August 1, 2008 Budget
TO: All Faculty and Staff
FROM: Sally Roush, Vice President, Business and Financial Affairs
Aug. 1, 2008
Budget Message #7
In clarification of yesterday's action by Governor Schwarzenegger, California State University Chancellor Reed has indicated that CSU employees will continue to receive their regular paychecks while the university works with the state to minimize the impact on the state general fund.
The Governor has ordered the state controller to cut the pay of about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a budget is signed. The intent is to avert a cash crisis. The budget deadline was July 1, and without a signed budget soon, the state has indicated it may run out of cash and be unable to borrow the billions of dollars needed to meet the state's financial commitments.
While it appears there will be no immediate impact on SDSU employees, some SDSU Research Foundation projects that receive contracts from the state may receive temporary stop work orders until the budget is approved. The Research Foundation will work to mitigate the impact on employees working on those contracts.
The Governor has also called for a hiring freeze of all non-critical functions. The CSU is not under direct executive authority and not subject to the requirement.
While we believe SDSU is not directly impacted by the Governor's Executive Order, it is important that the campus community act in a prudent manner in our hiring and expenditure decisions. The plan put forth by the President's Budget Advisory Committee and approved by the President is sound, but may require revision after a state budget is passed. It is important that we are prepared for a protracted budget process.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during the budget deliberations. We will continue to closely follow the state budget situation and provide you with updates as necessary. If you have any questions, please contact us via the SDSU Budget Central website.