Budget & Appropriations Committee Discusses WCC 2026-2027 Budget on July 20, 2026
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Budget & Appropriations Committee Discusses WCC 2026-2027 Budget on July 20, 2026
The Westchester County Board of Legislators' Budget & Appropriations Committee met on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 10:09 AM, to review the proposed Westchester Community College (WCC) budget for fiscal year 2026-2027. Chair Tyrae Woodson-Samuels presided. The committee heard a presentation from WCC President Dr. Belinda Miles and her team, followed by questions from legislators. The meeting adjourned at 10:58 AM.
Discussion Items
- The committee received a presentation on WCC's 2026-2027 budget from President Dr. Belinda Miles, Vice President & Dean of Administrative Services Jacqueline-Ann Clark, and other staff.
- WCC serves more than 24,000 students annually, operates the largest ESL program in New York State outside New York City, and nearly 40% of its students receive need-based aid. The WCC Foundation projects $4 million in scholarships.
- WCC contributes approximately $585 million annually to the regional economy and supports nearly 5,800 jobs; 80% of its graduates remain in Westchester.
- WCC requested a $1 million increase in county support, raising the county contribution from $26.2 million to $27.2 million, but was informed that the county allocation would remain flat. WCC also proposed a $100 per semester tuition increase (3.62%, down from last year's 5.72%).
- Legislator David Imamura expressed concern about cumulative tuition increases over the last three years (he estimated roughly 20%) and about the sustainability of drawing from WCC's fund balance (~$52 million total, with an $8 million draw for development). President Miles clarified that the past two years' increases total about 9.4% and that WCC went nearly a decade without tuition increases.
- Legislator Williams Johnson asked about the timeline for rebranding WCC's extension centers as advanced technology centers. President Miles stated that a community engagement process would begin in fall 2026 and that the college is exploring partnerships with employers and Purchase College.
- Legislator Nancy Barr asked about collective bargaining agreements and cost drivers. WCC attributed cost pressures to salaries (~82% of the budget), health care, retirement, technology vendor increases (3-8%), and energy costs (about $400,000 more this year).
- WCC clarified that state aid did not decrease, but the FTE reimbursement rate has remained flat.
Receive & File
- Memo of Legislation 2026-206 (Accessory Dwelling Unit Property Tax Abatement) was continued to a future meeting.
- Memo of Legislation 2026-207 (Small Business & MWBE Micro-Grant Pilot Program, $1M) was continued to a future meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The committee took no action on the WCC budget; the presentation was informational.
- The receive & file items were continued, as were the minutes for June 8 and June 29, 2026.
- Chair Woodson-Samuels indicated that the committee would take the necessary next steps in conjunction with the county executive's office.
Meeting Transcript
Maybe we'll sign my book. Yes, and she's always known to wear purple purple environments. This meeting is being recorded and summarized. Good morning, everybody. I hope all is well on this occasion this morning. Uh today is July 20th. It's 1008 a.m. I'm Legislator Woodson Samuels, and I'll be opening up the budget and appropriations committee this morning. I'll start by facilitating a roll call vote. I'm present, leader Holstein. Legislative non-bion. Okay, legislative peers. Majority Williams. Legislative Williams Johnson. And Chairman Gashi. Okay. Well, as stated, we are open now at 1009 AM. And we are here to discuss the WCC 2026-2027 budget. We obviously have some guests with here with us here this morning. So Dr. Miles, if you can introduce yourself for the record, volunteer team. Thank you. And then we'll pivot to the budget department. Thank you. Good morning. Legislators, finance committee. I'm Dr. Belinda Miles, president of SUNY Westchester Community College. Delighted to be here with several of my key team members. Our new CFO, who you may not have had the opportunity to meet, uh Miss Jackie Clark. And uh she will be uh presenting highlights from the budget. You've met um Garrett McAllister previously, who is our CIO, and uh Lamont Watson, who is our chief facilities officer. And so we're a little scarce because we did approve a few vacations this summer, but we'll hold it down for the for the team and uh hope hopefully we'll be able to address any issues that or questions that you have. But it's our pleasure to present uh uh this year's budget to you. And so if you'd like us to jump right in. It was uh for the record budget department uh yes Michael Donna Senior Bush for our Westchester County. Yeah, and Christina at Patton Deputy Budget Director. Thank you both for joining us. Wonderful. With that, I'm going to turn it over to Jackie. We have some highlights from the budget book, which uh I believe you all received maybe very recently, but we are going to have gotten it to you, and it um the speaker highlights of um our standing in the county and what our um overall budget is, and we'll move through it uh quickly. Ethan, I actually took the pleasure of having giving Ethan a copy so he can upload it so you can follow along in your book. So we'll set that up for sure. It's behind us. Okay, every thing. Okay, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet some of you for the first time, some of you again. Um, and thank you for your continued partnership and investment in SUNY Westchester Community College. Today's presentation will focus on how the proposed 26-27 budget supports students, employers, and the long-term economic vitality of Westchester County. We're committed to maintaining access, affordability, and educational quality despite significant fiscal pressures.
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