SUBOA Logo
Member List
Meetings
Committees
Bylaws
Links
Standing Committee Report

SUNY AUXILIARY SERVICE ASSOCIATION

Report to SUBOA: September 28, 2000


Richard Bentley, SASA President (Downstate Medical Center), discussed the following:

  1. The preliminary draft of the SASA Report under development for SUBOA's feedback on content and format. He reviewed the following salient points:

    • Provides an extensive working history of the auxiliary service corporations over the past 50 years.
    • ASCs continue to provide a valuable tool for meeting campus missions.
    • Includes reference to 94 campus service functions developed by NACAS (Nat'l Assoc of College Auxiliary Services) that are typical auxiliary service functions. He encouraged Business officers to consider alternative delivery of such services beyond the traditional services currently provided by your ASC.
    • While nationally the subject of Subcontract vs. Direct operations are continually fluctuating with pros and cons, the current ASC model for delivery of service allows the campus to move rapidly between the two modes as times/needs change.
    • SASA has undertaken an outreach to involve community college professionals. Community college membership rose from 0 to 10 campuses in SASA this year.
    • Major effort this year will include development of the next ASC contract boilerplate; current ASC contracts generally expire in 6/2002.

  2. SASA seeks more meaningful participation in contract development process than in the prior contract period. Topics to be considered in the contract development process are extensive, including but by no means limited to:
    1. Provide access to IDA financing and other cost effective financing as well as related OSC challenges all focus on term of contract.
        ASCs have been here for 50 years and all have appropriate termination clauses. Consideration of a longer base term than 5 years would enhance the financing time frame (currently requires financing research and development then a contract extension process). A longer base term would enhance timeliness of a campus ability to implement such needed projects.
    2. The Board of Trustee guidelines need to be brought into the 21st century and eliminate prohibitions to the extent practical (while state payroll exclusions are warranted, many others are antiquated).
    3. Consolidate the ASC resources provided to the local campus as lump sum "campus support" and eliminate individual utility, space formulas/ fees.
    4. The current ASC Equity Guidelines (2-3 times liabilities) are simply ineffective and arbitrary.

    SASAs contract development task force has been set in motion and will have SASAs contract issue agenda ready by end of January 2001. SASA suggests SUBOA engage a work group with the same time frame so that SASA, SUBOA, and System administration will all be ready to engage formal discussions. Since matters involve multiple agencies and Board of Trustees that requires significant time, now is the time to act.

  3. Bookstore legislation: SASA encourages Business Officers to oppose this pending legislation since it can too easily proliferate to every auxiliary service on campus and thus impact campus resources to meet campus missions.