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Monday, August 18, 1997

ASUCLA getting out of the red, should be seeing green next year

FINANCE:

Despite obstacles, association may meet budgetary goals due to increased revenueBy Frances Lee

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Armed with a pared-down, no-frills budget, the students' association (ASUCLA) heads back on the road to financial recovery.

Despite some unforeseen setbacks last year, the association expects to meet their target set in the five-year financial turnaround plan for the upcoming year.

The 1997-98 budget, which was passed July 25, would have included a $3.2 million loss from construction cost overruns and lower-than-expected sales in the student store and food services, among other factors.

But through a combination of cost and expense controls, new business ventures, and increased contributions, that figure was whittled down to the original $2.1 million loss the association projected for this year, which will help keep ASUCLA on track.

Executive Director Patricia Eastman cautiously banks on new or expanded business ventures to fill in some of the gap. Although she cannot predict the level of success, Eastman hopes that one or more of the ventures "will deliver."

Those ventures include off-site textbook sales, the on-line UCLA Store, an expanded computer section and merchandising in the Health Sciences Store and increasing events business in Ackerman Union. These businesses are budgeted to bring in nearly $1.4 million into the association's coffers.

"We improved the bottom line by $1.1 million," said Eastman, "and we did that even in the face of significant challenge."

These challenges included inflation, minimum wage increases, the closure of the Treehouse, a lack of food price increases and a $51 student union fee (which will go into effect this year), rather than the $60 that had been originally built into the five-year plan.

Because the association chose not to be as optimistic about Retail Operations and Food Services until those divisions have more experience behind them, those two budgets were adjusted from the original five-year plan to project lower sales. Losses were partially offset by reducing costs and expenses, and increasing the budgets for new or expanded business ventures.

Board members feel that the budget is conservative and realistic. However, some expressed cautious optimism about the future.

"We have to keep our fingers crossed," said Board Chairman Hugo Maldonado.

"(ASUCLA has) been a mess for a long time and we're finally making money. It's a slow process getting in the black again.

"Even though we got out of a hot situation, (we're) not (in the) clear yet. If we make it through this year, I'm confident ASUCLA will be fine," Maldonado added.

Undergraduate board member Lung-Chi Lee felt it was a "fair budget," but noted that "we can't precisely estimate (the figures). All we can do is sit back and see what happens.

"We're going down the path to fiscal liability," Lee continued. "Hopefully, we'll be able to return to students soon."

One of the association's expanded business ventures include aggressively marketing the student union for outside events. The association built $455,000 into the budget for student union events businesses, an increase of $203,000 over last year. Some board members are worried about the implications that this may have on students and student groups.

"With the student union actively seeking non-student groups, I hope that doesn't set a trend that ASUCLA starts de-prioritizing students," Maldonado said.

But Eastman stressed that "'outside' doesn't necessarily mean outside the UCLA community ... and the additional funds will support the union."

She added that the bulk of the event business they would be seeking would be with UCLA departments. That would be in line with the association's mission statement to provide facilities, goods and services to students, faculty and staff, Eastman said.

"Faculty and staff are part of our mission," she continued. "As we've always done, students will have priority for meeting rooms, (but) in terms of event revenue, it will be a balancing act."

The impact on students, if any, remains to be seen.

For now, with the budget process over, the association can move ahead to meet their goals.

"ASUCLA is committed to meeting this budget," Eastman said. "I feel certain that what we've put in it, we can achieve."

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