Program Council met this week. We spent a couple hours Tuesday afternoon and the bulk of Wednesday reviewing budget submissions for Statewide Programs and Institutes, Strategic Initiatives, Program Team meetings, Specialist support at the campuses, the ANR Competitive Grants Programs, and salary equity programs. There might have been a couple other things in there that I have forgotten. The group the reviews the administrative units had met on Monday. The approach this year at Program Council was quite different from last year and, apparently, prior years. Different doesn't necessarily mean better or worse. Upon reflection of the meeting, most participants felt that the approach taken this year had some real advantages and we were able to identify ways to improve it for next year.
The conversation itself was quite different compared to last year, also. When the budget call was issued for FY18-19, the guidance that accompanied the invitation to submit a budget indicated that any submission needed to be cost-neutral relative to the FY17-18 submission. Therefore, any new requests had to be offset by a reduction elsewhere in the unit's budget. So the conversation focused on the mission-critical attributes of each unit rather than detailed use of allocated budgets. Those mission-critical attributes, in turn, require funding to continue.
In hindsight, I think it would have been valuable to add to the conversation a discussion about where key investments are needed, even if they need to be made in a cost-neutral manner. While it may seem counterintuitive to spend money when money is tight, hiding cash in the mattress is quite the opposite of what retirement planners recommend when the stock market falls. Instead, financial planners tell you to invest in the future. That's exactly what we need to do if we want to get out from under dependency on declining state and federal dollars. Perhaps a follow up conversation with Program Council will follow at our next meeting in early May.
Cooperative Extension actually received a call-out from Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine in the current issue. It was an article about a retired sheriff and assistant district attorney in Georgia who now supplement their retirement income with a small farm, selling meat, eggs and canned goods. Cooperative Extension helped get them started. Changing lives throughout the U.S. – that's Cooperative Extension! It was great to see that acknowledgement in somewhat of a non-traditional publication.
In other good news, on April 3 the 2018 Bradford Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award will be presented to Rachel Surls Sustainable Food Systems Advisor in Los Angeles County @RachelSurls. Congratulations Rachel – well done! I can't wait to attend and show my support for Rachel's accomplishments! If you recall, David Lewis was the recipient last year. This is definitely a positive trend!