UNM's 2009-10 budget expenses are about 5.2 percent higher than the previous year, an increase of $106 million, but many branch campuses will get less money.
The budget was approved by the Board of Regents on Friday.
Regent Jack Fortner said he expects to revisit the budget in the future to make adjustments for further state cuts.
"That's very possible," he said. "If natural gas decreases, then we'll definitely have to adjust the budget, because the state will adjust what they are planning on giving us."
Fortner said for every $1 the price of natural gas decreases, the state loses $100 million in revenue.
This year's budget decreases expenditures for several branch campuses compared to last year. The Gallup, Taos and Los Alamos branches had a decrease of about 6 percent. The Taos branch had the highest reduction with 5.2 percent, more than $300,000. The Gallup branch had a 3.6 percent cut, totaling more than $650,000. The Los Alamos branch had $25,000 taken from its budget.
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Representatives from the Taos and Gallup branches were unavailable for comment Sunday.
The Valencia branch had an 8.1 percent increase in its total fiscal budget expenses, more than $1 million. The Health Sciences Center trailed behind the Valencia branch with an increase of 6.7 percent, more than $35 million. Main Campus also had a 2.2 percent increase in budget expenses, totaling more than $14 million.
Fortner said the approved budget is a step in the right direction for UNM.
"The state funds themselves were less than last year, but there's federal money," he said. "There's grant money and tuition increase, so considering the state of the economy and the state of the amount of money that the Legislature has available, I thought it was a pretty good budget to go forward with."
Fortner said the Regents' No. 1 goal was to keep tuition as low as possible during the budget process.
"People that are losing jobs are parents of students," he said. "You know, I have a daughter who's a freshman at UNM, so any increase that we vote of tuition I feel personally, and I feel the pain of the other parents."
He said the regents deliberated over this year's 5 percent tuition increase for a long time. The regents also tried to avoid cutting faculty and staff jobs, which is happening in other universities across the country, he said.
An increase in unrestricted funds for Main Campus, the Health Sciences Center and branch campuses totaled to an increase of 4.9 percent, or more than $46 million. The plant funds decreased by more than $67 million.
The restricted funds increased about 2 percent for Main Campus, the Health Sciences Center and branch campuses.
According to the Operating and Capital Budget Plans, reduced state and local government appropriations, as well as private contracts and grants, caused the increase. The University will receive more than $13 million in operating appropriations received from the state, or 3.8 percent less than last year. In capital appropriations given by the state, there was a decline of 82.7 percent, or about $4 million.
There was a 100 percent cut from the local bonds given to the University, which totaled more than $13 million. There was also a 29.1 percent reduction in funds from private contracts and grants.
The University's endowments were trimmed by 19 percent, totaling more than $1 million.
A budget revision was also approved at the regents' meeting for the 2008-09 operating budget. The budget changes consisted of revenue projections, fund balance use for one-time expenses and an
increase in restricted grant and contract expenditures.
The budget will now be sent to the Higher Education Department and the State of New Mexico Budget Division for approval.
