AUBURN - Thomas Nagle's job isn't done just yet.

At Monday night's joint Government Operations and Ways and Means committee meeting, his 2005-06 budget for Cayuga Community College was voted down 3-2 by Government Operations.

Nagle, CCC's vice president of administration, and college president Dennis Golladay, requested $2,550,866 from the county, a $74,297, or 3 percent, increase over last year.

The total proposed budget is $23,150,353, an 8.86 percent increase from 2004-05.

Golladay made a PowerPoint presentation, during which time he highlighted a large increase in enrollment and other factors (i.e. health care costs) that he believes contribute to the need for more funding.

He said the college is a community asset that often helps the county on an economic level.

"We believe that we have been prudent fiscal managers, even on limited funding," he said, noting that the college has not asked the Legislature to increase its contribution for the last three years.

But some legislators on Government Operations were not satisfied that the college was

watching its spending as tightly as it could.

Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall said he was not against the 3-percent increase but is concerned about the college's fund balance.

The proposed budget would take roughly $380,000 from this reserve of $1.1 million. Marshall questioned whether or not this amount could be reduced.

Legislator David Pappert, who also sits on the college's board of trustees and voted against the budget, is not against the increase but also wants to see a reduction in spending.

Before the vote, Golladay said that in light of the college's financial situation, a future tuition increase would be likely.

"We are looking at the distinct possibility of a tuition increase next year," Golladay said. "We've held the tuition level for three years (at $2,900). We don't believe we will be able to do that again next year."

Legislators Ann Petrus and Bill Catto voted to pass the budget, which would have then gone on to the Ways and Means committee and eventually to the full Legislature.

But legislators Michele Sedor, Michael Lepak and Peter Tortorici voted to send the budget back to CCC's board of trustees for another go-round.

"I would like the college to go back and take another look and see where they can trim a little more," Tortorici said.

Nagle said that he had met several times with legislators and had cut more than $100,000 for Monday's meeting.

He has to present the budget to the SUNY Board of Trustees by the end of August, he said.

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net