NIU will find out this week where to cut spending by 1 percent this fiscal year following statewide cutbacks Monday.

Attempting to ease the state’s money woes, Gov. Jim Edgar told state universities only to spend 99 percent of what the state gave them for this fiscal year ending June 30.

That means somewhere between $900,000 and $1.2 million must be shaved from NIU’s spending plans.

Jobs might be deferred, but not lost. Where other cutbacks will come isn’t clear yet, NIU and Regency officials said.

“We are looking at all contingency costs” to make up the shortfall, said Eddie Williams, NIU vice president for Finance and Planning.

“We are looking at various scenarios for generating the necessary resources. It’s not insurmountable. It’s not impossible,” he said.

Some of those contingencies are in energy savings and reduced spending. NIU will apply money saved when it closed during semester break and take advantage of energy savings aided by a mild January, said NIU President John La Tourette.

Personnel costs make up 78 percent of NIU’s total budget. Energy costs are between 7 and 8 percent. “After that, there isn’t much left,” La Tourette said.

La Tourette declined to say exactly where more savings might be found because all of the numbers haven’t been looked at and NIU is still waiting to see how Edgar is calculating the percentage cut.

Whether NIU must cut back by $900,000 or $1.2 million depends on whether the entire budget—$120 million—or just general revenue funds—$87.5 million—are used to calculate the percentage.

The entire budget is all the money NIU receives from all sources. General revenue funds are a big part of the entire budget.

“I don’t think (the clarification) will be all that decisive,” said John Pembroke, vice chancellor for Administrative Affairs. NIU’s strategy is looking at things rather than people, he said.

Edgar announced the cuts Monday to free up money to pay bills and to ease creditors’ fears of a slumping state economy.

Also on Monday, Standard & Poor’s Corp. warned it might lower Illinois’ bond rating. Lowering the bond rating would make selling future bonds more difficult and heighten the state’s money problems

S&P officials said Monday, Illinois is making a half-hearted attempt in closing the $175 million deficit this fiscal year.

Edgar used the announcement to push making permanent the temporary tax surcharge. The surcharge is even more necessary because budget cuts will probably extend into the next fiscal year, Edgar said.

Education cuts like these are not new and usually pertain to general revenue funds, La Tourette said.

But the cuts coming this late in the fiscal year are difficult because NIU is “personnel intense,” Pembroke said.

“On the other hand, I think all of public higher education recognizes the extreme cash flow problems … and we will tighten our belts to help contribute to the solutions,” he said.

Edgar’s cuts will not create new state money. The money will be reshuffled to pay existing bills.

But the cuts hit education hard because they come near the end of the fiscal year, La Tourette said.

“I can’t tell you definitely what will be cut … until we really know what the figure is,” he said.

Edgar’s request is reasonable, said Richard D. Wagner, state Board of Higher Education executive director. “If a 1 percent cut can help the state’s cash flow, I’m sure the universities will be willing to do so.”