UC budget crisis

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Listen to Parking to Pension at the Regents Retreat

Byuclafaculty

At the Regents retreat today, everything connected to the budget was “on the table.”  One unusual option presented by UCOP’s financial staff was a proposal to raise campus parking fees (thus making the parking services more valuable) and then give the UC parking system to the pension fund as a portfolio asset.  Doing so would reduce the need for pension employer and employee pension contributions. The idea is a variant of a plan some cities have implemented or considered to sell their parking meters and parking lots to a private firm for an upfront payment.  It was pointed out that…

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The Legislature is Watching

Byuclafaculty

From the publication “Supplemental Report of the 2012-13 Budget Package” put out by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO): Item 6440‑001‑0001—University of California (UC) Audit Report. It is the intent of the Legislature, and in follow‑up to State Audit Report 2010‑105, that by July 31, 2012, UC provide to the appropriate legislative budget subcommittees and LAO the recommendations of the systemwide working group established to examine variation in funding across the system.  Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that UC identify the amount of revenues from the general funds and tuition budget that each campus received in 2012‑13 for…

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You Might Not Want to Look…

Byuclafaculty

…at the July cash statement of the state controller. Because if you do, you will find out that revenues in the first month of the fiscal year came in over $400 million below estimates in the recently-enacted state budget. And, of course, there could be trigger cuts in the budget (including at UC) although such cuts are more contingent on the passage by voters (or not) of the governor’s tax initiative, Prop 30. If you do want to look, nonetheless, the report is at:http://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/fy1213_jul.pdf Look if you dare:

And I guess they can

Byuclafaculty

In case you missed it in UCLA Today:===== What is this new tax that will affect UCLA’s budget?   Under a plan devised by the UC Office of the President (OP), campuses will retain more non-state revenue, such as tuition and research overhead costs. But, in exchange, UCLA and the other campuses will have to pay a tax to support UC systemwide operations and programs. The bottom line is this: The fee that UCLA will pay this year exceeds the new revenue the campus would receive by $50 million. It’s a tax on our operations. Source: http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/cfo-explains-budget-237352.aspx

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Official Description of Governor’s Tax Initiative from the LAO

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog will know, the Regents have endorsed Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative to be on the ballot Nov. 6, 2012.  Below is the official description from the Legislative Analyst’s Office that will be seen by voters. ========= Proposition 30 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact Fiscal Impact: Increased state tax revenues through 2018-19, averaging about $6 billion annually over the next few years. Revenues available for funding state budget. In 2012-13, planned spending reductions, primarily to…

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No Meds Down by the Riverside Says LA Times

Byuclafaculty

An earlier post noted efforts by UC-Riverside and UC-Merced to create med schools.  Today the LA Times editorializes against the former. A UC Riverside medical school? Not now: Fiscal uncertainty makes this the wrong time to embark on the ambitious new project. (excerpt) It certainly would be good for UC Riverside if it had a full medical school. Professional schools — especially medical and law schools — add luster to a college’s reputation and can attract research money and elite professors. Whether it would be good for the state, or for the University of California as a whole, is another…

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Regents Endorse Governor’s Tax Initiative

Byuclafaculty

Although we posted an audio and some description of the July 18 morning session of the Regents in which they endorsed Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative, you might want to read about it rather than listen.  The Regents acted after the strong urging of President Yudof.  Here is an excerpt from Larry Gordon’s story in the LA Times with a link: …the governing board of the 10-campus system formally endorsed the governor’s tax measure. “It’s a simple question: Will UC be better off if it passes than if it doesn’t? That’s not just an answer of ‘yes,’ that’s an…

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Listen to Audio of the Morning Session of the Regents: July 18, 2012

Byuclafaculty

The Regents sessions on the morning of July 18thwere heavily budget oriented.  This audio is incomplete and starts in the midst of President Yudof’s statement on budget matters and his advocacy of support by the Regents for the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot.   Public comments by students and others ended in a demonstration of the type that has become standard at Regents meetings.  In essence, demonstrators wanted tuition freezes, even if the governor’s initiative did not pass.  Other items were raised including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Eventually, police cleared the room of demonstrators.  The recording continued during roughly…

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The UCLA Hotel Did Not Happen That Way

Byuclafaculty

In a TV interview dated 7/13/12, UC President Mark Yudof talked about donations to UC.  He agrees with the interviewer, Conan Nolan of KNBC, that it is hard to explain to the public why in budgetary hard times, buildings are going up on campuses.  But he offers various explanations, none of which justify the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center. One explanation is that the projects have been in the pipeline 5-10 years and the bonds have already been floated.  That is not true for the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center.  Bonds have not been floated.  And although the planning timeline is fuzzy…