Editor’s note: The following comments were sent to budgetcomments@iastate.edu and will be reviewed by University President Gregory Geoffroy, Provost Elizabeth Hoffman and the University Budget Advisory Committee, as they make “the difficult budget decisions that lie ahead,” according to an e-mail sent by the president to students Oct. 15.
The numbers correspond to the order in which the e-mails were received.
Contributors’ names and e-mail addresses have been withheld, as consent to publish could not reasonably be obtained.

1
I would suggest that every person take a 5 to 10 percent cut in salary to help save the jobs of all concerned.

2
I feel if we, as a university — all faculty and staff — would give mandatory X number of days without pay, that would make a big impact on the budget. If we lay off, the state of Iowa revenues would continue to go down. They would have to go on unemployment, and the story continues. This way we keep many employees still working, keeping a strong university and the state of Iowa growing.
I, personally, would like to see as many employees in the state of Iowa keep their jobs.

3
As a merit employee, I would be more than happy to pay for a portion of my Blue Access insurance and still pay the co-pay. If the union or university did not totally pay for this for the many merit employees that are enrolled in it, this could be a huge savings for the state. I would much rather pay for my insurance than lose my job. I doubt my unemployment would cover the Cobra insurance I will be forced to have taken, as I am the benefit provider for my family.

4
I strongly prefer furloughs over salary reductions! Reducing benefits provided by Iowa State is also a preferred budgeting approach. Although difficult, a review of special programs — not curriculum, but programs — is important as well. There are some special programs that could be eliminated, or at least temporarily suspended, when money is tight.

5
How about getting rid of overtime? I just heard about a situation in FP&M [facilities planning and management] where the people do not do the work during the week so they can get overtime to do it over the weekend. There is also overtime in some of the other areas, where they could hire non-fulltime workers or rotate the fulltime employees to help fill the workforce without using overtime. Parking, especially, at football and basketball events is an area of concern.

6
I continue to believe that permanent cost savings and efficiencies could be achieved by centralizing and consolidating at least some of the resources across campus allocated to communications and publications, and that such an approach would actually enhance our common efforts to advance Iowa State’s image and messages.

7

• Retirement Incentive Plan
• – Consider increasing the incentive for faculty — TIAA-CREF contributions.
• – Act now to implement plan to allow employees to plan ahead
• Voluntary Leave Without Pay
• – Let employees know the benefit reductions, if LWOP will be more than 30 days long
• – Encourage LWOP during holiday and spring breaks
• – Give P&S a choice, furlough X days or be laid off… not mandatory, but choice
• Voluntary donations through ISU Foundation
• – All university employees could contribute to the cause and use payroll deduction to spread out the take-home pay reduction. Those who itemize deductions can then reclaim some of the donated amount.
• – Provide employees with an algorithm to calculate one-day pay to ensure staff are on the same page when requesting furlough donation equivalents.
• – Friends of Iowa State could be encouraged to contribute to the cause.
• Benefit cut
• – Reduce two-for-one TIAA-CREF contributions’ match to one-for-one
• – Reduce TIAA-CREF contributions from 5 to 3 percent, as employee choice
• Pay cut
• – Reduces take-home pay and benefit costs
• – If Iowa State feels it has “right sized,” makes sense to pursue
• – University should restore when funding returns to show care for its people
• – Consider pay-cut percentage variation by salary amount
• Develop plan to eliminate Iowa State’s dependence on state appropriations
• Plan for a five-year budget reduction and recovery time, rather than two years.
• Eliminate programs and majors now with a three-year phase-out plan.
• Sunset centers with reduced impact or viability.
• Consider likelihood of reductions as permanent reductions. Act deliberately and carefully. Do not jeopardize funding in areas not funded by state appropriations.
• Reinstate mandatory retirement age. Grandfather current employees if needed to avoid age discrimination.
• Eliminate car pool and reimburse mileage at personal rate, rather than federal limit.
• Reduce out-of-state travel.
• Stop new recreation center construction project for the time being to retain students. Shows compassion for parents paying the bill; allows for tuition increase to occur for additional revenue.
• Close university during Thanksgiving, Christmas-New Years, and Spring breaks.
• Reduce custodial staff and allow student employees to provide those services — provides jobs for students and reduces costs to university for the service.
• Eliminate summer school and reduce positions to nine or 10 months, where possible. Consider Saturday morning classes during the year, with existing employees to cover in lieu of summer school. Consider J-term again instead of summer school.
• Determine requirement/regulations and costs associated with meeting those where responding “We’re sorry, but due to budget constraints we are not able to comply at this time.” is appropriate.
• Look for out-of-state student populations that could be recruited at in-state tuition rates. Some talk about community colleges along state borders. Maybe other distinguished community colleges that do an admirable job in preparation for university curriculum.
• Allow any student graduating from an Iowa high school to be considered a resident with regards to admission and tuition, if we are not already doing so.
• Require specified fund amounts at RRC level be used for green initiatives.
• Outsource Student Health Center and offer as optional service, not required.
• Outsource Veenker Golf Course.
• Reduce size of Reiman Gardens as Iowa State’s south gateway.

8
Suggestions for budget cuts — all are temporary:

1. End college graduation ceremonies effective this fall — just have a fall and spring ISU commencement, incorporating all undergrads and grads. I realize the counter argument is the “PR” these separate ceremonies create, but I believe students and families really understand we are in very serious economic times and, perhaps, would applaud such a change vs. a tuition increase or layoffs.
2. Are there other costly “ceremony” type events we can trim or stop for now?
3. Close Iowa State over winter and spring breaks.
4. Reduce TIAA/CREF benefits.
5. Provide units with guidelines for outsourcing jobs we have had to have done in the past by FP&M — their charges are unbelievable — they even charge us, now, for estimates on jobs. Maybe the FP&M changes could even be permanent.
6. Establish a volunteer program to help units deal with layoffs or other jobs that need to be done for which there are no funds now. We have a strong alum base — I bet they’d be happy to help.

9
Since I know very little about the budget exercise, I was just wondering if I were to “gift” the university days of vacation, would that have any influence on the budget?

10
My approach would be distribute this reduction between two to four areas to lessen the burden in any one. For example, a 4 percent reduction in salary through temporary furloughs, a 3 percent tuition surcharge, and 3 percent through one more round of early retirements would be a nicely balanced approach; the faculty and staff would “hurt” a bit, the students would “hurt” a bit, and some who feel like they made a mistake by not taking early retirement will have another chance to reconsider.
A base-line permanent salary reduction will be met with great anger, and any attempt to adjust our benefits in any way will be met with even greater anger. Both of these measures are unnecessary options.

11
The university should shut down between Christmas and New Year’s. It has been proven that it saves millions of dollars.

12
I agree that furloughs for everyone are a good means of budget savings, but proper timing could add to budget savings beyond salary costs. By furloughing over the holidays, particularly between Christmas and New Years Day, heating and lighting in buildings could be minimized…

13
I am sure the issue of utility savings has been discussed as a savings item. I would suggest that the university consider a complete shut down of all non-essential buildings during the holiday/semester break period. Buildings housing live animals used for research or teaching would have to be held open and utilities maintained for obvious reasons. Those staff members who care for the animals would also have to report. However, most of the other functions, facilities, departments and offices that are not needed over break may be able to be completely closed, saving utilities and employee salary dollars through a mandatory layoff during that period.
I was greatly disappointed last spring with the response to the voluntary furlough/temporary leave without pay response by ISU employees. Members of my staff who volunteered for the furlough/layoff were also disappointed in the response. Our unit of 25 merit and supervisory confidential staff and five P&S employees had 10 employees — all of whom took the full five-day furlough/leave without pay. We were all surprised and disappointed when the final number of 210 was published as having taken one to five days of furlough. I would suggest that furlough or leave without pay be mandatory this go-around. The one to five days is very workable, even for faculty, and, if it is flexible — unless used over the holiday/semester break — other than those employees in essential positions, I believe it could have a very big impact.

14
I have a comment regarding the state requirement that 1 percent of all building funds be directed toward art projects/works within or around a new building. Although I thoroughly enjoy seeing these beautiful works, I have trouble feeling comfortable with losing valuable technical staff, specifically regarding the Veterinary Medical Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine, while we continue to spend — I was quoted about $200,000 — on artwork. I am aware that this is a state law, but can we postpone implementing it until we are in better fiscal times? I believe this is a significant amount of money that may not be available to the college, per se, but anything to improve the state’s fiscal situation would help. At this rate, we will be a beautiful hollow shell, lacking the infrastructure that was the instrumental force in establishing the need for the new building in the first place.

15
During the upcoming holidays, close the university down as much as possible while most students are gone for the holidays … Obviously some service personnel would have to stay working, like DPS, some of FPM, mail service, ISU Dining and such.
Any little savings can amount to a bigger savings.

16

1. A 4 percent or greater decrease for those making $150,000 or more a year
2. Decrease in salary for coaches
3. Hiring freeze
4. Decrease work hours, shut down two times a month, such as every other Friday/Monday — no services

17
Why not have a mandatory shut down during winter break and spring break? I would much rather take time off without pay for a few weeks out of the year than lose my job.

18

1. Emeritus, who are of the age to receive Medicare — stop receiving university-paid health care.
2. Anyone making more than $75k take a 10 percent pay cut; anyone making more than $100k take a 20 percent pay cut; anyone making more than $150k take a 30 percent pay cut, in the form of permanent cuts.
3. Shut down units that do not directly serve the interests of Iowa State and those units that would be better handled by the private sector.
4. Lay off faculty — even tenured — who are not performing well, based on student review, or are not providing valuable research work.
5. Do not exclude faculty from consideration on any cost-cutting measures; faculty teach, but P&S/merit run the show.

19
I just read the following on the Inside Iowa State e-mail:
More RIOs
The second motion, which passed unanimously, was a recommendation to implement another retirement incentive option in 2010. This motion also failed to contain specifics ­— such as suggested age or length of service requirements — and a retirement deadline was eliminated.
“I think it takes the detail out of it, but, more, it says that we really need and really want this,” said Camille Schroeder, council president. “This is a different day, and a different year and a different budget. I think we have to act based on what we know.”
Years ago, there was a retirement incentive plan implemented at Iowa State with health insurance paid until age 65, but the eligible retirement age was 57. If the age limit were lowered, there may be more people taking the retirement option and opening up budgets for salaries.

20
With already not providing a cost-of-living increase for the current year, the prospect of temporary pay reduction for employees, who will have to work a little harder in the future because of higher workloads generated by the inevitable reduction in work force that is coming, is not a great retention policy for the current employees, especially faculty. While the governor’s cut is dramatic, he is at least addressing the future of budget constraints now, and I encourage the university to do likewise. Make the permanent cuts that are needed, and be positioned to grow with new flexibility as soon as the budget situation eases — not just go back to where we were before the cuts.
I serve on a board of trustees for a liberal arts college in Olathe, Kansas. We have had these same issues for three years, now, as revenue has declined and our foundation has retreated in value, reducing its support to the institution. The most effective solutions that have been implemented have been the permanent ones. Temporary cash flow adjustments never allow for you to become effective in making future decisions. You are still tied to old standards because you have only temporarily reduced your financial commitments to those programs.
I encourage you to think long-term and not anticipate that state funds will increase to past levels when this crisis is over. Maybe the Board of Regents will never see this funding level again. When the revenue increases to the state, the state may have other issues to address like larger Medicare costs passed down by the federal government or K-12 commitments or restoring funding to public safety. Plan as though you will never see these funds again, and make the hard choices. If you do make permanent reductions and the funding does come back, then the returning revenue will allow you to re-establish components that were missed, and to start new emphasis that are emerging areas that we would not have had funds for before.

21
I think I heard the athletic salaries/budget has been moved from general fund — is that correct? How much of the athletic budget is general fund budget?
Thank you.

22
Look at how much is spent on leisure books, music CDs, feature films and TV shows (i.e. about $210 for episodes of “Cheers”). Are these items necessary, right now, for a research library?

23
I suggest we seriously consider the consolidation of all IT resources on campus. There is quite a bit of waste generated by the duplication, triplication, etc., of services, equipment and employee positions. This seems to already be an eventual goal of the university, but maybe it’s time to speed things up?

24
I don’t see any mention of athletics facing budget scrutiny. If this is truly an educational institution, perhaps the athletics budget should be cut instead of the continued push to hurt P&S employees, etc.

25
The largest percentage of the university budget goes toward faculty salaries. A university-wide mandatory furlough for faculty makes the most sense. If Iowa State doesn’t want to make this a university policy, then the authority to make this policy should be delegated to deans and department chairpersons. Additionally, no state funding of faculty and staff travel would be a wise move.

26
My suggestion for budget savings within the university would be to order a mandatory shut-down, possibly over winter break, Christmas break, and/or spring break. Of course, some areas would have to report, such as those areas that are housing animals, etc. The majority of ISU students are not present at these times, and thus would alleviate the worry about not being able to serve our students appropriately.
It is also my belief, after talking with a few of my colleagues, that the majority of people would be more than willing to take a few days off without pay, rather than lose their jobs entirely. A few days without pay can be handled much more easily within family units than someone losing a job all together, whether it be having to take an entire week all at once, or staggering days off, such as one to two days per month for a year.

27
Instead of laying employees off, which then provides a shortfall in the services that the university provides, what if we were to reclassify those positions as part-time/temporary — not to exceed 20 hours — and then that would not only cut out a large portion of the $24.5 million, but it also eliminates the fact that Iowa State would not have to offer those employees health benefits. This temporary change could be set for 18 months — covers the remaining fiscal year and all of next — and, at that point, the issue could be revisited to either extend the temporary positions or to change them back to full-time P&S, faculty or merit. The average insurance for a single person at Iowa State costs the university in the area of $6,500 a year. If you take that, along with cutting people’s work week in half, the amount adds up.
From an employee’s point of view, it would be easier to swallow going from 40 hours per week to 20, rather than going from 40 to zero and not having any place to work at all. Allowing people to keep their jobs, but at a reduced work week, forces them to still pay taxes, which will help the state, rather than have them collect unemployment, which hurts the university and the state.

28
How much could Iowa State save if it changed the TIAA-CREF match from 10 percent to 9 percent or 8 percent?

29
I am willing to take a furlough and give back on my benefits or whatever it takes to keep Iowa State a fine, stable and beautiful place, but I am just wondering where it all ends. We all keep giving, giving and giving, and it just gets worse, every day. People do not have any more to give. I am really feeling very hopeless right now. I don’t want people to lose jobs, because that just defeats the purpose of building up the tax rolIs. What will it take to make up $50 million. I could use a little good news.

30
Could we close campus — except for essential personnel — the last two weeks of this calendar year? Most departments are either closed or only staffed with a skeleton crew, and the skeleton crew would rather be home with their families, even if the time were unpaid. Even under normal circumstances, I think most people would like to have that time off and would take it without pay.
Also… why in the world would we be watering Veenker Golf Course when it’s raining outside, which was happening Thursday morning at around 7 a.m.? I know that’s a “nickel and dime” type of savings, but small things like that spread around the university could possibly add up.