BUDGETARY REVIEW
In fiscal 1999 the College and the Experiment Station received $8,024,000 from Federal and State appropriations to operate the teaching and research programs. Farm and forest expenses from State funds was $1,180,000 or approximately 15percent of the State appropriated funds allocated to the College and Experiment Station. About 96 percent of the allocation from State appropriated funds is for personal services ($1,130,000), and the remaining is used to help pay utility costs ($50,000).
Other operating costs are paid from budgets in respective Divisions . The College and Experiment Station determine the amount of State appropriated funds that will be allocated to each Division for their total research and teaching programs. Division Directors decide the amount of their allocated funds that will be spent for operating their farms or forests. Each farm or forest generates income from the sale of by-products of their research and teaching activities. The income from the sale of by-products is used to support the operations of the farms and forests.
The State appropriated budget for the farms and forests has increased since 1990. The reason for the increase was the mandated pay increases (Mercer salary scale). During this same time, however, the number of employees at the farms and forests has been reduced from 57 to 45½ today. Changes in number of employees for each property are shown in Table 4 (These numbers include 41½ farm and forest employees, as well as two carpenters and two FARF technicians).
Table 4. Change in number of farm staff, 1990-1998.
|
Property |
1990 |
1998 |
|
Animal Sciences - Morgantown |
22 |
16 |
|
Animal Sciences - Reedsville |
8 |
3.5 |
|
Animal Sciences - Wardensville |
7 |
7 |
|
Animal Sciences - FARF |
0 |
2 |
|
Plant Sciences - Morgantown |
7 |
4 |
|
Plant Sciences - Kearneysville |
7 |
7 |
|
Administration - Willow Bend |
2 |
2 |
|
Forestry - University Forest |
1 |
2 |
|
Carpentry Crew - all |
3 |
2 |
|
Totals |
57 |
45.5 |
The outlook for funds for new positions at the farms and forests will, at best, remain stable. Sales revenue from the farms and forests averaged $490,000 a year for the last nine years and should maintain the same level for the next five years. The expenditures averaged $550,000 in the same time frame (Figure 2).
Most of the funds from sales revenues are expended for daily operations. Sales income is expended back to the unit that generated the income. Purchase of new or replacement equipment is very limited. The average $60,000 per year deficits have been covered by using sales account surpluses that were generated prior to the 1990s and by paying more research-related expenses from federal sponsored research funds. Such surpluses were the result of lower wage scales in earlier years and greater emphasis on production and sales in those same years. If the current trend continues, the surplus will vanish and more appropriated funds will be needed to support daily operating costs and to replace equipment in the future.
We can track expenditures on each farm and forest for personal services and for those operating expenses that are paid from State appropriated funds and farm sales funds. The current system makes it difficult to track expenditures paid from Federal Formula funds, however. The federal government requires that expenditures be tracked by research project but the funds have not been further associated with individual farms or forests. With the implementation of the new Oracle system, the problem hopefully will be solved.