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Health & Fitness

Despite Receiving $142.2 Million in Additional Funding UC Regents will Meet Today to Discuss Budget Shortfall

Dawn Urbanek, Neighbor
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SUMMARY OF PROPOSED EXPENDITURES 

The plan proposes $383.1 million in expenditure increases for 2014-15. These increases fall into three categories of costs. 

Mandatory Costs:


Mandatory costs are unavoidable increases which must be funded. For the 2014-15 budget plan, mandatory costs total $168.1 million and include the following: 
  
  • $73 million to support new employer contributions to UC’s retirement plan. These costs are associated with another 2% increase in the employer contribution rate, from 12% in 2013-14 to 14% in 2014-15; 
  • $20.3 million in employee health benefit costs to fund an overall increase of 5% in health benefit plans; 
  • $4 million in retiree health benefit costs needed to provide funding for UC retiree health benefit cost increases equivalent to that being provided to other State employees; 
  • $16.3 million in compensation costs in 2014-15 related to contractual wage increases per collective bargaining agreements;
  • $30 million to continue the academic merit program, critical to retaining high-quality faculty; and 
  • $24.5 million in non-salary price increases, representing a 2% increase over the prior year plus $8 million for expected increases in electricity and natural gas costs above inflation.  


High Priority Costs


High-priority costs are ultimately discretionary, but are essential to the ongoing operation of a major research university of UC’s stature. The 2014-15 budget plan includes $165 million in high-priority costs:
 
  • $117.2 million to cover 3% compensation increases for represented and non-represented employees. This total excludes the salaries of represented staff whose 2014-15 salaries are already committed to under existing collective bargaining agreements; 
  • $21.8 million to address the costs of 1% enrollment growth, or about 2,180 students;   
  • $11 million to address critical deferred maintenance; and 
  • $15 million to support a modest capital improvements program. Reinvestment in academic quality is a third category of costs focused on critical elements of the core academic programs that have been particularly affected by the budget cuts in recent years.

Reinvestment In Academic Quality


Recognizing that immediate reinvestment in program quality is constrained by the current fiscal environment, the reinvestment plan is anticipated to extend over a number of years with the expectation that more resources will become available in future years.
  • Reducing Student to faculty ratio
  • Start-up costs for new faculty
  • Reduce Faculty Salary Gap
  • Reduce Staff Salary Gap
  • Increase Graduate Students Support
  • Enhance undergraduate Instructional support

Employee Compensation now makes up 70% of the UC Systems total Budget
  • 1% Senior Management Salaries 
  • 21% Staff Salaries
  • 30% Academic Salaries
  • 18% Employee and Retiree Benefits
The Budget also assumes non resident enrollment growth of 2,000 undergraduate students.

Source: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/nov13/f6attach.pdf

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