University of Idaho President Chuck Staben presented the university”s financial priorities for the upcoming academic year earlier this semester to the Idaho Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
Among the priorities outlined was a 3 percent increase in employee compensation.
UI Vice President for Finance Brian Foisy said following Staben”s address, the Idaho legislature decided to endorse the proposed increase.
“It”s what”s called a CEC, which stands for change in employee compensation,” Foisy said. “JFAC recently endorsed a 3 percent CEC package. There is still water to flow under the bridge at this stage in the game, but it”s safe to assume that”s what”s going to happen.”
The endorsement, however, isn”t the end of the process.
Now, Foisy said the increase needs to be formally approved in an appropriations bill that goes through both the Idaho House and the Senate.
Financial matters like CEC packages involve a number of different organizations, including the State Board of Education, the Legislative Service Office and the Division of Financial Management.
When it comes to figuring out how much of an increase in compensation UI employees will receive from the legislature, Foisy said the university plays a minimal role.
Foisy said the administration starts off by calculating how much a 1 percent increase in employee compensation will cost.
“We kind of go through this effort to establish the cost of a 1 percent change in employee compensation,” Foisy said.
“Let”s say it costs one million bucks, then we can say, “If they want to consider a 2 percent change, then we can just double the numbers and then you”ve got your cost,” Foisy said.
After that, the numbers are sent to the SBOE, the legislature and the executive branch of the governor”s office.
The governor then decides how much of an employee compensation he wants to recommend and the legislature chooses what they will support.
Foisy said a 3 percent employee compensation increase comes out to about $3 million.
Trina Mahoney, UI budget director, said while any increase in employee compensation is a good thing, 3 percent is about the annual average.
“The state”s gone through economic struggles, so we”ve had many years where we”ve had nothing,” Mahoney said. “If you really looked at our average over time and factored in some zeroes, it”s less than 3 percent, but 3 percent is pretty common.”
Although JFAC endorsed a 3 percent increase, Foisy said only a portion of the approved money will be allocated to the university.
“They go back and look at the way the institution is funded overall and we”re funded in part by legislature, we”re in part funded by tuition we collect from students,” Foisy said.
Mahoney said the funding split is about 60/40, with 60 percent of employee compensation funding coming from the Idaho legislature and 40 percent of the funding being drawn from student tuition.
CEC packages and employee benefits are two primary reasons for the university”s annual tuition increases, Mahoney said.
However, students are able to have their voices be heard in this process.
“We figure out how much of a tuition increase we need, then we do what”s called an initial notice to students saying here”s what we intend to do in the form of a tuition rate increase for the coming academic year,” Foisy said.
Foisy said the university will hold a public forum at the beginning of April where students can ask questions and discuss the proposed tuition increases before the budget becomes finalized.
Foisy said although he appreciates all increases in employee compensation, he also hopes to provide employees with even better compensation in the future.
“If we”re only ever going to see a 2 or 3 percent increase every year, we”re never going to make progress toward getting our employees to where they should be paid,” Foisy said. “While we”re very appreciative of the 2 or 3 percent, we need to find some other ways to be creative and increase employee salaries in the long-term.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond