting to order. 5 Okay. We have an item for 6 Executive Session Discussion -- 7 MS. KREITZER: Contract. 8 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- 9 contract/litigation or a possibility of 10 litigation. 11 I'll entertain a motion to go into 12 Executive Session for that purpose. 13 MR. TROTTA: I'd make that motion. 14 MR. KANE: Second. 15 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 16 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 17 voted.) 18 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. We're in 19 Executive Session. 20 (WHEREUPON, Executive Session was 21 held, after which the following 22 transpired:) 23 (Time noted 9:52 a.m.) 24 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning. We 25 welcome all of you to the open session ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 4 2 here. 3 May we all, please, stand and have 4 Trustee Kominicki lead us in the Pledge 5 of Allegiance? 6 (WHEREUPON, the Pledge of 7 Allegiance was recited.) 8 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. I'm looking 9 around here -- hello to everyone. We 10 recognize everyone as special guest, 11 it's nice to have everybody here this 12 morning. 13 All right. I'll entertain a motion 14 to approve our minutes of our 15 December 14th Board of Trustees Meeting. 16 MR. KANE: So moved. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 18 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 19 voted.) 20 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. On to Item E. 21 Here we go. 22 There you are, Chuck. Thank you, 23 very much. 24 MR. STEIN: Yes. I'd like to 25 introduce Randy Nelson from Ernst and ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5 2 Young. Randy come in. 3 You do sit as a committee as a 4 whole, as the Budget and Audit 5 Committee, and Randy is here to talk to 6 you today about some upcoming things 7 that the board should be aware of with 8 respect to the Government County 9 Standards Board Requirements that will 10 be coming next year, et cetera. 11 So with that, I'd like to turn the 12 floor over to Randy. 13 MR. NELSON: Good morning, 14 everyone. 15 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning. 16 MR. NELSON: I have just a brief 17 handout that I'm going to leave with 18 you, you don't have to look at it right 19 now, but it deals with a recently issued 20 GASB standard. I say recently issued, 21 as well as -- it was probably issued 22 about three years ago, but it's starting 23 to get to the point where there's a lot 24 of attention being focused in on it 25 because of the impact to governments and ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 6 2 to colleges, to universities and to all 3 different types of organizations in the 4 government environment. And that 5 statement is GASB 45, and what it does 6 is it deals with benefits. Benefits 7 that we pay out to our employees after 8 they retire. Benefits in the area of 9 health care. So it's all types of 10 benefits other than pension benefits. 11 And that's what GASB 45 is about. 12 And if you've been reading the 13 periodicals like The Wall Street 14 Journal, The Bond Buyer, The New York 15 Times; there's been a lot of discussion 16 about the impact of GASB 45 on an 17 organization. 18 What I wanted to do was just share 19 some information about that because I 20 have a lot of experience as it relates 21 to 45, even though it's new, because I 22 have a number of clients that have 23 already started to implement this 24 standard. 25 Now, for purposes of the college, ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 7 2 this standard will have an impact on 3 your next audit that you'll receive -- 4 when I say the next audit, for the year 5 ended August 31st, '07. So when you get 6 that audit, you're going to see the 7 impact of GASB 45 presented in that 8 document. 9 Now, the cost is tremendous. And 10 although a lot of tension is being 11 placed on it because New York City, if 12 you remember, came out with it. 13 Bloomburg wanted to let people know the 14 impact or the cost to the taxpayers of 15 New York City for this particular 16 benefit that they provide. And I could 17 tell you that for the year -- for this 18 year, they went through the calculation 19 and they determined that the impact was 20 approximately -- took $52,000,000,000 to 21 the City of New York. 22 Now, Mayor Bloomburg, being 23 proactive, made a decision to fund some 24 of that by setting up a dedicated trust, 25 and into that trust he put a billion ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 8 2 dollars in the last budget year, and 3 he's got another billion going in to 4 this budget that will go into that 5 trust. 6 So from the standpoint of New York 7 City -- granted, you're not in New York 8 City -- but you can see it's a 9 tremendous number that we're dealing 10 with for most organizations. 11 Now, if you ask me to guess what 12 the impact here at the college -- it's 13 very hard to guess, you don't -- there's 14 no rule of thumb for that number. But a 15 lot of it's driven, as you can imagine, 16 based on the number of employees, the 17 number of retirees and so forth. 18 And what happens with respect to 19 GASB 45, as an actuary, is going to have 20 to be engaged. And I believe that the 21 college would probably be working in 22 conjunction with the county -- but the 23 county is out for proposal to have an 24 actuary come in and do the calculations. 25 So the actuary comes in, he does ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 9 2 the calculation, he determines what that 3 liability is at a point in time. That's 4 what he calls his actuary evaluation. 5 In that calculation, they make certain 6 assumptions as it relate to -- okay -- 7 the benefits that we're going to be 8 providing, the -- the -- the changes in 9 the price level as it relates to health 10 care. How we're going to fund it? Are 11 we going to pay for that all in one lump 12 sum and record it in our books in one 13 lump sum, which New York City did? Are 14 you going to amortize it over a certain 15 period -- because they allow you to 16 amortize that liability over 30 years 17 under the standard, because they 18 realized it was a big impact. 19 Also, they calculate what they call 20 the annual required contribution. The 21 annual required contribution is the 22 amount that -- that hits your books each 23 year as an expense. So if you elect to 24 amortize that unfunded liability over 25 30 years, 130 of it, approximately, will ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 10 2 be charged against your current year's 3 operations, along with any service costs 4 for normal employees, plus an interest 5 factor. That's roughly the calculation. 6 Now, you say, "Well, if I can get 7 hit with this liability, then I'm going 8 to have to fund this." The standard 9 doesn't talk about funding. The funding 10 decision is made by the Board of 11 Trustees as to how they want to fund 12 that obligation. Because in the past 13 you were paying these benefits as you 14 went along. People continue to pay that 15 as you go along, but to the extent 16 you're not paying the benefits, the 17 liability will be present on your 18 balance sheets. 19 So to give you an example, let's 20 say that my annual required contribution 21 is $5,000,000 -- I just dealt with a 22 client with 320 employees, about ten 23 retirees, their annual required 24 contribution was $5,000,000, roughly. 25 What they were paying out -- what they ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 11 2 paid out in benefits -- and this is 3 amazing when you hear these numbers -- 4 they're paying out about $100,000 right 5 now for that benefit. So they were 6 asked to record an expensive $5,000,000 7 for a pay-as-you-go obligation of 8 $100,000. 9 Sounds pretty strange to me, but 10 I'm not the actuary, I don't come up 11 with the calculation. We do look at it, 12 we do test it for reasonableness, we do 13 get involved in the data and make sure 14 that it was accurately provided to 15 the -- and -- and used in the 16 calculation accurately. But we're 17 talking about some big numbers here. 18 And I think that as Trustees you 19 should be aware of the obligation, that 20 it will have an impact -- because you're 21 going to be involved in probably making 22 decisions of how much -- when I say 23 "decisions," there'll be decisions made 24 as to the amortization period. Do we 25 want to amortize it over 30 years or do ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 12 2 we want to amortize it over one year 3 like New York City. 4 Now, I can -- I can be honest with 5 you and say, most people aren't going to 6 fund it over one year, they're going to 7 probably take the 30-year approach. But 8 there are options available and you 9 should be aware of what the options are. 10 Now, as I said, it's a significant 11 liability that will be recorded on your 12 financial statements and it's something 13 that you haven't seen before. So I 14 think Chuck wanted me to come in just to 15 give you a flavor for what was coming 16 down the -- down the pike as far as 17 those type of issues from a financial 18 standpoint so that everyone was aware of 19 it. 20 Now, the document that I put out in 21 front of you today comes right from the 22 GASB who provides all the accounting 23 standards for government entities such 24 as the college. In there, you know, 25 they -- they give you some feedback to ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 13 2 some commonly misunderstood concepts 3 about GASB 45 and it's impact. 4 With that, I'd like to answer any 5 questions you might have as it relates 6 to this liability or about anything else 7 I could possibly help you with. 8 I don't know if I explained it 9 adequately, but, you know, I wanted to 10 keep it short knowing -- 11 MR. OCHOA: The handout is very 12 good. 13 How far along in the process are 14 the RFP for the -- is the county in 15 identifying an actuary? 16 MR. STEIN: They are in the 17 process -- I think they're very close to 18 making a selection for the company 19 that's going to do the actuarial 20 analysis, which includes the county and 21 the college. 22 MR. OCHOA: That's my second 23 question. 24 MR. STEIN: It includes the 25 college. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 14 2 MR. OCHOA: Okay. 3 MR. STEIN: So they will be 4 providing us with the data that will be 5 necessary, obviously, for us to -- 6 MR. OCHOA: Right. And the major 7 impact of it, I think, if the 8 Chairman -- if I understand it 9 correctly, will be then you're going to 10 have an additional significant liability 11 annually on our financial statement for 12 the college. 13 MR. NELSON: Well, it will be an 14 annual expense, which is the ark -- 15 MR. OCHOA: Right. 16 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- but 17 it's not actually what you're paying 18 out, because you'll be paying out the 19 benefits that you are -- 20 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. 21 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- 22 obligated to. 23 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. 24 MR. NELSON: And in the example I 25 mentioned, you might be reporting ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 15 2 $5,000,000 -- in your case it would 3 probably be higher then that -- and only 4 paying out 100,000. 5 MR. OCHOA: 100,000, yeah. 6 MR. NELSON: So your balance sheet 7 will show that liability going up and up 8 and up, until it gets to a peek, and 9 then it will probably come down from 10 there. 11 MR. STEIN: If I might, they'll, 12 obviously, be extensive discussions 13 about this, not only here but also the 14 county will be having extensive 15 discussions about this and how to go 16 about it. And there are already 17 proposals being put forward by companies 18 on various ways of dealing with this 19 liability. Not necessarily funding the 20 full liability, but some proposals that 21 I've heard of deal with acquiring a 22 certain type of insurance where you make 23 a premium payment -- 24 MR. OCHOA: Right. 25 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- and ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 16 2 that insurance will cover the liability. 3 So there are a whole -- 4 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. 5 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- host of 6 things that will be discussed over the 7 next 18 months or so. And, obviously, I 8 will keep you posted and, certainly, 9 Ernst and Young, if there's -- 10 MR. NELSON: Yes. 11 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- 12 something to be said, will keep you 13 posted. 14 MR. NELSON: One thing, Dennis, 15 before I answer your question -- 16 MR. MC CARTHY: Yes. 17 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- and I 18 will take it. I just want to mention 19 the fact that a number of people are 20 asking, should we set up a restricted 21 trust or a dedicated trust for any 22 assets that we accumulate. Because 23 under the standard, if you do set up a 24 separate -- a separate trust -- which, 25 basically, you can't take the money out ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 17 2 of -- 3 MR. OCHOA: Right. 4 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- it's 5 like restrictive -- then you could 6 remove whatever you put into that trust 7 off the balance sheet as far as the 8 liability associations that I know. 9 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. 10 So, for example, New York City is 11 setting up that trust, but they're not 12 going to fund the trust to 13 52,000,000,000, they're only funding it 14 to 2,000,000,000. But I have some 15 smaller business-type government 16 entities that want to set up a trust and 17 fund the trust with the entire amount of 18 the obligation so that they can remove 19 it from their balance sheet. 20 Dennis, you had a question -- 21 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. 22 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- I'm 23 sorry. 24 MR. MC CARTHY: What do you see as 25 the ramifications to bond ratings when ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 18 2 this starts appearing on the balance 3 sheet? You know, is it going to effect 4 the general course of doing municipal 5 business when you're -- all of a sudden 6 we're going to -- everybody's going to 7 lift up their skirts and say this is 8 really what I have to -- this -- these 9 are my obligations in the next twenty 10 years. 11 MR. NELSON: That's an excellent 12 question. And I think a lot of people 13 are asking the same question and the 14 answers are not clear right now, because 15 the bond rating agencies are just 16 starting to see this. They sense that 17 all the governments are going to have 18 this type of issue and this type of 19 problem. So the point is, you're 20 basically on equal footing with all 21 other governments as it relates to this 22 particular liability and its impact on 23 your financial statements. 24 Once they have more information 25 under their belt as far as how people ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 19 2 are funding it, how much is being set 3 aside and how much is off their balance 4 sheet and so forth, then they'll get a 5 better sense as to how strong an entity 6 is, and that will probably impact in the 7 raise. But right now they're not clear 8 as far as what the impact is because I 9 don't believe they know. 10 MR. OCHOA: But, Randy, it's 11 possible though that a trust would 12 shield you from that. It might. 13 MR. NELSON: It would shield you 14 from -- it would -- it would probably -- 15 if you're funded entirely, it would beef 16 up the strength of your paper. 17 MR. OCHOA: But you won't do that. 18 I mean, I doubt two people would do 19 that. 20 MR. NELSON: There are some people 21 that would do that, but I don't know if 22 they're going to get the benefits that 23 they think. 24 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. 25 MR. NELSON: You know, people -- ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 20 2 here's why I see people doing it, 3 because they're concerned that we may go 4 out of business and then that -- my 5 benefits will not be paid for me. So 6 the people who are driving it, you know, 7 are the ones that feel that they're 8 going to lose something if we don't fund 9 it. Because, like I said, it's 10 restricted, you just can't -- a 11 government can't take the money out once 12 they put it in, but you could pay 13 benefits out of this. 14 So in a case of that entity that 15 had a $5,000,000 obligation -- 16 MR. OCHOA: The water district. 17 MR. NELSON: Well, it's -- 18 MR. OCHOA: A small -- 19 MR. NELSON: It's not -- 20 MR. OCHOA: A small entity. 21 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- the 22 water district. 23 MR. OCHOA: I know that, but, I 24 mean, a small entity. 25 MR. NELSON: But the point is, if I ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 21 2 have a $5,000,000 obligation and I put 3 it into that trust, and I'm only paying 4 at 100,000 out, I've got 4,900,000 5 that's sitting there -- 6 MR. OCHOA: Right. 7 MR. NELSON: (Continuing) -- not 8 anything happening with. 9 Now, you say New York City, they're 10 going to put 2,000,000,000 into this 11 program, but the point is, New York City 12 is probably paying 2,000,000,000 out a 13 year out of its pocket. So they can 14 take the money out of the trust and then 15 the trust will have no assets in it, so 16 it wouldn't matter, it would be moot as 17 to it being restricted. 18 MR. OCHOA: Right. 19 MR. STEIN: If I might? 20 When this whole thing came about, 21 one of the arguments that was being made 22 was that GASB felt governments should 23 reflect on their balance sheets and be 24 responsible, the same way of people who 25 follow the financial accounting ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 22 2 standards board corporation, et cetera. 3 The difference between a 4 government, though, and the corporation 5 is, the corporation has a right that 6 government, for the most part, doesn't 7 have. It's a corporation, it can go out 8 of business. For the most part, 9 governments can't. 10 MR. OCHOA: Got it. 11 MR. STEIN: Yeah? 12 MR. OCHOA: Yeah. Thank you. 13 MR. NELSON: Okay. Anyone else 14 with any questions? 15 MR. MC CARTHY: That was very good. 16 Thank you. 17 MR. NELSON: Well, thanks for 18 inviting me here today to -- 19 MR. MC CARTHY: Thank you very 20 much. We appreciate it. 21 MR. OCHOA: Stay close to the 22 county. 23 MR. KOMINICKI: What does GASB 24 stand for? 25 MR. OCHOA: Government Accounting ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 23 2 Standards Board, I believe. 3 (Discussion held off the record) 4 THE CHAIRMAN: All right. Hopping 5 down to Item F. Let's see if I actually 6 have what Ilene says I have. 7 In your packets we've got 8 Resolutions 2007.01 through 2007.08. 9 The 8 is a pink sheet add on; do you all 10 have that? 11 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. 12 THE CHAIRMAN: All right. Any 13 questions, discussions on any of these 14 items? 15 MR. KANE: Just a little discussion 16 on Item 6. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. 18 MR. KANE: This Item 6 Resolution 19 has to do with adopting a code of 20 ethnics and conflict of interests. 21 David, do you have that in front of 22 you? 23 MR. OCHOA: Yes, I do. 24 MR. KANE: If you'd do me a favor, 25 in case I misread it, read the fifth ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 24 2 bullet on page -- on the first page. 3 Do you have that? 4 MR. OCHOA: Yes. 5 MR. KANE: "Basing decisions" -- 6 MR. OCHOA: No, I don't have it. 7 MR. KANE: Okay. I'll read it in. 8 "Basing decisions on all available 9 facts, voting with honest conviction, 10 unswayed by any personal or political 11 bias or any outside pressure or 12 interests you might have, and then I 13 want you to deal with the facts." 14 If we're to accept that, what the 15 hell are we bringing to the table? Do 16 we leave everything off the table? 17 I won't object to it, I'll vote for 18 it, but -- 19 THE CHAIRMAN: I hear you. 20 MR. KANE: (Continuing) -- but it 21 sounds a little bit cub scoutish to me. 22 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. So we have a 23 new slogan. Cub scouts, there we go. 24 MR. KANE: Don't bring any of your 25 personal views to the table though, or ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 25 2 religious views, or political views -- 3 okay. 4 THE CHAIRMAN: Are you okay? 5 MR. KANE: Yeah. 6 MR. OCHOA: Mr. Chairman, move to 7 approve Resolutions 2007.01 through 8 2007.08. 9 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. 10 Do I have a second for that? 11 MS. WARE: Second. 12 MR. KANE: Second. 13 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 14 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 15 voted.) 16 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. 17 Okay. I'll entertain a motion to 18 recess our trustees meeting for a moment 19 and put on our hats as directors of the 20 association. 21 MR. OCHOA: So moved. 22 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 23 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 24 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 25 voted.) ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 26 2 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. I think a 3 motion to approve our December 14th 4 Board of Directors Minutes. 5 MR. HAZLITT: So moved. 6 MR. OCHOA: Second. 7 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 8 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 9 voted.) 10 MR. MC CARTHY: Mr. Chairman? 11 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes, sir. 12 MR. MC CARTHY: I just have 13 a question. We get the insert now - 14 that we had started a few years ago - of 15 the nepotism forms. Last month there 16 was eight or nine of them, and then this 17 month there is a number of a 18 part-time -- -- part-time position. 19 I always have trouble associating 20 where the -- what they're attached to. 21 You know, we don't -- I guess we don't 22 pass on every employee of the college; 23 right? 24 THE CHAIRMAN: No. 25 MR. MC CARTHY: So if we get a -- ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 27 2 the idea of the nepotism form was that 3 we knew what the -- we knew what the 4 position was that -- that was being -- 5 that it was being associated with. So 6 that it was actually backup to the 7 position to the -- to a resolution. 8 That was my understanding. 9 The reason being was it -- that it 10 was the disclosure form, similar to a 11 disclosure for Jerry -- not to bring his 12 personal -- per all his outside 13 interests that he brings to you. But it 14 was a disclosure document, and it 15 doesn't really -- I don't find it 16 helpful for a disclosure document to be 17 just floating in the wind here with no 18 attachment. You see. 19 THE CHAIRMAN: Although, we are 20 not -- as you pointed out, we are not 21 doing resolution hiring of these folk 22 any longer. Now, whether or not -- the 23 person associated with the hiring 24 responsibility has to be aware of this 25 information I presume at the time that ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 28 2 that decision's made -- this knowledge 3 is made available to -- 4 MR. MC CARTHY: Well, it's 5 something that, actually, we created a 6 couple of years ago -- 7 THE CHAIRMAN: Right. 8 MR. MC CARTHY: (Continuing) -- 9 because it was never done before. 10 THE CHAIRMAN: And none of the -- 11 MR. MC CARTHY: And the college -- 12 and Suffolk County always had one, and I 13 thought it was a good idea to do it. 14 THE CHAIRMAN: And that was done at 15 a time when the board approved those 16 resolutions of hiring. 17 DR. PIPPINS: But there's a 18 title -- are you saying, like in the 19 corner here -- 20 MR. MC CARTHY: As I said, 21 Dr. Pippins, these are part-time 22 positions here. 23 THE CHAIRMAN: Yeah. 24 MR. MC CARTHY: But there were 25 eight or nine of them. I don't know -- ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 29 2 is that eight or nine out of eight or 3 nine positions for the month of 4 November, or is that eight or nine last 5 month out of -- out of 72 positions; you 6 know? 7 DR. PIPPINS: I think everybody in 8 Suffolk County is connected to somebody. 9 MR. MC CARTHY: It seems so here. 10 MR. KANE: Well, don't be nasty. 11 MR. MC CARTHY: No, but I -- I 12 think it's a legitimate point. I don't 13 know that we should get back into 14 reviewing every hire here -- and we have 15 confidence in the administration to do 16 that -- but it -- but maybe you should 17 attach what the position is. 18 THE CHAIRMAN: Well, we'll have to 19 go back in -- I'll have to go back and 20 revisit with the nepotism policies -- 21 DR. PIPPINS: But I'm not 22 understanding. I mean, don't -- 23 THE CHAIRMAN: The nepotism policy 24 doesn't preclude to hiring, it's the 25 disclosure of the relation -- ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 30 2 MR. MC CARTHY: Absolutely. 3 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. 4 MR. MC CARTHY: No, I'm not saying 5 that. I'm not saying that at all. 6 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. I just want 7 to make sure that -- 8 DR. PIPPINS: Chuck, stand up, 9 please. 10 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- the 11 information -- 12 DR. PIPPINS: These forms, don't 13 they have the title of -- 14 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- 15 coming as it does, is out of context; 16 right? 17 MR. MC CARTHY: What? 18 THE CHAIRMAN: The information that 19 is presented, now that we no longer do 20 the hiring of every position at the 21 college, comes to you out of context. 22 MR. MC CARTHY: Right. 23 MR. OCHOA: Bill, for me -- I 24 think, for me, Dennis' point is good, 25 but it brings a greater question. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 31 2 Number one, maybe that material should 3 not be provided to the Board of 4 Trustees, period. Because, number one, 5 it isn't duly noted in our conversations 6 that it was even in the packet; and, 7 number two, there are sufficient 8 safeguards in the administration so that 9 if you do have a conflict that one 10 should surface, or the potential for a 11 conflict. So, for me, since I've been 12 on the board now, we get them on 13 occasion and nothing ever happens. I 14 look at them, I look at them carefully, 15 I'm ready for the meeting and we buzz 16 right through it -- so I don't even know 17 if it belongs in our packets. 18 The other question that I have goes 19 to the issue of ethics, and it always 20 scares me when I hear ethics as a board 21 member, and transparency. Jerry may 22 have been kidding about it, but it's 23 something that's there. 24 My spouse is an attorney, has a law 25 firm and once a year she teaches a ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 32 2 course here. I'm always thinking, "Damn 3 it, should I have disclosed it again?" 4 I don't know how many times I've 5 disclosed it or signed off on it -- and 6 so there's the -- we need -- that kind 7 of mechanism does need to be reviewed by 8 us, as trustees, on an angle bases, to 9 think a moment that -- where we might 10 have a conflict. 11 MR. MC CARTHY: That's right. 12 MR. OCHOA: And this semester, she 13 doesn't teach of course, she did last, 14 but I'm still worrying, "My Lord, did I 15 disclose that my spouse taught a course 16 here because of the love of teaching?" 17 So that one does matter to me. It 18 reflects on my conduct. 19 THE CHAIRMAN: Right. 20 MS. KREITZER: If I could just 21 comment. As part of the code of ethics 22 that I think you passed, because I 23 walked out before the resolutions had 24 passed, you fill out an annual conflict 25 form and on that form you can identify ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 33 2 that your spouse is teaching a course. 3 MR. KANE: I think the main one is 4 just as long as we don't have a 5 conflict. 6 At one of our meetings, Walter 7 brought up the fact -- we were voting on 8 a tower with the Suffolk County Water 9 Authority and you -- you recused 10 yourself, and that's really what the 11 ethics are really asking you to do. If 12 you do have a conflict, you know, recuse 13 yourself and don't vote on it. Walter 14 was a perfect example. 15 MR. MC CARTHY: But we should 16 declare it. 17 MR. KANE: Yeah. 18 MR. MC CARTHY: We should, in 19 writing -- 20 MR. KANE: It has to be declared in 21 an open meeting that you have -- 22 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah, but, I mean, 23 we should -- now we'll have the 24 documentation -- 25 MR. KANE: Right. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 34 2 MR. MC CARTHY: (Continuing) -- to 3 write it down and then it could be -- 4 MR. KOMINICKI: Read into the 5 record -- 6 MR. MC CARTHY: What? 7 MR. KOMINICKI: (Continuing) -- and 8 then discussed at a board meeting -- 9 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. 10 MR. KOMINICKI: (Continuing) -- 11 as -- 12 MR. MC CARTHY: But you -- I don't 13 know if -- my point is, I thought that 14 declaration in a public institution -- 15 declaration of any family relationship 16 is important. Because nobody -- this is 17 a public institution, it should never be 18 viewed as an inside operation, that 19 somebody else -- somebody in this -- 20 somebody who is related to somebody here 21 gets a leg up on getting a position over 22 somebody else. 23 So that's why I believe the board 24 set a policy to include the disclosure 25 of these nepotism forms. But what I'd ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 35 2 like to see is, I'd like to see -- if 3 you're going to go to the trouble of 4 putting the nepotism form in the packet, 5 you should have the backup on what the 6 position is. And that's my feeling on 7 that. 8 DR. PIPPINS: You mean beyond what 9 the title is? 10 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah, I mean, this 11 is -- Dr. Pippins, this is a -- this is 12 probably a part -- I don't know, a 13 part-time college aide is probably a 14 Christmas position maybe. You know, I 15 don't know. I don't know if, you know, 16 anybody knows what it is. It's a -- 17 what a part-time college aide position 18 is. If anybody wants to answer it, 19 but -- 20 DR. PIPPINS: It would vary by 21 the -- 22 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. So -- 23 MR. STEIN: It depends by the 24 location. A part-time college aide -- 25 MR. MC CARTHY: You know, what -- ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 36 2 how many hours are you going to work and 3 what -- 4 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- could 5 be someone answering a phone, it could 6 be someone doing filing -- 7 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. How many 8 hours are you going to work, if it's 9 only two weeks while the individual's 10 home from college, maybe, they got -- 11 they got a college job, they got a 12 Christmas vacation job. That's what it 13 sounds like to me. But if it's a more 14 significant position and it's 15 somebody -- and there's a nepotism form, 16 I think there should be a backup of the 17 resolution. I'm not -- you know, 18 because that's -- the policy of this 19 board is to disclose that. 20 THE CHAIRMAN: I guess what the 21 question -- comes up, we have delegated 22 tremendous authority to our President -- 23 MR. MC CARTHY: Right. 24 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- so 25 we do not have the resolutions you're ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 37 2 talking about as far as -- it doesn't 3 happen that way anymore. We don't have 4 a board resolution authorizing the 5 hiring of so-and-so as a professor or 6 so-and-so -- and I guess the real 7 question becomes, how do we assure 8 ourselves, as trustees, that the very 9 thing this policy is addressed to and is 10 concerned isn't happening without our 11 knowing about it, and just having it pop 12 up this way doesn't give you context -- 13 MR. MC CARTHY: Right. 14 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- to 15 know -- 16 MR. MC CARTHY: That's right. 17 You're absolutely right. 18 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- how 19 do we -- okay -- the person said yes, 20 I'm your cousin, thank you for the job, 21 and three other -- how do we -- how do 22 the trustees assure themselves that 23 we're not running -- and we don't have 24 any reason to believe that we are -- 25 running a rampant with some nepotism ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 38 2 problem here? 3 MR. MC CARTHY: But if -- 4 THE CHAIRMAN: We have no -- I 5 guess we really have no way of knowing. 6 DR. PIPPINS: Right. And the 7 difference here, in this institution and 8 some other places, is the large majority 9 of the people who are hired here go 10 through some confidence and search 11 process where there's lots of people 12 sitting around the table, interviewing 13 them and making the determination as to 14 whether or not they're qualified for the 15 job. So that precludes large -- that 16 reduces the probability that that would 17 happen, because everybody in the room 18 would have to agree to hire Kevin 19 Pederman's (phonetic) daughter -- I 20 don't know if you have a daughter, I 21 just made that up, but -- 22 SPEAKER: He's a 1st grade teacher, 23 don't worry. 24 DR. PIPPINS: I mean, it's a 25 concern, and I think just by having ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 39 2 these forms you get the information, 3 but, I mean, I think we're all aware of 4 the issues within the organization. And 5 the other thing is that, I think you 6 would know because you would hear; 7 people would talk about it and they 8 would complain about it. I mean, it's 9 just not -- it may have been an issue in 10 the past, I don't believe it to be an 11 issue at this point in time. 12 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. 13 DR. PIPPINS: One thing that 14 happens is we post jobs -- we post jobs, 15 we advertise jobs, but people are more 16 likely to know about opportunities if 17 they know somebody within the 18 organization. And then there are -- I 19 think there are -- there's certain 20 communities that are more likely to 21 apply for -- we've got civil service in 22 addition to all the other things that 23 we're talking about, and that's another 24 screening to our protection. 25 MR. MC CARTHY: The reason I'm ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 40 2 bringing -- I brought it to the board's 3 attention was, last month there were 4 eight or nine of them at one meeting. 5 DR. PIPPINS: But how many -- 6 MR. MC CARTHY: I didn't know how 7 many positions, that's why -- 8 DR. PIPPINS: How many -- 9 MR. MC CARTHY: (Continuing) -- I 10 don't know how many positions there 11 were. 12 DR. PIPPINS: How many people do we 13 hire in a month? Where's -- 14 MR. STEIN: Well, you get -- if I 15 might. You get information on the 16 appointments that are made. 17 DR. PIPPINS: How many is that? 18 MR. STEIN: All of them. It's in 19 your packet. It's for your 20 informational purposes. And that's what 21 really resulted from a few years ago 22 when this board delegated to the 23 President the authority to do the 24 hiring. It was delegated to the 25 President with the understanding that ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 41 2 the board would receive, for 3 informational purposes, reports on the 4 positions that have been filled. And 5 you get those. They're in your packets 6 every month. 7 So I guess I'm asking, is the 8 board's position now to change that? 9 MR. MC CARTHY: Well, that's not -- 10 I'm the one asking the question, Chuck, 11 so that's not -- that's another 12 discussion. 13 MR. STEIN: Okay. 14 MR. MC CARTHY: All right. I don't 15 see any of these on any transaction 16 sheet in my packet. 17 MR. STEIN: You're talking about 18 the nepotism form? 19 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. I don't see 20 any of these individuals on any 21 transaction sheet. That's all I'm 22 saying. You're saying that I have it in 23 the packet, I don't -- I don't see it. 24 If you could point it out to me -- 25 MR. STEIN: Those are part-time; ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 42 2 right? 3 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah. 4 MR. STEIN: Okay. For every 5 full -- 6 MR. MC CARTHY: I didn't see it 7 last month either. 8 MR. STEIN: Let me clarify. For 9 every full-time position, you get -- 10 MR. MC CARTHY: Okay. 11 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- those 12 reports. 13 MR. MC CARTHY: All right. I don't 14 think we should spend anymore time on 15 it, I'm just pointing it out that last 16 month there were eight or nine of them 17 and there's four of them this month. 18 And there's no backup to these. That's 19 all. And I think that if we are going 20 to have -- continue with a nepotism 21 disclosure form, I think it should be 22 more than a handwritten acknowledgement 23 on the left-hand corner of the page of 24 what the position is; college aide, 25 part-time. I mean, it should be more ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 43 2 than that. 3 MR. KOMINICKI: Well, Chuck, are 4 the full-time jobs attached to the 5 transaction sheets? Is that the way it 6 works? So like this Laura Galletta, 7 who's got a full-time new appointment, 8 her form is -- 9 MR. STEIN: Is attached. 10 MR. KOMINICKI: (Continuing) -- is 11 attached, and the rest of them are 12 part-time, that's why they're not; is 13 that the way it is? 14 MR. STEIN: There's no summary 15 document for the part-timers. I think 16 that's what you're asking. 17 MR. KOMINICKI: When we're looking 18 for context -- 19 DR. PIPPINS: Does the board want a 20 job description for any individual who 21 signs a nepotism form; is that what 22 you're asking for? 23 MR. MC CARTHY: Yeah, that's what 24 I'm asking for. I'd like to know what 25 the position was that the person -- you ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 44 2 know? 3 DR. PIPPINS: Okay. 4 MR. KOMINICKI: Yeah, I mean -- 5 MR. MC CARTHY: What I really want 6 to make sure is, is that we're out -- 7 when we're seeking people to work here, 8 that it -- that we're making sure that 9 it's outside of this community that 10 we're seeking the employment of these 11 individuals. That's what I'd like to 12 know. 13 DR. PIPPINS: Okay. So then there 14 are two ways that -- I have no problem 15 with providing that information, and 16 you'll have to work that out with 17 personnel or something. But the other 18 process is to look at the search 19 process, you know, where we advertise, 20 where we post these jobs, and we can 21 share that with you generically. So 22 depending on the level of the position, 23 it's going to be advertised locally or 24 regionally or nationally. So that when 25 we start talking about your exempt ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 45 2 position, your gill position, your 3 faculty position, we usually advertise 4 them in the Chronicle and other related 5 publications that are giving national 6 orders. 7 MR. STEIN: And then the civil 8 service positions that are on that list 9 are appointed by civil service. They 10 certify the list, the list comes over -- 11 you know, it's the normal process. So 12 we -- we will expand the amount of 13 information that's provided with these 14 positions -- 15 MR. MC CARTHY: Thank you. 16 MR. STEIN: (Continuing) -- and if 17 it's insufficient, let us know and we'll 18 expand it more. 19 DR. PIPPINS: And if there's 20 something else that's bothering you, 21 then it's -- give me a call if there's 22 something you -- 23 MR. MC CARTHY: I just want to make 24 sure that the process is a public 25 process. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 46 2 DR. PIPPINS: Right. And I think, 3 you know, we have -- in the case of most 4 of the gill positions, the FA positions, 5 we learned that some of these processes 6 are even written into collective 7 bargaining agreements, so we don't have 8 a lot of latitude on how these things 9 happen. Now, whether or not those 10 processes protect against somebody 11 inappropriate being in a position is a 12 whole other question, but I think the 13 likelihood of that happening, given the 14 way we do business, is very, very small. 15 Very, very small. 16 MR. MC CARTHY: Thank you. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. I've lost 18 track. Did we, in fact, entertain -- I 19 guess we did, didn't we? 20 MR. KANE: The resolution -- 21 THE CHAIRMAN: Adopting of -- 22 MR. OCHOA: Move to approve 23 Resolution 2007.81, Mr. Chairman. 24 MR. KANE: Second. 25 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 47 2 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 3 voted.) 4 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you for the 5 help. 6 Okay. I'll entertain a motion to 7 adjourn our directors meeting -- 8 MR. KOMINICKI: So moved. 9 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- and 10 return to our trustees meeting. 11 MR. KOMINICKI: So moved. 12 MR. HAZLITT: Second. 13 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 14 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 15 voted. 16 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. 17 We're up to Chuck Stein and his 18 College Finance Report. 19 MR. STEIN: Okay. In your packet 20 you'll find the report as of 21 December 31st, 2006 with respect to 22 revenues and expenses. We're still in 23 the process of enrollment for the 24 spring, so this is going to fluctuate, 25 but at this point projection of revenues ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 48 2 are up about $854,000, and expenditures 3 projected under budget by about 4 $113,000. And we are in the process 5 right now -- as I said, the enrollment 6 is going on for the spring, and so these 7 will be adjusted as we go forward. 8 To further talk, if I might, since 9 I'm up on the finance report, I want to 10 talk for the moment about the capital 11 program. Next month you will be voting 12 on the request -- the capital program 13 request for the college. In advance of 14 that meeting, you'll be receiving the 15 booklet -- the analysis of the capital 16 project. 17 We've had numerous meetings with 18 participation from all over the college 19 in our facility's review committee 20 examining our capital projects, our 21 master plan, et cetera. We have a 22 number of projects that are included, 23 currently, in the capital program that 24 are upcoming, that we will seek to 25 maintain as the next capital program as ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 49 2 the county has put forward. 3 In that regard, we will not be 4 seeking any new projects, because we 5 have a number that we are looking to 6 maintain, which include the library at 7 east, the gymnasium at the east, the new 8 learning resource center at the Grant 9 Campus, the science and technology 10 building at the Ammerman Campus. There 11 are a number of projects that we're 12 looking to maintain within that capital 13 program. 14 We will be asking to advance two of 15 the existing projects. It's for 16 designed purposes. And those would be 17 in Krylen Hall (phonetic), and partial 18 renovation of the Peconic Building. 19 They are at the outset or the end of the 20 five -- state's five-year period, so 21 we're looking to advance those so that 22 the state does not consider those 23 projects dormant and, therefore, 24 possibly seek to move those funds to 25 another institution. So we will be ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 50 2 pursuing that. And the County Executive 3 has sent out the instructions and asked 4 that no new projects be included before 5 the 2010 year. 6 It wasn't stated in the memo, but I 7 think that there are concern probably 8 about financing the jail at the county, 9 so that's placing concerns. 10 We are not requesting new projects, 11 we are requesting that we maintain what 12 we have. And that was the consensus 13 from around the college as well. 14 So I just wanted to give you that 15 report, you'll be receiving the document 16 before your next meeting. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. 18 MR. STEIN: Are there any 19 questions? 20 MR. HAZLETT: You mean "maintain" 21 or "retain"? 22 MR. STEIN: Retain. 23 MR. HAZLETT: Keep it in. 24 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. 25 MR. STEIN: Thank you. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 51 2 THE CHAIRMAN: That's it? That was 3 sweet. Thank you. 4 Okay. We hopped very quickly this 5 last week or so, folks got their packets 6 for the board self-assessment in the 7 mail and I've already got three or four 8 back in my office. So congratulations 9 for you early birds. 10 At our last meeting, I recall David 11 requested a few changes to 12 self-assessment format, additional 13 points of inquiry for consideration, and 14 those have been added. And so what you 15 did -- those of you who did it already, 16 filled up the newly driven form, 17 assuming we all accept it, we won't 18 change up on that, I don't think. 19 Do you accept the format as it was 20 in your packet? 21 (WHEREUPON, there were no verbal 22 responses.) 23 THE CHAIRMAN: Okay. What I'll do, 24 as I get all the information in, I'll 25 make one master showing where the dots ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 52 2 drop onto one single sheet and then -- 3 go ahead, Walter. 4 MR. HAZLETT: I mailed mine back to 5 you the other day, and in the process of 6 it, I got a paper cut. Does that mean 7 I'm entitled to compensation? 8 MR. KANE: You'll be coming under 9 the new -- 10 MR. OCHOA: Hey, Walter, the damn 11 thing had five cents postage due when I 12 sent it. 13 THE CHAIRMAN: How much would you 14 like, Walter, I got -- 15 MR. HAZLETT: I know you've got 16 blood on the envelope, save it. 17 THE CHAIRMAN: (Continuing) -- 37 18 cents. 19 All right. I will get to you a 20 master set, and you can see where the 21 board see our strengths and our 22 weaknesses, and that should buy some 23 conversation about where we want to head 24 out and what we should be working on as 25 a board. Okay. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 53 2 So thank you for those who did it 3 already, and the rest of us has got to 4 get it squared away and taken care of. 5 If we pull this off, we'll be a month 6 ahead of schedule because I think we're 7 going to talk about this at our March 8 meeting. But if you all get them back 9 in here in the next few weeks, we can 10 pull it in and be a month ahead of 11 schedule, which is pretty amazing. 12 Okay. 13 That's all that I've got at the 14 moment. I've got some other topics 15 which we'll bring up another time, but 16 not today. Okay. 17 Anybody else around the board have 18 an issue, topic, information they want 19 to share with the body as a whole at 20 this point? 21 (WHEREUPON, there was no verbal 22 response.) 23 THE CHAIRMAN: No. Okay. 24 Dr. Pippins, it's all yours. 25 DR. PIPPINS: Just a few comments. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 54 2 I realized, about 15 minutes ago, I 3 think that when the lawyer scooped up 4 all of his paper, he scooped up all of 5 my paper. 6 MR. KOMINICKI: I hate when that 7 happens. 8 DR. PIPPINS: We will be 9 distributing copies of the self-study 10 and the appendices to the Board of 11 Trustees today, and I hope you'll take 12 them home with you and read all 13 200 pages so that we can discuss them at 14 a future board meeting. 15 The middle state team visit is on 16 schedule for March 4th through the 7th, 17 and I hope all of you are keeping your 18 calendars clear. What we will probably 19 do is try to get in touch with you over 20 the next week or so to find out what 21 you're availability is, because the team 22 leader will want to meet with the board 23 in addition to the dinner with the 24 board. 25 Dinner invitations for board ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 55 2 members with the President's staff and 3 middle states team is scheduled for 4 Sunday, March 4th, at 6:30 p.m., at the 5 Islandia Marriott. A formal invitation 6 will be mailed home. Typically, this 7 dinner was always held on a Sunday night 8 before. 9 THE CHAIRMAN: This is the once 10 every how many years dinner? 11 DR. PIPPINS: Ten, but, I mean, 12 it's part of all -- 13 THE CHAIRMAN: "Typically," I like 14 that. 15 DR. PIPPINS: Middle states visits, 16 they start out with a dinner to kick off 17 the event, I certainly hope all of you 18 will be present. Again, that's Sunday, 19 March 4th, 6:30 p.m., at the Islandia 20 Marriott. 21 What we're planing is to include a 22 work session as part of our February 23 board meeting to discuss the report in 24 some detail. So if you can -- there's 25 an executive summary, which should get ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 56 2 you informed to a certain extent, and 3 then if you would read the remainder, to 4 the best of your ability, we will try to 5 provide some overviews at that next 6 meeting. 7 In addition, the New York Community 8 College Trustees 54th Annual Conference 9 and Awards, they are scheduled for 10 Friday, March 30th, at the Saratoga 11 Hotel in Saratoga, New York, and I 12 believe that our own Bill Moore is an 13 officer of that organization? 14 THE CHAIRMAN: I am. I'm on the 15 Board of Directors there, yes. 16 DR. PIPPINS: So I hope some of you 17 will attend. Last year, Mary Lou Araneo 18 made an outstanding presentation and you 19 were well represented. 20 They're also asking for nominees of 21 trustees, alumni, benefactors, 22 businesses and others who have been 23 supportive of the community college, and 24 those nominations are due by February 25 9th, and I know Bill was considering ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 57 2 some nominations. 3 Okay. I also wanted to share with 4 you that we have our -- at least first 5 during my tenure, a strategic plan 6 booklet that will be shared with middle 7 states that also reflect where we are in 8 terms of our strategic planning process. 9 Thank you to AVP Braxton, I think 10 you were also involved in producing this 11 really, really nice document. And I 12 would highlight it as just another 13 example in -- in enhancement in the 14 quality of the products that we're 15 producing, representing this 16 institution. 17 I thought that as part of my 18 semiannual report to the board that I 19 would share with you the testimony that 20 I gave to the Higher Ed Committee last 21 week. I represented community colleges 22 on a panel, before the Higher Ed 23 Committee last week, and also 24 represented community colleges before 25 the SUNY Board of Trustees last week, ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 58 2 and I wanted to share that with you as 3 far as an update in terms of where we 4 are. It's very short. 5 I begin by thanking Assemblyman 6 Canestrari and the members of the 7 Assembly Higher Education Committee for 8 their leadership and support of 9 community colleges. And I go on to say, 10 "I'm honored to have this opportunity to 11 present Suffolk County Community College 12 as a model for the programatic 13 innovations that are the direct result 14 of your leadership and support. I will 15 specifically address two areas: 1) how 16 state funding empowers community 17 colleges to meet the needs of our 18 specific service areas and the Empire 19 State as a whole, and 2) how community 20 colleges are leveraging financial 21 support from the state to diversity our 22 funding base in support of enhanced 23 access, opportunities, workforce and 24 economic development. 25 "Just this past weekend I was in ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 59 2 Boston visiting my new grandson, Dakota 3 Pippins, the fifth - I couldn't pass up 4 this opportunity to read his name into 5 the public record - as I was sitting in 6 traffic in front of the public library, 7 I noted a powerful statement inscribed 8 on the building's beautiful facade. It 9 read, 'The Commonwealth requires the 10 education of the people as the safeguard 11 of order and liberty.' 12 "That statement, I believe, 13 provides an excellent context for my 14 testimony today. Higher education is 15 not just the safeguard of democracy, 16 ensuring an informed citizenry, it 17 perhaps, more importantly, serves to 18 increase the probability that the 19 American dream, the very foundation of 20 democracy, is achievable by all 21 citizens. 22 "This assurance is one which 23 community colleges deliver as the 24 cornerstone of our mission, especially 25 in our full opportunity capacity. The ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 60 2 full intent of this statement has gained 3 increased importance in our current time 4 as research data consistently validates 5 growing gaps in income, access, 6 educational attainment and economic 7 opportunity. Placed in this context, 8 the role of the community college and 9 therefore the importance of any related 10 budgetary decisions becomes clear. 11 "With your support, community 12 colleges are already playing a unique 13 role in the provision of affordable, 14 accessible, high quality educational 15 opportunities for our citizens. 16 "At Suffolk County Community 17 College, your support of increased 18 funding for base aid, rental aid 19 reimbursement, restoration of TAP and 20 funding for high-need programs help us 21 to continue to provide enhanced access 22 and career advancement opportunities. 23 "The legislature's support over the 24 last several years has helped us 25 maintain affordability for our students ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 61 2 by enabling the college to craft annual 3 operating budgets holding tuition 4 increases to the cost of living. Your 5 willingness to boldly support education 6 has gone a long way in convincing our 7 local sponsor - Suffolk County - to 8 follow your lead by increasing its 9 contribution to the college by four 10 percent during each of the last three 11 years. 12 "As a collective, community 13 colleges are educating over 210,000 14 students this year, more than 50 percent 15 of the students educated through the 16 SUNY system. At Suffolk alone, we are 17 educating 22,000 students." 18 And, by the way, in this 19 publication, we indicate that we are the 20 largest community college in this whole 21 region. 22 "Sometimes they come to us as 23 academic stars, sometimes they need 24 remediation. They meet their short-term 25 goals and begin careers, advance in ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 62 2 careers and transfer through various 3 forms of articulation to some of the 4 most prestigious institutions in this 5 state and nation. In the process, they 6 save themselves and their families from 7 $6,000 if they transfer to Stony Brook 8 University up to $56,000 if they 9 transfer to NYU. As we speak, we have 10 two transfer students on full 11 scholarship at Columbia University and a 12 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship winner, full 13 tuition, at NYU. 14 "Like our sister institutions, we 15 have entered into formal agreements with 16 many nationally recognized institutions 17 to facilitate the process of 18 transferring from Suffolk after 19 completing an associate's degree. These 20 agreements assist our graduates by 21 providing for full-credit, seamless 22 transfer to highly rated four-year 23 colleges and universities. 24 "Suffolk County Community College 25 maintains several different types of ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 63 2 transfer relationships with more than 30 3 four-year institutions - both public and 4 private - representing over 50 fields of 5 study. These agreements include 6 Articulation Agreements, Joint Admission 7 Agreements, Jointly Registered Teacher 8 Preparation Programs and Unified 9 Programs. 10 "In addition to providing seamless 11 transfer opportunities, we support our 12 students in the communities where they 13 live and through the businesses where 14 they are employed. We are, in fact, 15 leveraging the support you provide to 16 secure additional federal, local and 17 private-sector funding. 18 "We have been able to expand our 19 offerings, increasing regional 20 competitiveness, in areas such as 21 nursing, Advanced Manufacturing, 22 Heating, Ventilations, Air Conditioning 23 and Refrigeration, culinary arts and 24 hospitality, and Automotive Technology. 25 Thereby meeting employer demand for a ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 64 2 trained workforce and ensuring job 3 placement in careers that enable 4 individuals to stay in their 5 communities, pay Suffolk taxes and raise 6 a family. 7 "These offerings, designed in 8 collaboration with area employers, 9 create world class, globally competitive 10 employees who will attract new 11 businesses to our region and help meet 12 the needs of our existing industries. 13 "At Suffolk, we have also been able 14 to leverage your funds to enhance the 15 accessibility of education to county 16 residents while revitalizing downtown 17 areas through the establishment of two 18 new downtown educational centers - the 19 first in Sayville, focused on nurse 20 education and allied health, was 21 established with significant financial 22 support from seven of our local 23 hospitals - and the second in Riverhead 24 is primarily focused on preparing 25 students for the growing employment ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 65 2 opportunities in the culinary arts and 3 hospitality industries, which are the 4 mainstays of the area's tourism economy. 5 "I am also pleased to report that 6 we are moving forward with a new 7 Workforce Development Technology 8 facility to house an advanced 9 manufacturing laboratory and our growing 10 HVAC/Refrigeration degree program 11 established in partnership with the Oil 12 Heat Institute of Long Island. 13 "Like other community colleges, we 14 are using your resources well. Our 15 economic impact study reveals, in fact, 16 that in just 8.4 years, New York State 17 and Suffolk County taxpayers se 100 18 percent return on their investment in 19 this college. 20 "The programs and partnerships I've 21 briefly described demonstrate that it is 22 possible to develop new, innovative ways 23 to leverage resources to establish or 24 expand strategic workforce development 25 programs. While we have been successful ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 66 2 so far, these high-need programs are 3 very expensive to operate. And in the 4 long run, we will need the state to make 5 additional strategic investments in 6 support of additional faculty and the 7 specialized technical equipment needed 8 to both make these initiatives 9 sustainable and readily available to our 10 residents, and to demonstrate to our 11 external partners the state's 12 recognitions of their financial 13 investment. 14 "I therefore ask that you support 15 an increase in Base Aid, full funding 16 for High-Need Programs and new funding 17 dedicated to community colleges for 18 needed technical equipment. 19 "Suffolk County Community College 20 takes seriously its responsibility to 21 develop students into informed citizens 22 and strong players in a competitive 23 workforce. 24 "With your leadership and support, 25 we look forward to continuing to provide ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 67 2 affordable higher education 3 opportunities to help transform the 4 lives of our citizens and support the 5 economic health of our communities and 6 the Empire State. 7 "Thank you for the opportunity to 8 address you on these important issues." 9 So that was an economic opportunity 10 for the college to represent all of the 11 other community colleges in this state 12 and at the same time to tell the 13 legislators about the wonderful things 14 that are happening at Suffolk, and that 15 will serve as my interim January 4th to 16 the Board of Trustees. 17 MR. MC CARTHY: Very good. 18 THE CHAIRMAN: Well said. 19 MR. MC CARTHY: Thank you. 20 DR. PIPPINS: Thank you to my staff 21 that helped put that together. 22 THE CHAIRMAN: I'm glad we let you 23 travel. Spread the word. 24 I do not believe we have any need 25 for an executive session. ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 68 2 MR. KOMINICKI: Correct. 3 THE CHAIRMAN: If there's any other 4 last business that has not been 5 presented to the board, now's your time 6 to toss it up and we can toss it back. 7 Hearing none, I'll entertain a 8 motion to adjourn. I thank you all for 9 coming. 10 MR. KOMINICKI: So moved. 11 MR. KANE: Second. 12 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor? 13 (WHEREUPON, the Trustee Members 14 voted.) 15 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. 16 (WHEREUPON, this meeting was 17 adjourned at 10:46 a.m.) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753 1 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 69 2 3 4 C E R T I F I C A T E 5 6 I, THERESA PAPE, a Shorthand Reporter and 7 Notary Public of the State of New York, do hereby 8 certify: 9 That the witness whose examination is 10 hereinbefore set forth, was duly sworn, and that 11 such examination is a true record of the testimony 12 given by such witness. 13 I further certify that I am not related to 14 any of the parties to this action by blood or 15 marriage; and that I am in no way interested in the 16 outcome of this matter. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my 18 hand this 18th day of January, 2007. 19 20 21 ___________________________________ THERESA PAPE 22 23 24 25 ACCURATE COURT REPORTING, INC., 631-331-3753