The $616.7 million FY23 operating budget, which also includes the budgets for the individual universities and the University of Maine School of Law (Maine Law), is up $30.8 million from the FY22 base budget. It includes $13.7 million for capital investments in infrastructure and facility projects, not including those for information technology, across UMS, more than the approximately $10.6 million in the FY22 budget and the about $6.6 million in the FY21 budget.
Overall, the System plans to spend $144.5 million from all of its funding sources toward its facilities and infrastructure during the fiscal year, exceeding investments allocated for FY22 and FY21. That includes $75.8 million for new space, $23.1 million in space renewal and renovations, $16.8 million for building systems and $12.8 million for athletic fields. These investments are detailed in the FY23 Capital Investment Plan, which the board approved as part of its consent agenda on Monday.
“New facilities and much-needed renovations and maintenance for our existing ones will enhance the quality of life for students and employees across the University of Maine System,” says Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “We have embraced our board’s charge to ensure that we have top-notch infrastructure at our universities, which we hope will support our ongoing efforts to increase student enrollment and recruit and retain great faculty and staff.”
Trustees also approved the student charges for the fiscal year and transfers from institutional reserves, which include those from the budget stabilization funds to offset net unrestricted operating losses for multiple institutions for FY22 and FY23.
The System will provide the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF), University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK), University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) and Maine Law a combined $6.5 million to balance their FY23 budgets. UMF and UMPI also will receive $1.45 million and $1.83 million, respectively, for FY22 budget stabilization.
The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) and USM have balanced FY23 budgets, and the University of Maine (UMaine) will use $11.9 million of its own campus reserves to stabilize its budget. Overall, universities and the System are addressing a combined $18.8 million in budgetary gaps with campus reserves and UMS budget stabilization fund transfers. Although a System special retirement incentive for faculty will lead to savings at all System universities in the next fiscal year, larger operating gaps existed at UMF, and System reserves were not sufficient to stave off the loss of nine faculty positions to balance that university’s FY23 budget.
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