UWM Administrators Struggle with Budget Uncertainty

This story is cross-posted with the UWM Post.

UW-Milwaukee’s new Budget Task Force is forming a framework for what budget cuts may look like across campus and has asked all units on campus to develop 5 percent and 10 percent cut scenarios, as the university anticipates about $24 million in budget cuts next year.

“We’re pretty certain it won’t be across the board,” Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administrative Affairs Robin Van Harpen said on Tuesday. “We are going to be seeking that information from the budget task force so we can look at it and to better inform decisions about ultimately allocating those cuts.”

Audience on the UWM campus listening to officials discuss the budget. Photo by Jordyn Noennig.

The Budget Task Force committee addressed the campus after its first meeting yesterday. Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Johannes Britz, a member of the budget cut task force, said that the biggest roadblock is the university does not know what size cut to budget for.

“We don’t really know what the number will be so how are we supposed to plan appropriately as we move forward?” Britz asked. “It makes it very difficult and challenging.”

In 2013, the UW System faced a system-wide tuition freeze, which Gov. Scott Walker proposed to continue through this budget also. The original freeze was due to allegations of unnecessarily raising tuition each year as the system sat on money (denied by UWM), but according to documentation, UWM’s reserves are now down to $1 million.

“Which is very, very small when you look at our total operating budget of $548 million,” Van Harpen said.

Van Harpen laid out the purpose of the budget cut task force and said its main goals include measuring the budget cut, figuring out whether any costs are associated with a public authority, and potential areas for revenue.

“We’re going to have to look at our short, medium and long term strategies,” Van Harpen said. “The first in terms of the short term, likely we’re going to have to generate some cash to help pay for the cost of the cut next year.”

She also said that the cost containment measures along with research into alternate cash revenues are the main areas that the university has already enacted in response to the possible cuts.

Chancellor Mark Mone speaking on the UWM budget. Photo by Jordyn Noennig.

According the Chancellor Mark Mone, cost containment measures will likely affect positions not currently filled that are not central to student success, and travel that is “non-essential” such as conferences not required for faculty and administrative work.

“Those are the types of things we could probably curtail or minimize at this point,” Mone said.

Mone also shared his concerns about uncertainty and speculation surrounding the budget cuts. He said although he has heard many things around the campus and the legislature, the only thing that has been confirmed is Gov. Walker’s proposal of cutting $150 million to the UW System for the first year of the biennium. The total amount of lost revenue to the UW System would be $300 million over the two-year biennium, although the Legislature could change Walker’s budget, which is just a proposal at this point.

“Well, the cuts might be larger if you look at the effective size of the cuts… we’ve also heard the cuts will potentially be smaller,” Mone said. “The cuts may come later, the cuts may be handled with program revenue balances… all these things are out there.”

According to Distinguished Professor Mark Schwartz, chair of the University Committee, the time to find a solution may be limited, as Gov. Walker said during his budget address that he wants the budget to be passed quickly.

“In the past, we were presuming the budget may be approved by early June,” Schwartz said. “What we are hearing right now is that they are looking at a mid to late May end of the budget approval process.”

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