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Committees:
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FISCAL ADVISORY Fiscal Advisory Committee Notes March 13, 2008
Present: Doug Dewitt, Lucy Hearn, Jerome DeRidder, Jackie Eberts, Mark Comaty, Becky Emery, Jo Laird, Alan Selser Absent: Greig Mitchell
The notes of the February 14, 2008 were approved with the following corrections. The list of members present/absent was added. Also, the term “long range planning” was changed to “strategic planning.’ The approved notes will be placed on the committee website.
Doug Dewitt reported on the progress of the University’s strategic planning. Workshops were held, inviting input from the campus community. Results are being compiled and will be put on the Strategic Planning website at http://www.salisbury.edu/president/strategicplanning/ . The committee will meet monthly between now and November. Updates will be available on the website.
The Faculty Senate Finance Committee was approved. Elizabeth Curtin was not able to be at the meeting to discuss it. Therefore, it will be put on an agenda for a later meeting.
The April 10th meeting will be moved to April 24 at 2:00 due to NCUR. The location will be announced.
The outlook on the current fiscal situation was discussed. Opportunities for supplemental funding look optimistic. We are still getting mixed messages about next year. There will be cuts next year at the state level, but we don’t know how we may be impacted. The state budget must be passed by April 15, the close of the Legislature.
The students submitted a request for supplemental funding to replace chairs in Devilbiss Hall. It was not clear whether the students wanted to replace existing chairs or replace the wooden chair/desk combinations. Mark Comaty is working on that clarification and will submit it to Jo Laird when it’s available.
During the last meeting, the committee discussed altering the Fiscal Advisory Committee Communication Timeline to request reports of how supplemental funds for the previous year were spent at an earlier time in the year (October 15). As a result of the reports that were submitted, it was evident that some funds were not spent on items that were recommended by the FAC. In addition, prices submitted for some items were either too low, requiring the division to make up the difference or were too high, allowing the division to have more money to spend on other items. The committee is not trying to pass judgment on those purchases or micromanage this level of accountability. However, when the committee makes a recommendation to the Executive Staff, it does so with guiding principles such as benefiting students, safety, educational technology, etc. In the event that a school, for example, receives funding and spends it on different items, in theory, it “could” result in the funding being used for items that neither the committee, nor the vice president of each unit would approve. Realizing that the committee simply makes recommendations to the vice presidents, there does not need to be any accountability for changes in purchases to the committee. However, each vice president should be aware of major changes and each vice president should approve those changes considering the spirit of the committee’s recommendation. Thus, from now on, when decisions are made concerning supplemental funds, the committee will draft its memo and specifically include the principles which guided the committee in making those decisions. Furthermore, if a division does not submit a report on how funds were spent, the committee will include in that memo the recommendation that the division not be funded and why.
The next meeting of the committee will be on April 24 - location to be announced.
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