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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1998)
Council denies sister city funding By David Ryan Oregon Daily Emerald City Council passed up the po tential to facilitate greater world peace Monday night. At least, greater world peace is what Councilwoman Betty Tay lor said having sister cities con tributes to. “I think the benefits of sister cities, in addition to the cultural and economic benefit, we are contributing to world peace,” Taylor said. Taylor spoke in support of Sis ter Cities International, a group of volunteers who run Eugene’s sister cities programs and events. The group came to the council Monday night to ask for funding beyond the end of the 1999 fiscal year, when city funding for the group expires. But group mem bers didn’t stop there. They wanted funding to increase the number of Eugene's sister cities beyond the four it has. But council members were skeptical of the sister city pro gram. Councilwoman Nancy Na thanson criticized the way sister city programs were run. She said that she was disappointed that many one-day visitors from Eu gene’s sister cities were not giv en meaningful tours of the city but were instead taken to shop at Valley River Center. She was also worried that many Eugene resi dents were unaware that the pro gram exists. "What sort of statistical infor mation do we have that say peo ple in Eugene are aware of our sister city program?” She said. Councilman Scott Meisner was critical of the way the group planned its budgets. Meisner also expressed dismay at the way he felt social groups viewed the city as “the first and last funding source.” “We are now the social service safety net.” he said. Council members talked about funding the group enough to sur vive. Mayor James Torrey also suggested the group ask the Ro tary Club for funds. Report hails University’s budget cuts The General Accounting Office commends the school for saving millions By Tricia Schwennesen Oregon Daily Emerald The University caught the atten tion of the U.S. General Account ing Office by efficiently cutting $7.7 million of its administrative budget. “The GAO concluded that the University of Oregon exemplified success in running a tight ship and included us as one of only three examples nationally,” University President Dave Frohnmayer said in his State of the University ad dress Thursday. The GAO report, released Sept. 30, spotlighted the University for implementing a new on-line fi nancial information system and eliminating paperwork from man ually processing checks and pur chase orders thereby saving the University money. In the early 1990s, the State Board of Higher Education man dated that all universities organize a Board Administrative Review Committee to examine adminis tration costs vs. the cost of educa tion, said John Moseley, provost and vice president of academic af fairs. The committee’s goal was to re duce administrative costs and im plement more efficient processes to combat rising tuition. The budget was then about $150 million. Of that, $50 million went toward administrative cost, in cluding the operation of the busi ness office, the physical plant, buildings and the grounds, he said. With the help of an outside con sultant, the committee had to come up with a plan to cut costs. The University then reduced the number of vice presidents from four to three, reduced the number of administrative posi tions, streamlined bookkeeping and switched from a paper pur chase order system to credit card purchasing, he said. “We were typical of most state bureaucracies,” Moseley said. “More paperwork and more ap provals were needed to guarantee we were getting the best deal.” While the University was com piling the requested report, Mea sure 5 reduced the number of state dollars each university received. The climate had already been created to hold down the cost of administration, but now the Uni versity had to raise six dollars to every one state dollar. “The irony of this particular sit uation is that tuition at the UO in creased tremendously, which had nothing to do with administrative costs but the reduction of state funds,” Moseley said. The challenge in reducing costs was to make sure that the same services were still available to stu dents. One way the University has found to reduce costs while keep ing services is the new matricula tion fee that was implemented this fall, he said. The fee is $150 for new students and $45 for returning students and covers the cost of such things as IntroDUCKtion, transcript re quests and processing graduation applications. Moseley said state funding may increase but that he hoped the tu ition freeze will continue. If the University doesn't receive more state funding, then tuition may have to increase or educa tional services may need to be cut to keep a balanced budget, he said. “We are continuing to fight the battle,” Moseley said. The GAO report is available on line at www.gao.gov/new.items /he98227.pdf. favfieX to. L/\a4*£ A fyiA&hlt! 507. off great travel packs! Eurailpasses issued on the spot! Plan early for Thankgiving! Council Travel . CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange 877 1/2 East 13th Street, Eugene 1222 East 13th Street, EMU Building, Univ. of Oregon, Eugene [54IJ-344-2263 www.counciltravel.com 004527 OCTOBER 14-16 10-5 Food • Unique Crafts • Clothing Jewelry • Glass • Art Questions? call 346-0622 P M TRADITION. CHARACTER. THE DELTA CHI FRATERNITY DON'T MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE APART OF SOMETHING GREAT! International Representatives are on campus now,and seeking interested men to become a part of UO's newest fraternity! For more information on becoming a Founding Father Plan to attend our informational meetings: Tuesday, October 13, from 6:00-7:00pm in Carson Hall - Gold Room Tuesday, October 13, from 7:30-8:30pm in EMU - Century F Wednesday, October 14, from 6:00-7:00pm in Univ Inn - Lobby Wednesday, October 14, from 7:30-8:30pm in EMU - Metolius Room Thursday, October 15, from 6:00-7:00pm in Moore Dining Room If you are unable to attend, but are still interested, please contact Corey Rasmussen at (541) 346-9584 or come by our office in the EMU Century Rooms between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of Choice." William Jennings Bryan - AX Georgetown fyeelituj. Clothed? *Free Cholesterol Screening Tuesday 9:30-11:30 University Health Center Questions? Call 346-4456 * Must have current UO I.D. 004607 U N ! V t K S I f HEALTH CENTER We’re a matter of degrees ^ (,Pe® > • m. lo b pm. eucpt Tundijrt iHniul Sunday. (10 ami Appmnunnoa nod .TU. 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