April 10, 2008

In our efforts to communicate the latest budget developments here and in Tallahassee in a timely manner, the university is disseminating weekly budget updates from President Modesto A. Maidique. These communiques are sent to our students, faculty and staff, alumni, donors, FIU Board of Trustees, Foundation Board of Directors, President's Council, select media, elected officials and other interested parties. We believe that timely information on a topic of such critical importance will benefit the entire university community and help to continue the university's forward momentum.
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In This Issue:

Dear members of the university community:

Projections out of Tallahassee continue to fluctuate. Currently, we are planning for two different scenarios that contemplate cuts somewhere between an additional four and seven percent to our base budget.

While these cuts may not sound as extreme as the possibilities we were discussing three or four weeks ago, this is no time to become complacent. The overall financial outlook for the nation, and Florida in particular, is not a comforting one. This year alone, the state has a $5 billion shortfall in revenues needed to balance the budget out of a discretionary budget of about $30 billion.

Our strategy is to plan and be prepared for a number of scenarios that may play out in the short term and in months to come. We are developing a three-year budget-reduction plan that preserves our core.

As I mentioned last week, our funding gap will be, in reality, much greater than whatever cut we take because we are not receiving additional dollars to cover rising costs in utilities, salaries, and other contractual costs, and are not receiving any new money for the basic investments we must make in order to continue moving forward.

In Tallahassee

The Florida House and Senate are scheduled to start their budget conference next week, which will result in a recommended budget that will go before the governor. Governor Charlie Crist has two weeks from the time he receives the budget to approve or veto it. We cannot, however, wait until late May or early June to begin to make our adjustments; that is why we are having a town hall meeting next Monday, where we will discuss recommendations from our senior executives.

On Wednesday, Senior Vice President Vivian Sanchez met with USPS employees to explain the process we are undergoing and answer questions. It was a lively standing-room-only discussion, from which several new ideas emerged.

Senior Vice President Vivian Sanchez stressed that while we are trying to avoid making layoffs, our situation is such that a reduction in our payroll may be inevitable. If we were to get to that point, we are committed to helping those affected find other employment – within or outside of FIU – through a formal job-search program that trains and provides office resources.

Town Hall meeting

One of our key topics of conversation on Monday will be the process that was undertaken to review centers, institutes and museums. You will hear recommendations that came out of a thoughtful and exhaustive baseline evaluation of each of our centers and institutes that began last year. This evaluation sought to determine each center and institute’s fit with the university’s missions of education and research.

The process started with center and institute directors submitting reports to their respective deans in January. The deans then put forth recommendations and those were ultimately evaluated by a panel made up of Executive Vice President and Provost Ronald Berkman, Vice President for Research and Dean of the University Graduate School George Walker and Vice President for Academic Affairs Doug Wartzok.

Also, we will spend some time talking about operational changes we need to make to save money in support services. For example, at the USPS meeting, Senior Vice President Sanchez was asked about the future of our mail room. We have issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a vendor willing to perform a bundle of services for us including mail, copying and printing. We believe we may be able to realize savings and gain access to investment dollars we do not have by outsourcing these function as a bundle. However, the proposals have not been received and evaluated, so we do not have a decision with regard to these areas. SVP Sanchez emphasized that issuing an RFP does not mean the services will be outsourced, but rather, ensures that all operations will be assessed for savings.

Other areas where we believe there are some savings to be found include our fleet of vehicles, our energy consumption and our use of telecommunication technology, just to name a few.

I look forward to seeing you at the town hall meeting. As you know by now, it is scheduled to take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on Monday, April 14 at the Graham Center ballrooms. Biscayne Bay-based employees can participate remotely by going to the Wolfe University Center ballrooms. At the town hall meeting you will have an opportunity to ask questions of me and the senior leadership of our university or, if you prefer, you may submit questions in writing.

I look forward to seeing you there. In the meantime, please continue sending me your thoughts and questions to presmail@fiu.edu

Here is a timeline of some upcoming events involving the budget:

Links of interest

Senate passes frugal budget with pay cuts for governor, lawmakers
http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/488600.html

FIU Governmental Relations page
http://government.fiu.edu/default.asp

New budget crisis web site
http://www.fiu.edu/pres/budgetcrisis