Universities, colleges no longer exempt from budget cuts
Universities and colleges are no longer exempt from the governor’s request for state agencies to make budget cuts because of an economic downturn related to the Sept. 11 attacks, Eastern’s vice president for business affairs told the Council on University Planning and Budget Friday.
Jeff Cooley informed the CUPB that Eastern received a letter from Gov. George Ryan’s office calling for all state agencies to reserve 2 percent of their fiscal year 2002 general funds.
The cuts are designed to address a state budget shortfall that is estimated at approximately $450 million. Cooley said that while preliminary indications suggested that institutions of higher education might not be included in the cuts, Eastern and other colleges and universities are no longer exempt.
The governor’s request for fiscal austerity means Eastern’s departments will have to curb spending that is not vital to day-to-day operations. Cooley said that Eastern is being asked to hold back 2 percent of its budget, which amounts to $1.1 million.
“If we don’t need it perhaps we should wait to spend it,” he told the CUPB Friday.
Currently, the cuts are not a final decision, Cooley said, so the university could still have the funds to spend later in the school year. This situation could result in a rush of last-minute spending.
“So, this is not a good thing for anybody,” Cooley said.
The budget restraints are the result of estimated state revenue growth projections that were cut in half after the Sept. 11 attacks. Before Sept. 11, the projection was for $900 million in revenue growth. Updated projections have that figure at $450 million, which leaves a shortfall of $450 million.
The governor has noted that an increase in federal funding could address $100 million of the shortfall and an additional $50 million in savings are expected from spending controls implemented by a September administrative order.
The 2 percent cuts that state agencies, including Eastern, have been asked to impose are aimed at addressing the remaining shortfall of $300 million.
