Wednesday, June 3, 1998
Student association projects $813,000 loss for next year
ASUCLA: Union will have positive influx of money despite
troubling red ink
By Michael Weiner
Daily Bruin Staff
Putting off the association’s financial solvency one more year,
the ASUCLA Board of Directors approved its annual budget
Friday.
In the Five Year Forecast, which ASUCLA must prepare as a
condition of its $20 million loan from the university, the
association budgeted a loss of $813,000 next year.
However, it will still have $160,000 left over from a 1995 loan
from the university.
The budget included decisions to waive the $50,000 maintenance
and utility fee that was going to be assessed to the student
governments, as well as projecting a less aggressive plan for the
Computer Store.
Despite the fact that the association will continue to lose
money for the next two years, it will have positive cash flow.
The only change that the board made from management’s original
budget is a reduction in expected revenues from renting out ASUCLA
facilities for events
"The finance committee felt that the sales projections for
events were a little on the aggressive side," said ASUCLA Chief
Financial Officer Rich Delia.
The board also made a change from the tentative assumptions that
management presented earlier in the year. Board members decided to
ax the $50,000 maintenance and utility charges which management had
planned to levy on the student governments.
The plan originally called for the student governments to come
up with $50,000 annually to pay for the maintenance of common areas
in Kerckhoff Hall and Ackerman Union.
"The board felt that imposing $50,000 on the student governments
would be a financial burden and it would not be appropriate," Delia
said.
Undergraduate representative Hugo Maldonado continued to worry
about the performance of the Computer Store, which has been a
problem area for the association’s retail operations. But he hopes
a change in strategy will help solve the problem.
"We are planning on shifting our focus from actual computers to
software," Maldonado said.
Board members were pleased with the management staff’s
presentation.
"Our management staff is top-notch, and they’re on top of
everything," Maldonado said.
Graduate representative Jim Friedman was also pleased with the
budget process.
"It was one of the better presentations," Friedman said.
"There’s been a move ever since (Executive Director Pat Eastman)
came on board to make the budget more realistic."
The board also discussed its new Food Service Strategic Vision
and Action Plan, which will change many of ASUCLA’s food services
products and procedures.
The association plans to seek more consumer input regarding food
quality. This plan includes focus groups and "secret shoppers," who
will critique the different restaurants’ food.
"Students need to feel that they can have input," said Friedman,
who is the board’s food service strategy committee chair.
The association will convert Viewpoint Cafe into a Japanese
noodle bar; the Bombshelter will be renovated; the sandwich lines
in Treehouse will be replaced with Rubio’s Baja Grill and La
Cucina, an Italian restaurant; and Burger Works will be converted
into a sandwich establishment.
Also, ASUCLA plans to open the Synapse Cafe in the Gonda
building, in hopes of better serving researchers and employees in
the medical center.
ASUCLA also plans to create the new position of executive chef,
which will be "responsible for maintaining the quality of food,"
according to Friedman.
"That will go a long way to improving food quality on campus,"
Friedman said.
Maldonado was the only board member not to vote in favor of
approving the budget. He abstained from voting.
"I just abstained because I hadn’t had a chance to look at it
thoroughly," Maldonado said.