Administrative
Update
Highlights
of the 2002–2003 Executive Budget Proposal
Gov. George
E. Pataki's 2002-2003 executive budget, released on Jan. 22, recommends
an overall decrease in the state General Fund by 3 percent. The state-wide
workforce would decline by 5,000 employees by April 2003 through attrition
and an early retirement program that would include SUNY.
Pataki
recommends a total allocation for SUNY of $1.769 billion, a figure relatively
unchanged from 2001-02. Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner provided
the Reporter with the following overview of the governor's budget for
SUNY:
State
Operated and Statutory Colleges
The executive budget recommends an increase of $900,000 in state tax
dollars to cover the cost of two items included in the Graduate Student
Employees Union (GSEU) contract: $750,000 for doctoral excellence and
$150,000 for professional development.
State tax
dollars would decrease by $5 million, offset by an increase of $5 million
in anticipated university revenue. Pataki projects that university revenue
will increase due to greater fringe benefit recoveries from self-supporting
funds (e.g., IRFs, dorms) as salary increases and a higher rate cause
fringe benefits to increase.
SUNY
Hospitals
The governor recommends the continuation of the new hospital appropriation
structure enacted in 2001-02.
The HCRA
bill enacted in January 2002 contains items that benefit SUNY hospitals:
- An
increase of $61.5 million annually for the next two years in federal
payments for bad debt/charity cases. This is made possible by an increase
of $30.8 million in the New York State match for the program. The
base year for the calculation of costs is updated from 1995 to 2000.
- An
additional $17.8 million over three years for employee recruitment
and retention grants
The executive
budget continues the state subsidy to the hospitals to offset the cost
of being state entities—primarily due to fringe benefits and salary
increases—at $92.1 million.
Tuition
Assistance Program (TAP)
The governor recommends the restructuring of TAP into two components
in order to encourage successful degree completion:
- A base
component would provide students two-thirds of the current award,
using existing income eligibility and aid provisions.
- A performance
award would be paid to students at the successful completion of their
degrees. The award amount would be the residual between the base component
and the total award. The performance award would include interest
if the student incurred loans.
The state-wide
cost of TAP is projected to decrease from $636 million to $481 million.
Economic
Development
Pataki proposes a new $2 billion economic development program over the
next century for Long Island and Upstate that relies on bonding and
casino revenue. The first-year down payment would provide $250 million
for the Centers of Excellence and $750 million for the new Empire Plan.
Other
Funds
The governor recommends an additional $100 million in bonding authority
and $35 million in "074" rehab funds for the multi-year capital
program for SUNY's residence halls.
