by Tom Galaraga
Managing Editor
University of La Verne Board of Trustees will meet on Nov. 28 to discuss budget plans for the 2002-2003 fiscal year, which will include possible salary increases for administrative, faculty and classified employees.
For the past three fiscal years, ULV employees have benefited from a five percent annual salary increase. Budgets for the next fiscal year have been frozen because of the national recession.
This salary increase in the past three years came primarily as a result of the 95-5 plan, which was a plan that was accepted by President Morgan and designed to bring 95 percent of ULV employees to within five percent of the surrounding employers rate.
“(Budgets will be frozen) because of the uncertainty of the economy,” said Bill Myers, chairperson of Classified Committee. “There are a lot of variables involved, some having to do with the Sept. 11 attack, but mostly to do with the state of the economy.”
Myers added that he believes the state of the economy and the Sept. 11 tragedy will weigh into next year’s budget decisions. ULV may be able to provide a wage increase for employees, however, Myers said he had concerns about plans for salary compensations not being made. With no such plans, salary rates will continue to fall behind other competitive salaries, said Myers.
Woody Hall is currently awaiting revenue figures from each department so that they can begin tabulating the budget for the next fiscal year. It will, subsequently be sent to the board of trustees for review, and will either be accepted or revised. Budgets will be compared to the previous year’s budget and checked for either a surplus of money, or a deficit.
“My impression is that each year the University tries to implement a cost-of-living increase,” said Myers. “I’ve been here ten years, it can be anywhere from three percent to five or six percent. My very first year, they actually did a wage freeze and had a mid-year increase. No one knows who or what we are going to get because they haven’t finalized he budget. They are trying to submit it to the Board of Trustees by February.”
