[Plantsci] *SPLS FINANCES AND BUDGETS

Wed Jan 10 11:54:06 MST 2024

Dear SPLS Faculty and Staff,

It was brought to my attention that the email I sent out last Thursday regarding SPLS Finances and Budgets may have caused some concern and confusion.   The School of Plant Sciences has various sources of revenues, some of which we receive from the college to fund specific personnel expenses and commitments under Common Cost. Other revenue sources are to be used at the discretion of the Director to further the mission of the school.  This is separate from grant activity, or funding related to sponsored project awards.

As requested, below are a few examples of recent expenses that have occurred without an approved budget or knowledge of how much the department would be expected to cover:

  *   Weekly Seminar Expenses (including speaker travel expenses)
  *   Subsidizing travel expenses for job applicants hired in and salary paid for by Extension
  *   Faculty Retreat
  *   Subsidizing the TA program

I hope this clarifies the type of funds and expenses I referred to in my previous email.

Sincerely,

[The University of Arizona block 'A' logo.]
Leslie Bonilla
Manager, Finance and Administration
School of Plant Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Forbes, 303
1140 E South Campus Dr | TUCSON, AZ 85721
Remote Thursday and Friday
Office: 520-621-8689 |
lesliebonilla at .arizona.edu<mailto:lesliebonilla at .arizona.edu>
cals.arizona.edu/spls<https://cals.arizona.edu/spls>

[Integrity, Compassion, Exploration, Adaptation, Inclusion, Determination]<https://brand.arizona.edu/signature>

From: Yadegari, Ramin - (yadegari) <yadegari at arizona.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 5, 2024 11:30 AM
To: Bonilla, Leslie Anne - (lesliebonilla) <lesliebonilla at arizona.edu>
Cc: Rutherford, Janis KM - (jmathias) <jmathias at arizona.edu>
Subject: Re: *SPLS FINANCES AND BUDGETS

Hi Leslie,

We received this email from you yesterday, and it has been causing significant confusion and concern among faculty in the unit.  As we understand finances in the unit, the Unit Head and the Manager of Business and Finance manage funds to the unit from the University/College and monitor funds from funding agencies via sponsored projects to the Principal Investigators.  The faculty do not have access to the funds from the administration and the guidelines for spending on grants are set by the funding agencies.

Please help us know the unit funding about which you are talking.  What expenses are being "incurred and committed without approved budgets"? Once we have a better understanding of your point, we can see if we need to alter our behavior.

Thanks, and regards,
Ramin

Ramin Yadegari
Professor
School of Plant Sciences
University of Arizona

http://raminyadegari.org/

________________________________
From: Plantsci <plantsci-bounces at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:plantsci-bounces at list.cals.arizona.edu>> on behalf of Bonilla, Leslie Anne - (lesliebonilla) <lesliebonilla at arizona.edu<mailto:lesliebonilla at arizona.edu>>
Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 5:02 PM
To: plantsci at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:plantsci at list.cals.arizona.edu> <plantsci at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:plantsci at list.cals.arizona.edu>>
Cc: Rutherford, Janis KM - (jmathias) <jmathias at arizona.edu<mailto:jmathias at arizona.edu>>
Subject: [Plantsci] *SPLS FINANCES AND BUDGETS

Happy New Year to Everyone!

As your Manager of Finance & Administration, it is my responsibility to ensure that our unit funding is properly budgeted and utilized (conforming to UA policy) with the authorization of the SPLS Director.  It is repeatedly coming to my attention that expenses are being incurred and committed without an approved budget. This makes planning and managing our school's finances an impossible feat.  As funding becomes more and more limited, it will be even more crucial to have a clear picture of what our income and expenses are for the rest of this fiscal year and beyond. Starting this month, we are going into our normal All Funds Multi Year planning cycle, and given the financial situation at the University, there are additional financial constraints business officers are working within.

I have attached the specific communication with the current financial directives for clarification.

With all of this in mind I am implementing the following policy, which Dr. Galbraith has approved, effective immediately:

All expenses NOT fully funded by a PI account or award will need to be budgeted for and pre-approved following this process:

1-Email a budget to the SPLS Director and myself (I have attached a budget template to be used) with full information and details relative to the expense to be included.  If SPLS funding is being used to subsidize already budgeted expenditures, please include all relevant information in the email.

2-I will communicate with you for more information or notification of approval

3-If you will be going over budget, email the SPLS Director and myself for a modification of your budget PRIOR to going over budget. It is your responsibility, as the budget submitter, to monitor and track your approved budgets.

While the School Director is ultimately the decision maker on what our unit's funding can be used for, my role is to communicate, guide, and provide all the available balance/funding information, as well as advise on any policy concerns or issues.  I have seen the passion and enthusiasm you all have for your various areas of responsibility and will do everything possible to ensure funding is available to meet the needs that are presented.

Although we have not heard anything more regarding the requirements the university will impose on our unit or college, I do know in October, Janis Rutherford sent a notification to reduce spending within CALES effective immediately. Again this week, Jeff Ratje sent a similar message with specific ideas on how to accomplish this, which I forwarded to this list serv. We need to take this financial situation seriously, and collectively do all we can to reduce our spending.

Our school's funding is not limitless, and there are various competing priorities. My goal is to prevent the future interim Director from having to make difficult decisions on what has to be cut to keep us out of a deficit situation.

Sincerely,

[The University of Arizona block 'A' logo.]

Leslie Bonilla
Manager, Finance and Administration
School of Plant Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Forbes, 303
1140 E South Campus Dr | TUCSON, AZ 85721

Remote Thursday and Friday
Office: 520-621-8689 |
lesliebonilla at .arizona.edu<mailto:lesliebonilla at .arizona.edu>
cals.arizona.edu/spls<https://cals.arizona.edu/spls>

[Integrity, Compassion, Exploration, Adaptation, Inclusion, Determination]<https://brand.arizona.edu/signature>

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