California State University, Fresno
Budget Plan 2009-10
The University faces a severe fiscal situation as a result of the unprecedented economic disruptions throughout the world and the country. The state's budget has been impacted and in turn this has major consequences for the University's budget.
In 2008-09 the University began the year with a base budget decrease of $4.6 million. In November we were advised of a second reduction of $1.7 million and in January, 2009 we were advised of a third budget reduction of $3.6 million. Thus, the University has had a base budget reduction of $ 9.9 million for the 2008-09 year.
No area has been spared from reduction, the 2008-09 reductions have been accomplished by Level A cuts in operating budgets, freezing vacant positions and placing severe restrictions on spending (see info mail of January 21, 2009.) Additionally I've closely examined the university's central resource allocations and have reduced the expenditures for the Plan for Excellence, graduate augmentation, deferred maintenance, and central technology.
Budget planning began for 2009-10 in January, the campus started with the assumption that the Governor's budget proposal issued in December, 2008 would be adopted by the legislature. A summary of that plan and its impact on Fresno State is in Appendix A. After an assessment of our 2008-09 enrollment, the first action taken was to close admissions for freshman and transfer students in an effort to reduce our 2009-10 prospective enrollment; it is necessary to maintain a flat target since there will not be funding for enrollment growth.
To address the remaining shortfalls, the Cabinet developed ten principles (Appendix B) which were to guide us in preparing budget plans for 2009-10. These principles were shared with the university community and at the faculty/staff assembly on January 20, 2009.
The University community was invited to submit suggestions for expenditure reductions or revenue increases. These suggestions were made available to the campus leadership which gathered on February 12, 2009 for a budget summit. The submitted suggestions were published on the Budget Office website at http://www.csufresno.edu/budget/summit/ideas.shtml. Over 100 students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members attended the summit. Participants were asked to review all suggestions consistent with principles adopted for the 2009-10 budget. The recommendations that resulted from the Budget Summit were published at:
http://www.csufresno.edu/budget/summit/recommend.shtml and made available to all Vice-President's who were asked to work with their respective divisions to prepare a 2009-10 budget plan to be submitted to the President by February 27, 2009. Specific action on each of the budget summit suggestions will be posted on the http://www.csufresno.edu/budget/ site by March 27, 2009.
