Why not use the $80 million fund balance to offset the budget cut?
First, there is no $80 million fund balance. Clemson’s total unrestricted fund balance at the beginning of this fiscal year was about $50 million, because departments have been utilizing funds as planned – for faculty start-up packages, equipment purchases, facilities construction, renovations and so on. “Unrestricted” is an accounting term: It does not mean the funds are uncommitted. Second, most of the fund balance is in capital plant funds and auxiliary units. The total fund balance for the E&G and PSA operations was only $3.6 million, or less than one percent of the combined E&G and PSA budget – hardly enough to offset the state budget cuts. Third, unrestricted fund balances have been utilized where possible. Auxiliaries were asked to contribute funds to help offset state budget cuts, and funds committed for facilities projects that have been delayed were redirected to offset lost operating funds.
Related Questions
- Given the projected revenue declines, how much will the University need to cut from the 2010 budget to balance it?
- Fund "abc" has a balance of $20 million, why isn’t this being used to fund programs that have seen budget cuts?
- What is the fund balance? How would the fund balance compare with a budget at home?
