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Campus Bulletin

February 06, 2006

Budget Town Hall Meetings Set For Thursday

The first two Town Hall meetings to discuss planning for the University’s preliminary 2006/2007 MTCU budget will be held Thursday, Feb. 9. The first session will be at 7:15 a.m. in Room 1307 of the Thornbrough Building, and the second will be at noon in Peter Clark Hall.

The town hall gatherings are intended to give members of the University community an opportunity to offer feedback and suggestions. Both sessions will be hosted by president Alastair Summerlee, who will discuss the budget challenges that lie ahead and their implications.

Summerlee says it’s crucial that members of the University be well-informed of the situation and has taken a number of steps to engage the community in the process of developing a preliminary budget.

The initial budget position has been posted on the University’s website to allow community members to familiarize themselves with the budget obstacles and the process prior to the meetings. The posted budget assumptions are estimates of where things stand, as there is still much uncertainty about prospective revenues for 2006/2007.

Two more Town Hall meetings will be held March 31. There will also be budget presentations at Senate March 7 and April 11 for additional discussion. These meetings are open to the public, but tickets must be obtained in advance from the Senate office (contact the acting secretary of Senate at k.revington@exec.uoguelph.ca).

In addition, a special open forum will be held April 19, the night before the preliminary budget is to be presented to the Board of Governors.

Among the budget challenges facing the University are missing information regarding funding amounts for 2006/2007 provincial grants and a tuition framework, and no confirmation of 2005/2006 provincial grants, even though U of G’s budget year ends April 30.

A lack of funding to cover inflation, rising utility and benefit costs and continued problems with aging infrastructure are some of the other key issues.