22 Chapter 2: Economic impacts on the Westchester County economy Faculty and staff payroll is part of the county’s total earnings, and the spending of employees for groceries, apparel, and other household expenditures helps support county businesses. The college itself purchases supplies and services, and many of its vendors are located in Westchester County. These expenditures create a ripple effect that generates still more jobs and higher wages throughout the economy. Table 2.1 presents college expenditures for the following three categories: 1) salaries, wages, and benefits, 2) operation and maintenance of plant, and 3) all other expenditures, including purchases for supplies and services. Also included in all other expenditures are expenses associated with grants and scholarships. Many students receive grants and scholarships that exceed the cost of tuition and fees. The college then dispenses this residual financial aid to students, who spend it on living expenses. Some of this spending takes place in the county, and is therefore an injection of new money into the county economy that would not have happened if SUNY WCC did not exist. In this analysis, we exclude expenses for depreciation and interest due to the way those measures are calculated in the national input-output accounts, and because depreciation represents the devaluing of the college’s assets rather than an outflow of expenditures.7 7 This aligns with the economic impact guidelines set by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. Ultimately, excluding these measures results in more conservative and defensible estimates. Operations spending impact Table 2.1: SUNY WCC expenses by function (excluding depreciation & interest), FY 2021-22 Expense category In-county expenditures (thousands) Out-of-county expenditures (thousands) Total expenditures (thousands) Employee salaries, wages, and benefits $94,406 $0 $94,406 Operation and maintenance of plant $9,217 $2,464 $11,681 All other expenditures $4,938 $7,440 $12,378 Total $108,561 $9,904 $118,465 Source: Data provided by SUNY WCC and the Lightcast impact model.
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