Gov. David Paterson took the unusual step of releasing his Executive Budget Dec. 16, more than a month ahead of schedule, in an attempt to gain final legislative passage by March 1—a month before the start of the new fiscal year. As expected, the spending plan called for major cutbacks, including cuts to education and health care.
The governor’s $121.1 billion budget, introduced in the shadow of a $1.7 billion budget deficit, is a complex document that contains some positive developments for UUP and SUNY, amid some negative ones.
To help balance the budget, the governor proposed a tuition increase for SUNY. But for the first time, the increased revenues from the tuition hike would not be offset by a corresponding reduction in state aid. SUNY would be allowed to keep 20 percent of the $620 annual tuition hike revenues.
“We worked very hard to break this cycle, and will continue our efforts until SUNY retains all the revenue from tuition increases,” UUP President Phillip Smith said.
SUNY would receive a net increase of about $40 million in operating revenues during the next 18 months, of which close to $33 million will recur in future years. That’s one part of the Executive Budget that UUP favors.
“This revenue can be used to at least partially offset the $148 million in state support cut from SUNY’s budget in 2008,” Smith added. Additionally, SUNY would receive $75 million in supplemental operating aid derived from the University’s reserves and uncommitted fund balances. The proposed budget specifies that these funds be dedicated to preserving access for SUNY undergraduates, and retaining full-time faculty, as well as other campus positions to preserve academic quality.
“UUP strongly urged the Division of the Budget to include this aid, which will help SUNY transition its way through tough fiscal times, while keeping SUNY’s doors open to the thousands of students looking for an affordable, quality higher education who would otherwise be denied,” Smith noted.
“It provides UUP with an opportunity to avoid job losses.”
UUP also prevailed by convincing the governor to drop a SUNY proposal that would allow individual campuses to sell or lease their land and/or buildings. But the budget does contain some of the so-called “flexibility” the University had been seeking. It would allow—among other things—SUNY to purchase goods and services without prior state approval, and give SUNY hospitals the ability to participate in joint ventures for health care services, without state oversight and without provisions that protect the jobs of hospital employees. Smith said UUP opposes the flexibility proposal.
“In its drive for flexibility—which is a form of deregulation—SUNY has never demonstrated how the state university would gain significant revenue, nor has it produced any evidence they’ve missed revenue-enhancement opportunities,” Smith added. “Legislative oversight must remain, and employees must be protected.”
UUP is strongly appealing for additional money in the budget for SUNY’s three teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse which would face a $25 million cut in their state subsidy and would not qualify for any of the $75 million in supplemental aid.
“This unconscionable cut —coupled with proposed Medicaid cuts—would jeopardize the hospitals’ core mission to deliver quality patient care, to serve all patients regardless of their ability to pay, and to train the next generation of health care providers,” Smith warned.
UUP will vigorously fight the governor’s intention to balance the budget on the backs of state employees, including UUP members, by his plan to eliminate the 3 percent negotiated salary increase slated for July 2.
“The governor’s proposal to eliminate the 3 percent raise clearly amounts to a breach of our contract that we negotiated in good faith,” Smith said. “We are exploring legal options to stop this move.”
UUPers would face additional financial consequences from the Executive Budget, including a five-day pay deferral that amounts to a loss of a week’s pay. The money would be withheld until the employee retires or leaves state service.
Newly hired members would face diminished pension benefits, in the form of a proposed Tier V pension level. The new tier would not allow workers to receive pension payments until they reach age 62, and require they contribute 3 percent of their pay toward their pension throughout their employment. Current members can retire at age 55 and don’t contribute to their pension funds after 10 years of service.
The union is going to bat on behalf of its smallest chapter—the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI). The budget calls for NYSTI to merge with the Empire State Performing Arts Center Corporation that runs The Egg, the arts performance venue at Albany’s Empire State Plaza.
“Such a merger would only save the state $274,000, but would harm NYSTI and its efforts to provide low-cost access to the arts,” Smith warned.
UUP has an ally in Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, who told the Albany Times Union, “I believe there’s a lot to lose and not much to gain from such a risky move.” Canestrari also described NYSTI as “world-famous.”
The governor did not introduce any new budgetary initiatives three weeks later, when he delivered his first State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature Jan. 7.
“The state of our state is perilous,” the governor said, adding the state needs to “spend more effectively.” Smith said strengthening state support for SUNY is one way to spend effectively.
“We believe one of the most effective expenditures the state can make is investing in the State University of New York to ensure it remains a world-class educational system,” he added.
The governor also made it clear he considered higher education a priority. He mentioned it several times during his hour-long address, including his proposals for a new Higher Education Loan Program and expanding public/private partnerships to promote access to college.
— Donald Feldstein