UNIVERSITY SET TO BEGIN BUDGET HEARING NEXT WEEK

A Southeast Missouri State University subcommittee will hold a series of budget hearings, beginning Wednesday, in an effort to find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenses.

Over the next three weeks, the subcommittee of the Budget Review Committee will gather more than 20 hours of testimony in five hearings, said Ken Dobbins, vice president of finance and administration.

The subcommittee will ultimately report its findings to the full Budget Review Committee, which will then make recommendations to President Kala Stroup.

"We're on a tight time schedule," Dobbins said Thursday. "The Board of Regents will consider whether or not to raise student tuition on March 5. We must provide our recommendations to the president in February."

Dobbins said it's too early to tell whether enough expenses can be cut or revenues increased to avoid a tuition hike.

The Board of Regents earlier this week raised room and board charges for the coming fiscal year to cover projected residence hall expenses.

Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said university officials want to keep student fees at a reasonable level. "There is certainly a reluctance to add to the students' burden any more than necessary."

At Wednesday's hearing, Dobbins will present a list of preliminary ways the university can improve its finances. One suggestion, said Dobbins, is to increase the in-house cost of duplication and copies for offices by half a penny. That would generate an added $50,000 to the educational general fund.

Wallhausen said salary needs will be discussed at some point during the hearings. University employees received no general pay hike last year because of state budget cuts.

"Part of it (the review process) is to identify not only possible cuts or income enhancements for this year," said Wallhausen, "but to suggest issues that need to be looked at over a longer term."

He said division heads will be asked to list their funding priorities and how they relate to the basic mission of the university.

The extensive budget review process comes at a time of tight state funding. "It certainly has been made more essential because of the tight money situation," said Wallhausen.

"The problem is that most of the things that are going to be on the table will be things that will affect somebody, some program.

"Everything we do affects somebody and it just has become more essential this year that we come back to the basic mission of the university and see how things fit," said Wallhausen.

Southeast could receive state funding of about $30.5 million for general operations for the 1993 fiscal year, Wallhausen said.

While that would be an improvement over state funding for the current fiscal year, it would still be about a quarter-million dollars less than the amount of state funding Southeast received in the 1991 fiscal year, he pointed out.

Dobbins said the entire budget review process will be a good learning experience.

"It's not only a review process for budgetary purposes, but a first step will be educate all of us on what other folks do," he said.

"Last year, the Budget Review Committee split up into small groups and brainstormed ideas on how to enhance revenue or decrease expenses," said Dobbins.

"This time, we're asking the deans and vice presidents to come back and explain a little bit about their specific areas. We'll see how these various programs fit into the mission of the university."

Dobbins said that next fiscal year he hopes to begin the budget process in the fall rather than in February.

Wallhausen said the 12-member budget subcommittee includes administrators and representatives of the faculty, staff and student body. Those on the subcommittee include Stroup, Dobbins and Wallhausen, as well as Provost Leslie Cochran and Faculty Senate Chairman Allen Gathman.

The subcommittee members are among about 30 people who serve on the full budget committee.

Wednesday's hearing is scheduled for 1-4 p.m., while the other hearings on Feb. 13, 14, 20 and 21 are scheduled to run from 1:30-6 p.m. All of the hearings will be held in the University Center.