Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell discussed possible implications of a continued biennial budget shortfall to the Academic Staff Assembly at a meeting Monday.
The current $23 million shortfall, a reduction in the requested budget, is approximately 4 percent below the desired 2013-’15 biennial budget.
The shortfall is due to a lower than expected contribution from the State, which, along with tuition comprises the University of Wisconsin-Madison biennial budget.
According to Bazzell, the Board of Regents passed a newly proposed $95.2 million budget for 2015-’17. Even with the new Board of Regents budget proposal, Bazzell still expects a shortfall from the state.
“If the regent budget is approved in total, and if those resources are allocated in the traditional way, we would still be facing about [a] $1.5 million shortfall as opposed to right now,” Bazzell said.
Bazzell and Chancellor Rebecca Blank met to create a Budget Reduction Planning Exercise before Monday’s meeting. The exercise was to see how the university would manage with a 2, 4 or 6 percent budget reduction based on the current shortfall.
“If we do have to cut, we will do so with a little more knowledge and find out what’s at stake,” Bazell said.
According to Bazzell, Blank hopes to avoid a drastic shortfall in the next budget.
The Academic Staff Assembly will have further discussions after the governor releases his or her recommendations on the 2015-’17 biennial budget next February.
