August 15, 2002
Dear Colleagues,
Most of my recent letters have been concerned with the budget; this one and the next will be no different. Each quarter we prepare and forward a report on our financial operations to the Board of Supervisors. This quarterly report contains an account of revenues collected and expenditures for both the operating budget and our auxiliary operations. Access to our current quarterly report will now be provided at www.ulm.edu/03budg/2003.html.
This week we send the final report for the last fiscal year (our fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30). In summary, the unaudited figures for the last fiscal year showed a surplus of $60,592 in our general fund operating budget, a loss of $481,313 in the auxiliary budgets excluding athletics, and a loss of $ 501,775 in intercollegiate athletics.
The operating budget was nominally "in the black" because of a number of reasons. Among those were 1) the accumulation of over $3 million in attrition (primarily positions that when vacant were not filled); 2) decisions made last year not to spend money on maintenance, grounds, and capital outlay; and 3) a decision not to transfer the maximum amount from the general fund to intercollegiate athletics because it would have caused a general fund deficit.
The auxiliary enterprises deficit (excluding athletics) was caused by last year's drop in enrollment coupled with the prior administration's failure to take sufficient action during the year to balance expenditures with revenues.
In regard to the intercollegiate athletics deficit, the previous administration reported to the Board of Supervisors at the beginning of this calendar year that intercollegiate athletics would run a deficit of approximately $425,000. The university's razor thin margin in the general fund prohibited the transfer of the maximum allowable general funds to intercollegiate athletics and thereby contributed to a further increase of its deficit over the earlier projected amount.
None of this should come as a surprise.
There is good news, however. We did end the year with a surplus in the general fund. As shown on the Quarterly Report, we were able to add to our reserve accounts, as requested by the auditors. This should allow us to better handle unexpected emergencies such as the recent failure of the chiller in Brown Hall. Most importantly, a year of transition and turmoil is behind us.
To keep you abreast of our fiscal situation I plan to post the quarterly financial report to our Web site as soon as it is prepared, and use this medium to explain our financial condition, good or bad.
The budget for next year is completed and has been sent to the Board of Supervisors for its approval. We are currently working to put the budget on the ULM website so that you will have ready access to the information. I plan to have another letter to you this week explaining next year's budget and giving the web address of the budget documents. As usual a copy of the budget will be placed in the library.
It has been a long and difficult year for many of you. I ask you to look to the future as we rebuild this fine institution. It will be a challenging and exciting journey.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President