Prominent figures from Colorado State University-Pueblo gathered in the General Classroom Building for the second University Budget Board meeting of the semester.

Officials representing each department of the university meet throughout the school year to discuss the financials and future spending at CSU-Pueblo for the fiscal year, which starts 07/01 and ends 6/30 of the following year.

The meeting, which took place Sept. 26, was held in the General Classroom Building Room 212. The guest list included Vice President for Finance and Administration Karl Spiecker, Provost Rick Kreminski, Assistant Provost Helen Caprioglio, and the department chairs.

Presenters Caprioglio and Patty Milner, director of the Division of Extended Studies, asked one of the attendees to take official minutes of the meeting, which the collective board will approve at the next meeting.

The meeting progressed to the explanation of the Education and General fund for the 2017 budget versus the year’s total budget, as well as what would fall under the E & G funds.

This involved looking at CSU-Pueblo’s National Association of College and University Business Officers summary report and understanding its various categories.

This summary report is a standard way in which revenue and expenditures are reported at universities, focusing in on certain categories and the budget devoted to those areas.

The categories for the NACUBO summary include transfers, student services, scholarships/fellowships, research, public service, institutional support, academic support and instructional.

The 2015-16 actual reports and 2016-17 projections help estimate both future increases and decreases, as detailed in an infographic provided at the meeting. The total budget for FY16 was $51,198,806, and the projected total budget for FY17 is $52,181,600.

The latter half of the meeting focused on a discussion of committees and their roles. These would be comprised of members of the board, not all of whom were in attendance, and would meet separately, working towards a specific goal.

The four committees: Strategic Plan alignment investment, University Budget Board program Reviews, Revenue and Entrepreneurial Growth, Incentivize Cost Effectiveness.

The newly added Incentivize Cost Effectiveness Committee was heavily emphasized by Kreminski.

“If you were the (department) chair, what incentive do you have to be cost effective?” Kreminski asked the room, while explaining the purpose of the new committee.

Members in attendance were asked which committee they would like to join, before meeting briefly with the other board members in their chosen committees. After this brief meeting between board members, the board members were adjourned.

Milner stated that the meeting was useful in setting the groundwork for future UBB discussions this semester.

“This meeting was primarily a planning and information meeting,” Milner explained, stating that the subgroups established in this meeting will work towards bigger goals for future meetings.

The next UBB meeting is scheduled to take place Oct. 10.

Edited by: Theresa Wolf