University of Idaho employees have the option to take voluntary unpaid leave, or furlough, between now and late spring of 2020. If all 2,458 of those eligible were to take five days of furlough, the university would save an estimated $3 million.
The university opened up voluntary furloughs to eligible employees in response to an additional $1 million in cuts, UI President C. Scott Green said in a memo sent to faculty and staff Nov. 20.
Those eligible may take as little as one hour and as much as five days of furlough, provided it is pre-approved by their respective supervisors.
ICYMI: UI set to move forward with outsourcing as early as this week in response to deficit
The additional $1 million in cuts comes from a request from Gov. Brad Little for all state agencies to reduce their budgets in Fiscal Year 2020 by 1% and 2% by Fiscal Year 2021, Green wrote in the memo.
The university’s Fiscal Year 2020 shortfall now adds up to $15 million. The initial $14 million in reductions for Fiscal Year 2020 go to the university, while the added $1 million go to the state.
Green said the decision to move forward with voluntary furloughs comes following repeated suggestions from the community.
“While volunteering for furlough is no small thing, it is an expedient and immediate way for employees to help the university reduce costs and there appears to be strong interest from our employees to contribute,” Green wrote.
Green and 95% of his cabinet will participate in voluntary furlough, he said in the memo. Green plans to take five days, which will save the university $8,000 alone, UI Communications Director Jodi Walker said. If the 95% were to do the same, the university would save approximately $70,000 in total, Walker said. However, the expected salary savings are more in the range of $40,000 due to varied furlough durations of cabinet employees.
In addition to voluntary furloughs, the university will open up voluntary separation incentive as well as optional retirement incentive programs for eligible employees, Green said in a memo sent to faculty and staff Nov. 22.
Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) will be available for employees who have worked at the university for 10 years without an already-approved resignation or retirement announcement. Employees would receive 33% of their budgeted salary for Fiscal Year 2020.
The separation payments would begin at the start of Fiscal Year 2021, according to the memo.
Optional Retirement Incentive Program (ORIP) is an option for employees who are 55 years or older, have worked a minimum of 20 consecutive years for the university and do not have an approved retirement plan, among other criteria. This option would pay the retiree 20% of their Fiscal Year 2020 budgeted salary (from any source except ARES, FUR, IGS, WWAMI, WIMU-VetMed) annually for five years, Green said in the memo. Retirement separation payments would begin after the start of Fiscal Year 2021.
Applications for the VSIP and ORIP programs are due Dec. 13, 2019.
Green said the university is continuing to look into other areas of savings, including program prioritization in academics, among others in non-academic areas.
“There is no expectation or pressure that employees apply for these programs, but it is important to provide options for those of you who decide voluntary separation or retirement makes sense,” Green said in the memo. “We appreciate your hard work and leadership as we continue to unite in our purpose — bringing our expenses in line with our revenue and creating a sustainable financial model that will carry our great university well into the future.”
Green said as he and his team continue to look into cost-saving options, UI community members are encouraged to submit ideas on the online community feedback page.
Ellen Dennis and Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]