Hauppauge , NY – Suffolk County officials have announced new operating agreements with Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) that balance the college’s desire for independence with the county’s goal of ensuring a level of budgetary accountability at the college.

The pact is the outgrowth of a series of meetings involving high-level officials from the county and the college over the last two weeks. The two sides met to resolve disagreements about their relationship that were heightened by a recent court ruling that would have voided an existing agreement, thereby creating confusion and chaos in the college’s operations.

The new agreement was ratified at a meeting this morning by the SCCC Board of Trustees. It includes two components—a Sponsor Services Agreement (SSA) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pertaining to procedures that the two sides will follow going forward.

The SSA states that the county will provide various services to the college, which will help keep college operation costs down. For example, the Suffolk Department of Law will continue to provide legal services to the college in lawsuits, as opposed to the college setting up a duplicate law department. In addition, the Suffolk Treasurer's Office will continue to serve as treasurer for the college. Both of these services and many others will continue to be provided by the county to the college free of charge.

The MOU of procedures provides a framework for the continued relationship between the county and the college. The procedures require, in part, that the college provide an outline of its budget to the county, as well as monthly reports to the county. In addition, the county and the college will hold quarterly meetings to review college activities and operations, thereby keeping the county continuously updated on those activities and operations.

Suffolk Executive Steve Levy said that given the likelihood that the county would have lost all budgetary oversight at the college due to a recent State Supreme Court decision, the agreement presents an opportunity to claim at least some level of oversight to reduce unnecessary expenditures.

“This agreement is designed to curb redundancies, to streamline the working relationship between the county and the college and to provide budgetary accountability at the college,” said Levy. “Disclosure is paramount to protecting the best interests of our taxpayers, and we are pleased that the college has agreed to provide the county with copies of all employment contracts and potential management salary increases before they are voted upon by the college’s board of trustees.

“Some legislators were moving precipitously to end the prior operating agreement without any givebacks to the county,” Levy added. “This legislation hurt the county’s bargaining position; nonetheless, the administration was able to secure a number of safeguards for the county.”