Beaufort County Community College is not happy with Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016-17.

Among the main issues, McCrory proposed giving a one-time bonus for the North Carolina Community College System faculty, but BCCC officials said their faculty needs a long-overdue salary increase.

“I believe our No. 1 need is a salary increase. Our folks have watched the cost of living go up year by year and their buying power go down each year,” BCCC President Barbara Tansey said. “If you consider the healthcare costs alone, you can see where most of our faculty and staff are going backwards. Most of them were probably much better off 10 years ago than now.”

The lack of salary increases leads to faculty leaving and fewer resources, which in turn leads to “brain drain,” a phenomenon in which young professionals move to larger cities for higher incomes, a BCCC press release stated.

“Community colleges are providers of middle-class jobs in rural regions that are often lacking other options for professionals, meaning that they also play a larger role in boosting rural economies,” the release stated. “(Community colleges) are vital to increasing the number of healthcare workers in our state, as well as maintaining a trained workforce. Often the reason companies do not locate to rural areas is the lack of an educated and trained workforce.”

McCrory’s proposal allocates about $32,800 more in funds for the community college system and is a slight increase from the fiscal year 2015-16 budget, which appropriated almost $1.07 million to the system, in comparison to the coming fiscal year’s more than $1.09 million.

The one-time bonus plan also provides for an average 3-percent bonus, or up to $3,000 in some cases.

But Tansey said those numbers are misleading, as the staff needs more compensation than the one-time bonus. Bonuses do not count toward retirement and are not guaranteed for the next year.

She also said the increase in funding is actually part of flex management funds that are being returned after previously being diverted to other state programs. Flex funds cannot be used for salary increases.

McCrory’s budget proposals are not concrete, but Tansey said BCCC wanted to get a response out there because these proposals can set the tone for the rest of the budget process.

“We have continually been asked to do more for less due to this financial reduction of our budget,” Tansey said.