October 19, 2010

Fall 2010 Submissions to the Office of Financial Management (OFM)

UW administration recently submitted four budget exercises to not only close out the current biennium (2009-11), but also to plan for the coming biennium (2011-13). Each submission was required by OFM.

Information to make final adjustments to the current, 2009-11 biennium:

• Before the Legislature starts the process of creating an operating budget for the next biennium (2011-13) they must agree on a final (second year) budget to close the current, 2009-11 biennium. OFM required each agency to submit plans for an immediate 6.3 percent reduction of state general funds (for the UW, this was $17.1 million) as well as information that might help the Legislature fine-tune the 6.3 percent reductions of October 2010. Both submissions were sent to OFM on October 15, 2010.

Information to help the Governor and the Legislature write initial budgets for the 2011-13 biennium:

•  The state’s budget forecast for the coming biennium (2011-13) calls for a shortfall in state funds that could be between $4.5 and $6 billion. In an effort to understand how agencies would be affected by further state funding reductions in 2011-13, OFM ordered all agencies to submit information about the possible effects of a 10 percent reduction in funds, $58 million for the UW (please note this was an illustrative exercise and does not represent existing UW plans for implementing future budget cuts). The UW’s plan was submitted on September 30, 2010.
• On September 13, 2010, the UW submitted its 2011-13 operating and capital budget requests, including all required university data plus any requests for funds for the coming biennium. As we’ve noted in the past, we do not anticipate any new operating resources from the state for new endeavors on campus. The UW’s operating budget and capital budget were submitted to OFM on September 13, 2010.

The University anticipated and responded to any requests for information about prior and future budget cuts by working with appropriate units that have experienced the most significant reductions in the past, and which will likely be affected by further reductions in the future. The reductions we’ve made in the past two fiscal years were strategic in nature; academic units were largely shielded from reductions and various administrative units were targeted for larger reductions.

While each unit had to take an immediate cut in funds to reconcile the $17.1 million October reduction, any future cuts will once again be strategic, differential, and the result of collaboration between units, the Provost, and Planning & Budgeting.