Cranny’s budget requests had negative impact, Chadwick says
This eleven-part series is an in-depth look into the 2007 University of Colorado Student Union budgeting process. Every year, UCSU is charged with distributing more than $30 million in student fees, controlling more money than any other student body in the nation. This series, running over the two-week period that the budgets sit in the hands of the Legislative Council, will explore the process, the people and the effects of the decisions made by your student leaders.
Wardenburg’s past budgeting mistakes could be the reason it is facing program closures and employee layoffs.
Wardenburg has gone through many changes this year, some of which are still in the works. In November 2006, Wardenburg’s then-director Robert Cranny resigned right before one of the most controversial budgeting processes CU and the University of Colorado Student Union have ever seen.
UCSU Budgets 2007: CP’s 11-day Series
Part 1 | The budgeting process – How it works
Part 2 | Ups and downs – Tracking the past
Part 3 | A hardline approach – Determined council seeking 0 percent
Part 4 | Rec Center – Unscathed, but for how long?
Part 5 | UMC – Between a rock and a hard place
Part 6 | Wardenburg – Struggling to stay afloat
Part 7 | Ghosts of budgets past – Previous mistakes haunt Wardenburg today
Part 8 | A community responds – Students on their health center
Part 9 | Taking the brunt – Advocates in danger of losing their programs
Part 10 | Life changer or money waster? Controversial alcohol program on the block
Part 11 | In the public eye – Bracing for the $30 million dollar decisions
Cranny was the director of Wardenburg for six years and participated annually in the budgeting process. In his time as a director, the Finance Board and Legislative Council had continuously offered Wardenburg Health Center a zero percent increase plus “unduckables”. In other words, Wardenburg would receive the same amount of money each year. However, UCSU would give the health center additional money for “unduckables,” unavoidable cost increases such as salary hikes and utility costs.
Cranny consistently asked for less money than the Finance Board and Legislative Council were already going to offer during his six-year tenure as director. This put Wardenburg into a deficit.
Gary Chadwick, the current director of Wardenburg, said Cranny’s less-is-more budgeting tactic put a 1.5 percent hit on the budget every year.
“Over time, you can’t just keep on doing this (asking for less) without having a negative impact,” Chadwick said. “And that is just what it did.”
Cranny said he has yet to regret his decisions as director. He said he always kept the best interest of CU, Wardenburg and the students as his top priorities.
“I stand behind my decision firmly. It’s always been my personal philosophy that Wardenburg needs to work hard to create their own revenue, (so) as not to fall on the backs of students too heavily,” Cranny said.
Cranny said his decision to leave Wardenburg was in no way related to the budgeting issues that Wardenburg was facing. He said it was a means to spend more time with his family.
Cranny currently runs a private physical therapy clinic in Westminster.
Monday: A positive force or a little-used center? – Students and the community speak out.
Stay tuned to thecampuspress.com for continued coverage, live blogs of the Thursday night meetings and breaking developments as they arise.
