Budget Planning Memo

Budget and Financial Planning - Fiscal Year 2021

Welcome to another year of budget management and planning!

The FY21 rebudgeting process will be substantially the same as last year. Templates and instructions will be prepared by the Director of Budget and Planning, Traci Grainger, and distributed to budget managers in mid-March. Once the templates have gone out, a training session will be offered. The final due date for submissions will be provided with the template, but the expectation is that it will fall 2-3 weeks from the distribution date. Please keep in mind, however, that the head of each division may establish an earlier internal deadline with department managers to allow appropriate time for their review prior to submission to the Finance office.

As you work on the 2021 budget, please note the following:

·         This year each budget manager will be required to submit their budget, even if they are not requesting that any changes be made.

·         The rebudgeting process is for operating expenditures (i.e. – costs associated with the normal course of business for the current year), not capital expenditures (i.e. – costs associated with purchases of items that have more than one year of useful life and generally exceed $1,500). Budgeting for capital projects occurs separately and begins in the fall for the following fiscal year.

·         In general, budgets for non-payroll related expenses will not be increased for the coming year. As such, if there is a compelling reason for increasing the budget for a specific expense item, there must be an offsetting decrease in another line within your budget (or within another department within the division at the discretion of the division head).

·         The reallocation of budget dollars within a cost center (first ten digits of the account number) and between cost centers within a division to better align the budget with actual expenditures is encouraged.

·         Specific object codes exist for most expenses. A list of available codes can be found on the Budget & Planning website, and if a code does not appear in your cost center, it can be added by emailing a request to the Assistant Controller, Donna Martell, with a brief explanation of the type of expense. Budgeting funds using the “miscellaneous” object code should be avoided.

·         Most salaries, wages, and benefits (SWB) are budgeted for by the Finance office. However, overtime wages, student wages, and temporary wages are budgeted for by the individual departments.

·         Restricted funds accounts have an account number that starts with a “2” or “3” and will have an associated cash balance account (object code 11991) within the cost center. Unexpended balances in these cash balance accounts are carried forward from year to year. Any anticipated spending from restricted funds, whether endowed or from expendable gifts, must be budgeted for and must not exceed the available cash balance. In addition, all spending from these accounts will be subject to any restrictions that were part of the original gift/endowment agreement. University Advancement should be able to provide information as to the restrictions placed upon specific funds, as needed.

Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to develop the FY21 operating budget. Please contact Traci Grainger with any questions you may have.