September 17-18, 2003 Meeting Minutes In attendance (for part or all of the meeting): Albany - Kathryn K. Lowery & Leo F. Neveu; Alfred - UTC - Daniel J. Neverett & Lisa Ponter; Alfred - Ceramics - Brice M. Weigman; Binghamton - Anthony A. Ferrara & James Van Voorst; Brockport - Greig W. Mitchell; Buffalo Center - Kevin R. Seitz; Buffalo College - Rebecca J. Schenk; Canton - Carson E. Smith; Cobleskill - Gary Miller; Cornell Statutory Colleges - Richard J. Duell, & Nathan Fawcett; Cortland - William E. Shaut; Delhi - Barbara Larson & Ken Armstrong; Empire State - William C. Ferrero & Dennis C. Belt; Environmental Science & Forestry - Mark P. Fennessy; Farmingdale - George P. LaRosa & Richard J. Hume; Fredonia - Tracy S. Bennett; Geneseo - Kenneth H. Levison; SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Ivan M. Lisnitzer; Maritime - Kimberly R. Cline; Morrisville - John Angerosa; New Paltz - Johanna D'Aleo; Old Westbury - Deidre M. Dowd; Oneonta - Leif S. Hartmark; Optometry - David A. Bowers; Oswego - Nicholas A. Lyons; Plattsburgh - John R. Homburger; Potsdam - Michael D. Lewis; Purchase - Judith Nolan; Stony Brook - Karol Kain Gray; Construction Fund - Robert Haelen, Philip Wood & Jim Biggane; System Administration and Guests - Kathy Beard; Liesel Brichelbaur; Jim Campbell; David DeMarco; Kellie Dupuis; Marti Anne Ellerman; Daniel Esposito; Wendy Gilman; Raymond Haines; Peter Pileggi; Rosemary Scardanis; Daniel Sheppard; Brian T. Stenson; Research Foundation - Bonnie Boice; Dinner Speaker - D. Andrew Edwards, Jr., Esq. Wednesday, September 17, 2003 President Bowers called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. sharp David welcomed everyone and indicated due to the full schedule we would move right into the agenda. Legal/Employee Relations David introduced Ray Haines from Employee Relations to start the program. Ray provided an overview of all facets of the current organizational relationships and scope of responsibility within the System/Employee Relations area. He indicated negotiations are continuing but nothing is happening due to lack of money. Local school negotiations are putting a lot of pressure on the State. Assistant Director Liesel Brichelbaur introduced Kathy Beard. Kathy specializes in CSEA labor/management issues and she also reported that the CSEA negotiating team has met but there has been no movement. Permission to fill a 4th legal counsel position has also been approved to help shore up the office staffing to address an increase in workload. The turnover at campuses is contributing to a backlog of issues and decisions. Although GOER protects contract substance, the Office of Employee Relations oversees procedural protection/processes for campuses. Background and status related to the ongoing M/C classification issues were reviewed and discussed briefly. The M/C bargaining unit has the narrowest standards in the country - very limited and restrictive. +/- 1200 SUNY-wide M/C and confidential titles 750 titles are being reviewed by PERB, in conjunction with SUNY Employee Relations and in consultation with Human Resource Directors at campuses. Indications are that GSED will be very aggressive in their efforts to organize Research Foundation fellows this year. Marti Anne Ellerman and Rosemary Scardanis discussed the GLB Act, the definition of service providers, and the status of campus related entities. Short updates were provided as follows: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act has been in effect about a month. It addresses information security programs to protect financial information Referred to web site for more comprehensive information. No size fits all. Needs employee training. Reasonable measures should be identified and documented. Model related entity contracts were discussed with intent to treat them as service providers. We (SUNY) fall under the Act as a financial institution. Discussion continues on how we protect financial information. Frequent activities under GLB, such as financial aid, trigger the requirements. Loans such as Stafford loans make us a financial institution. More guidance to follow. Campus Related Entity Status - Passed in April; effective in July; currently the model contracts are sitting @ OSC for approval. Brian Stenson sent out supplementary guidelines in July. The model contract for Alumni has two main components. Allowing for use of facilities Provides for alumni database sharing Optional language also included use of library, parking etc. by alumni CAS - Changes in Contract Right to Collect: Assignment to the University to collect unpaid debts Foundations: Changes in contract address explicit language on real estate. Exceptions are to be submitted to Brian Stenson for review and consideration. Examples include: College Council members to fulfill appointments Administrative services cannot be served by CAS for Foundation CAS cannot hold real estate as an investment EPA Audit Program Update: Marti Anne Ellerman Year 1 - (4) campuses have been audited Year 2 - (4 - 6) campuses will be audited Submitted "substantial" disclosures to EPA on 5/1/03 and second group of findings will be submitted in December 2003. Storm sewers on campuses have become an issue in regard to where the drain terminates. Rosemary Scardanis gave an excellent (scary) overview of Executive Order 127, which was issued 6/16/03 and effective 8/14/03. Does not apply to contracts under $15,000 (annual). She addressed the methodology of contract arrangements and prerogative when a new company is taking over to not accept a new contract. Rosemary also spoke about Bulletin 1024 and the 90-day rule to make decisions on contracts. President's Report - David Bowers David reported on the annual meeting at Port Jefferson in August (see minutes). Topics covered included: Last year's accomplishments Committees SUBOA meetings Legal/regulation realities Intent to reinstitute Dinner Speaker David announced that Andy Edwards, head of SUNY General Council, was our dinner speaker. We should gather at 5:30 p.m. as Mr. Edwards' remarks would be at 6:00 p.m. before dinner. David introduced Rich Duel from Cornell and indicated that Rich would fill in slot representing Statutory Specialized Colleges Ivan Lisnitzer volunteered to chair nominating committee Secretary's Report - John Homburger Motion was made to accept the annual meeting minutes by Ivan Lisnitzer and seconded by Ken Levinson. Vote was unanimous. John asked for everyone to submit changes for updating roster with names, titles, phone numbers and email addresses. Treasurer's Report - Brice Weigman Account Summary: Share Balance: $21,251.39 - Checking Account Balance: $2,753.27 Brice indicated the 03-04 invoices for dues have been mailed. Committee Reports and Discussion - Tracy Bennett Tracy Bennett presented updates from each liaison (some were submitted by email and others by hard copy). A/B/B - George LaRosa, Rebecca Schenk: Changes to BAP: New Internal Control guidelines in conjunction with internal audit. New allocation methodology. ASCs - Mike Lewis: Mike Lewis, liaison to Auxiliary Service Corporations, reviewed the following issues: Unique relationship - swing from contentious to how we can help in the best interest of the university. Important to remain legally separate; i.e. protect corporate veil. Everyone should understand entity guidelines and its impact at the campus level. Unfortunately, a lot of energy was spent developing input and very little made it to the document. Personnel Committees - Kimberly Cline: Personnel Committee indicated they want to work with SUBOA. They have two meetings per year. Tracy indicated that JoAnn Navarro, President of Physical Plant Administrators Association, wants to increase awareness of issues affecting all campuses. General sentiment was expressed to recognize SUCF staffing issues in order to improve services. M&R funding - way too small; often waiting for things to fail and forced to spend more for repairs Residence Hall Committee - Tracy Bennett: Lots of new faces 2 major residence hall refinancing proposals Continuing to work with DASNY ITEC - Johanna D'Aleo: Had reelection Group realizes it needs to market better SUNY Connect - John Homburger: SUNY Connect - current report submitted (no questions) SUNY Business Systems - Nick Lyons: Nick expressed support of decision for upgrading legacy. SUNY Policy Manual Committee - Greg Mitchell: Greg expressed concern for having a current and up-to-date SUNY Policy Manual. SUBOA Resource Allocation Methodology - Ivan Lisnitzer: Resource Allocation Committee needs to be activated. Concern was expressed, " is it or isn't it", as the general feeling was not optimistic about future of addressing BAP process. Campus Capital Construction Svcs Advisory - Leif Hartmack: Leif presented the SUCF response by Bob Haelen and gave history of SUCF Advisory Committee. Material handed out was generated to address SUBOA concerns compiled from April 2003 meeting. Broad representation of committee, community colleges; survey physical plant directors; business affairs. Other Committees Had No Report At This Time Sector Meeting Summary Comprehensive Colleges and UTC's - Tracy Bennett: Leif reviewed Bob Halen's responses to the SUCF Advisory Committee. Walked through Q & A on SUCF issues. Answers are somewhat subjective. Open dialogue by SUCF to develop better management reporting system. Quarterly financial reports - last issued on March 31. Tighten up time schedules for projects. Set up a framework for information that is needed by SUNY and of value to the campus Clarification regarding organization changes - who to call for what issues. Risk Management/Succession Planning. University Centers and Statutories - Ivan Lisnitzer: Sense of belief and optimism that issues are at least are being discussed. Issues of particular interest - spreadsheets; willingness to share; access to data, and accuracy of data. Issues related to new 5-year capital plan include line item projects and shift/reallocation of Minor Rehab and Repair funds. Use of space is typically too generic - needs a much fuller discussion of condition and type of space Timing of new capital plan implementation in relation to project scheduling. (i.e. loss of a construction season). Extended conversation of length of contracts and incentives to bring projects in sooner. Meeting adjourned at 4:46 p.m. Thursday, September 18, 2004 - 8:00 AM Vice Chancellor's Report - David Richter/Brian Stenson/Dan Sheppard Dave Richter Next year is expected to be rougher than this year. David began by describing some organizational changes: Office of Chief Financial Officer - responsibilities include all financial issues, including community colleges, special programs, etc. All Human Resources issues and training will be in financial area; consolidated under Curtis Lloyd. Employee Relations reports directly to Dave Richter. Dan Sheppard will be responsible for budget and financial issues (revenue/tuition projections, including University programs as well as residence halls). Dave DeMarco - CIO Information and Technology responsibilities involve all technology areas including Library are integrated under David. Capital Planning - Phil Wood is the new manager of SUCF - working with David on capital plans. Continuing to work hard on communication, phone, e-mail, etc. related to SUNY Budget Issues and Capital Plan. Capital Plan was approved for Community Colleges, Residence Halls and Hospitals $250 M. Legislative members like specifics on projects and are insisting on line item project detail. Fair to say speaker is committed to giving CUNY a capital plan. Both houses are committed to an educational component in capital planning. Capital plan looking good for next year. Residence Hall funding is the strictest in the nation - working on relief and flexibility Bond authority - approve all bond issues and projects Establish reserves for operations and capital projects. This flexibility enables access to reserves and will allow funds to be released for other purposes if funds exceed pre-determined fund balances. We have to meet with each campus to assure all appropriate and necessary funding conditions are covered in Residence Halls. The State Budget has a 3 Year Problem - 02-03, 03-04, 04-05. Contributing factors include: $4 billion Tobacco for one-time funding in 03-04. We are still looking at a $4 - $6 billion shortfall in 04-05. Tax revenue reduction is planned to continue into 04-05. In 03-04, a $900 million shortfall has been initially projected. $1 - 2 billion in federal aid could create a potential surplus if the State gets it in 03-04. There may be a mid-year reduction in 03-04 to address 04-05 problems. This will play out later in the fall. The Legislative budget process left us with $36 million hole for this year. Notwithstanding, a $17 million gap for UUP salary increases. The Presidents were asked to lobby to support for $1,200 vs. $950 in tuition increases to help mitigate the impending shortfall. Whether there is a mid-year cut or not this will be a tough year. Brian started by explaining the new organizational moves at System Administration: Consolidation of Finance and Budget under Dan Sheppard Dan Esposito - Tuition, Fees and Residence Hall Program Wendy Gilman - Financial Plan/BAP Sharon Gallagher - University-Wide Programs Peter Pilegi - Hospitals/Clinical Joe Fox - Utilities Residence Halls: PACB has approval to go to market The System must refinance at least 51% to eliminate current restrictions and provision on residence hall funds/operations. Excess Fund Balances " Test of 3" were briefly described for evaluating use of Residence Hall Funds for other needs: Provision of Budget for debt - 1 year Impose a test that each campus can cover operations for a portion of budget year Planned 1/5 of funding is identified for next 5 years or full amount for project needs for 1 full year Reviewing campuses that have used large one-time reserves. Looking very hard at BAP. Performance measures are being reviewed to determine financial condition (more analysis needed). There will be an in-house review initially and then dialogue with campuses. Projections vs. cash collections will also be reviewed. Dan Sheppard Dan was introduced by Brian and indicated he was very glad to be here. Intends to visit all campuses as soon as practical. Government Relations - Jim Campbell for Mike Trunzo Meningitis - if there are problems, please contact Jim's Office. Sports equipment will be included in "sweat shop" legislation and purchasing procedures. Construction safety - could limit construction to non-academic related times (i.e. summer). Grade notification allowing parents to receive grade notices. Open meetings will become discussion item. Campuses are being asked to develop demographics of which Legislative districts students come from as well as where Alumni reside. There is a possibility of a special session after Yom Kippur and before Thanksgiving Closer to $200 million Legislative Item agreement ITEC - Todd Forham on behalf of Ron Brown Todd handed out copy of a power point presentation to help describe the ITEC services and help better understand the budget that supports it. Todd and Mary Ann Corsetti fielded a number of questions that helped to better clarify the wide range and usage of services provided by ITEC. SUCF - Phil Wood (New General Manager) Phil introduced himself with a brief bio of his experiences and professional background. He shared his initial impressions with the group and acknowledged that the Fund needs to improve in certain areas but generally has performed well under some very challenging and restrictive conditions. He recently served at the Dorm Authority for 8 years as Deputy Director of Operations. Has a financial background and worked in the tax exempt/financing area. 75 - 80% effort in construction in DASNY - troubleshooting problems, change orders, defaults, etc. His plan for the first six months will be a 100% focus in dealing with 3 issues - People at Fund; Customers @ Campus; Processes in Fund. There is a real disconnect in shortfall of staffing while authorizing larger capital plans. He wants the Fund to become more customer-oriented and focused. He hopes to quickly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Fund. The Fund has had trouble with multiple stakeholders. The Fund owes you an answer, but not always "Yes". Restrictions on Fund are very real. He also intends to focus on process review with emphasis on content and value of process and practices. What/when/how we do it for the Fund and campus. Campus Lets - what works? Limited by staff (front line staff). Statutory more limited than ever realized - +$20,000 requires approval through board and OSC. Identify and share and hopefully be able to change limitations on areas by the Fund - why do what we do. Phil opened up the floor for questions and answers: Project schedules - can they be shortened to more realistically reflect the private sector? Term contracts are currently in active dialogue with OSC (OGS has them; SUCF doesn't) Standard schedule needs to be reviewed "delivery mechanisms" - a price, higher rate of change order, requirement to add oversight personnel, CM @ risk, fast track design, design build Asked if he was open to campus lets, Phil's response was "yes", but the campus's have to be properly staffed and experienced. Organization - An organizational review will be performed but time is needed to best determine structure and size. Phil hopes to understand the challenges and shortcomings of the Fund to improve customer service. Again, it will take a little time. SUCF - Bob Haelen: 5 Year Capital Plan has had a lot of dialogue and discussion to help push program forward. The lack of funding for M&R funds will be worked out with available funds as best the Fund can. Bob indicated he distributed a handout at physical plant group meeting that represents a "Draft" campus let procedure. John Rose reported on emergency planning and activation procedures. SUNY activated emergency procedures for southern part of state to western portion of state. He also expressed appreciation for the participation of the Campus Advisory Group. Jim Biggane briefed the group on some stages of progress with OSC in the following areas: Term contracts. Dry contracts initially that lead to certification. Commissioning - comprehensive evolution of building systems. Seems to have accepted term contracts @ OSC. Still need to determine process to access. Currently limited to $2 million. Initiative for concept of Field Orders System to streamline process. ($150,000 to $200,000 limits). All got treated the same way and same process. Over $20,000 has to go to Trustees. Talking about 3% provision for change orders. Will eliminate a lot of workload, errors and omissions. Change orders up to $20,000. Term contracts up to $2,000,000. Process of allocating funds will be reviewed for effectiveness. Quick access to project costs. Matching program has been discussed - no details. The first matching program started at an 85/15. Asking Legislature to retain general pool for flexibility. Asking for feedback to help campuses be more informed. Looking for efficient mechanism. Allocation of capital funds was based on gross square feet with consideration for new buildings and geographic location. Timely status reports on projects. Evaluate % of critical maintenance relative to square feet and condition/age of plant. Consider rolling Capital Plan. Spending plan for the next Capital Plan is being discussed for expenditure based funding. Bonnie Boice - Research Foundation Update: Bonnie gave a brief overview of activities at the Research Foundation. Training for Operation Managers. OM Web Page is complete. OM e-news is being published. OM visits at home campus are being scheduled to review issues and discuss areas where RF can help. People process and technology training plan. Rising health cost - there will be a rate change in midyear. Health costs spiking. Research Foundation will have a F/B deficit of $7 million this year. Budget 3% + 3% next 2 years. Kimberly Cline - Assessment Project Update: Admiral Crane - has made submission of report to Trustees. EACUBO meeting in Baltimore November 2-4, 2003. Look up agenda on web. Meeting adjourned at 12:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, John R. Homburger Back to Minutes/Reports