ENMU employees to get pay increase

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University employees can expect a slight bump in their paychecks come July 1, although the university is anticipating they’ll see a slight reduction in the number of students they educate in the 2021-22 school year.

Following a 45-minute discussion on the finer points, ENMU regents unanimously approved a revenue budget of $52.558 million, about $1.2 million up from last year.

Significant changes, Vice President of Business Affairs Scott Smart said, included a 2.5% compensation increase for employees. That includes 1.5% from the state, and the rest from the college’s reserves.

“We believe that’s important,” Smart said, “because the vast majority is going to go to (cost of) living increases.”

The budget assumes a 2% drop in enrollment, and no increase in tuition or fee rates. The college is receiving 60% of its funding from a $31.7 million state appropriation, which saw a 5.1% increase Smart credited to Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales and former Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming.

Smart told regents the university system had a two-phased approach to bring approximately 80 employees to $15 per hour. Regent Lance Pyle, when told the expense was $130,000, felt the money was well spent and said ENMU should just handle it right now.

Administration addressed pay compression, where some employees earning at or around $15 an hour would seek higher wages when they see workers a few classifications below earning the same salary. Pyle said he understood the concerns, but, “my big thing is I want to retain the employees we have. It will also help us recruit the vacant positions we have.”

The system did cut its public service revenue budget — KENW television and radio — 10% from $2.244 million to $2.019 million. Regent President Dan Patterson inquired about the cuts, to which Smart attributed to declining donations and that many segments of society just aren’t consuming the service. Smart said public television and radio may have been a sole source of information and entertainment for rural areas in decades past, but broadband Internet has changed that.

Patterson asked if the system had any control over the programming it has on its stations. Chancellor Patrice Caldwell said the university has total control, but many of its decisions are driven by what the donors support.

Pyle asked Smart what the system was doing regarding facility maintenance. Smart said the goal is always to provide at least $1 million in surplus every year for emergencies and to target at least one roof repair/replacement and one parking lot renovation every year.