Provost Larry Nielsen and Vice Chancellor Charlie Leffler outlined the new emergency budget guidelines in an April 10 statement after Gov. Bev Perdue directed the Office of State Budget and Management to create additional expenditure restrictions to have a balanced budget through the end of the fiscal year.

“The Governor has directed OSBM to issue mandatory spending restrictions on hiring, other employee related increases, purchases of good/materials/services and travel for the balance of the 2008-09 fiscal year,” the joint statement said.

Nielsen said he wasn’t the best source on the topic, despite his name being on the statement.

Leffler said the reason Nielsen declined comment was because the guidelines ultimately came out of his office. Leffler said he was willing to take responsibility for the new guidelines.

“We have a practice of putting both our names on documents that impact the University,” he said.

According to Leffler, the new guidelines come as the state is attempting to respond to budget and cash flow issue it is experiencing.

“[The OSMB] is looking to reduce expenditure, so they have placed additional parameters,” he said. “We have to further reduce hiring and travel,” Leffler said the guidelines make expections for situations directly related with the classroom.

The new guidelines say out of state travel not directly related to the classroom will not be allowed. Leffler said the Chancellor would still be able to travel for meetings if it meets the criteria. “But if it doesn’t then he won’t be able to.”

Leffler said students will not be affected by these new guidelines.

Elmo Lamm, student body treasurer, said clubs who travel won’t be affected by the new guidelines. “The new budget restrictions don’t apply to clubs because clubs get their money from Student Government appropriations, which are fee funded,” Lamm said.

He said no appropriations money comes from the state. “They should have no restrictions,” Lamm said.

Leffler said there may that, if empty, could cause an annoyance to students. He said the new guidelines force vacant positions to left unfilled.

“If an advisor were to leave tomorrow, we wouldn’t be able to fill the position before June 30, because the position is not directly related to the classroom,” Leffler said.

Rachel Barringer, a freshman in education, worries the inability to fill vacant advising positions will put more stress on the rest of the advising staff.

“The other advisors would have to pick up the work, and would be unable to help students as adequately as they should,” she said.

Leffler said the longer the guidelines are in place, the more noticable it will be for students. Leffler also said he can’t predict how long or if the restrictions will last after June 30.

“This is a changing situtation with the state that we have to monitor,” he said. “We don’t want to downgrade what we do for our core mission.”

Lamm, a freshman in business, said he thinks the groups most affected will be those that need state financial aid to operate on a day-to-day basis. He also guessed some of the ramifications of the new guidelines.

“The library won’t be able to buy new books, IT won’t be able to buy computers and if I was a teacher, I would have to ask Leffler for permission to buy the paper on which I would print my final exams,” he said.