The average budgetary reduction previously recommended to faculties is being reduced by one percentage point this year – and perhaps next year as well – following a combination of spending reductions and new one-time revenue.
While it will have a small impact on potential layoffs, the change is not expected to eliminate job losses entirely.
“We recognize that these changes will not eliminate either the need to reduce staff and faculty numbers across campus, or to make the rearrangements necessary to deliver the university’s teaching and research mission with fewer people for the foreseeable future,” says Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Fred Longstaffe.
“That said, it is our hope that – with these budgetary changes and the known and anticipated uptake of staff and faculty retirement incentives – the number of staff layoffs in 2009-10 can be somewhat reduced from that originally contemplated.”
A budget update released today outlined several budget changes since a Feb. 11 report. They include:
• Recommending the Maintenance, Modernization and Infrastructure (MMI) transfer from the operating budget to the Capital Budget be held at the 2008-09 level, and the federally funded Indirect Costs of Research transfer from the Operating Budget to the Capital Budget be reduced from $3 million to $0 million for each of 2009-10 and 2010-11.
“The recent federal and provincial infrastructure announcements are expected to be immensely helpful in the ongoing efforts to upgrade and update capital infrastructure,” says Longstaffe.
• Other expenditure reductions outside of salary and benefit budget lines have been identified.
• Western’s share of $150 million in one-time funding provided through the recent provincial budget is $5.05 million.
• A long-running litigation has been decided in Western’s favour, which will provide a one-time recovery of legal costs and interest, estimated at $4.7 million.
With these additions to the budget, senior administration will be recommending the following three actions be taken in the university budget for 2009-10:
1. The average budgetary reduction for 2009-10 will be decreased from 5.5% (3% IBA + 2.5% additional cut) to 4.5% (3% IBA and 1.5% additional cut). The reductions to the Support Units will also be reduced by one per cent on average from the levels indicated in the preliminary budget recommendations.
“It is hoped a similar reduction in the average budgetary reduction projected for 2010-11 will also be possible – that is, from average 5.5% to 4.5%,” says Longstaffe.
2. All staff and faculty exit costs resulting from the current departure incentives and/or layoffs arising from the current budgetary situation will be paid centrally.
3. One-time allocations to the faculties, totaling $2 million, will be made to help maintain teaching capacity and program delivery in 2009-10. These funds will be provided differentially and faculties will be notified of their allocation in the very near future. It is anticipated that these funds will be directed in large part at supporting part-time and limited-term faculty positions.
More details on these recommendations will be forthcoming with the presentation of the university budget at Senate on April 17.