NORMAL—The Board of Regents passed four budgets Thursday morning at their monthly meeting at Illinois State University.

“I think it’s a good budget … an expansive one,” said Chancellor Roderick Groves.

The total proposed budget of $278.2 million is an increase of $40.5 million over actual appropriations. That increase is divided between additional program improvement and expansion requests ($19.9 million) and day to day operation costs ($20.6 million).

Total FY90 budget appropriations totaled about $119 million. FY91 budget requests total about $139 million, an increase of about $20 million.

Groves said the increases are “the first step in a lengthy budget process.” He said the process begins on campus, works its way through the Regents and then must be approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education before being passed on to the Illinois legislature.

More than 65 percent of NIU’s FY91 Operating Budget requests were related to Faraday II and science/engineering building projects.

Eddie Williams, vice president of finance and planning, asked Wednesday for a 12 percent increase, rather than 7 percent, for a fire protection price increase, because DeKalb’s smaller size provides a less broad tax base than other cities.

There has been a “zero price increase” in recent years, Williams said. He said the provisions have caused problems with city budget operations.

Questions were raised by the Board because Williams’ proposal had only surfaced over the last 24 hours. Regent L. Milton McClure said he was concerned about making an exception for NIU. “Won’t others (ISU and Sangamon State University in Springfield) expect the same?” McClure said. Presidents of both universities said neither school has problems with fire protection.

Williams said the percentage increase totaled about $12,000. “This is an opportunity to address the backlog of zero percent increases in fire protection,” he said.

The budget passed without an increase in NIU’s fire protection. Groves said, “It might be preferable to approve the amount as indicated.”

President John La Tourette said it is “a reasonable way to go.” Groves said NIU might want to address the problem with the IBHE.

A request by NIU to “evaluate strategies and obtain proposals regarding the consolidation of NIU program activity in the Chicago western suburban region” passed with little discussion and because La Tourette said it was a “no cost obligation.” After the approval, La Tourette said passing the request “moved us on a great deal.”

The Regents were pleased that the proposed budgets also showed FY89 expenditure comparisons, a plan the Board will continue.