LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 3A
Facilities and operations cuts annual budget
Car's fender, front
door damaged in
lot of 'U' hospital
A woman reported that her car's
passenger door and front fender was
damaged Tuesday morning after she
turned it over to a parking valet.
The damage occurred in the Univer-
sity Hospital parking lot at 1502
East Medical Center.
Bicycle reported
stolen outside
Dennison Building
A woman's blue and silver Dia-
mondback 21-speed bicycle was
reported stolen Tuesday morning
after she parked it near the David
Dennison Building 'on Church
Street. The bike had been improper-
ly locked to the rack, allowing it to
be easily stolen, according to
Department of Public Safety
reports.
Sleeping female
awakened by DPS
officers in Union
A "suspicious" female seen sleep-
ing Tuesday on the first floor of the
Michigan Union was awakened by
DPS officers. When asked for iden-
tification, it was revealed the
woman was a University Hospital
employee and no report was filed.
Student receives
multiple death
threats via e-mail
A resident of Vera Baits II on
North Campus reported Tuesday
that multiple death threats were sent
to him via e-mail.
The caller contacted the Comput-
er Aided Engineering Network and
blocked the suspect's e-mail
address. DPS officers collected
copies of the e-mails.
Girl's calculator,
backpack gone in
just 900 seconds
After leaving her backpack unat-
tended for 15 minutes in the
Shapiro Undergraduate Library
Monday, a female student discov-
ered it was no longer where she had
left it.
She reported the bag stolen. It
contained her wallet, $15 and a
Ti193 calculator.
Cell phone taken
from backpack
while riding bus
A cell phone was reported missing
while its owner rode a North campus
commuter bus. The owner believes it
was removed from her backpack,
according to DPS reports. She immedi-
ately canceled her phone's service.
Purse reported
missing returned
later, minus cash
A purse was reported missing
from Hutchins Hall Monday after-
' noon by a woman who accidentally
left it in a snack shop at 1 p.m. Fri-
day.
She returned to the snack shop at
approximately 5:30 p.m. that day,
but the purse was gone. When it
was returned to her later, she dis-
covered it was missing $40.
Borrowed bicycle
taken from South
Quad bike racks
An unknown person stole a bicy-
cle from a bike rack in front of
South Quad Residence Hall, a
woman reported to DPS Monday.
The woman did not know the bike's
serial number because she was bor-
rowing it from a friend in Califor-
nia, DPS reports state.
Woman's parking
permit removed
from unlocked car
A car was ticketed in the Hubbard
Street administration complex park-
ing structure Saturday.
The ticket was a result of a miss-
ing yellow permit, reported on Fri-
day.
The vehicle's owner said she may
have left her doors unlocked. DPS
- has no suspects.
By Rob Goodspeed
Daily Staff Reporter
A,s part of ongoing budget tightening, the
University's Facilities and Operations has
reduced their vehicle fleet by approximately
20 vehicles, re-negotiated contracts with sup-
pliers, left positions vacant after retirements
and reduced the frequency of grounds care,
among other budget cuts this year.
Starting last July, $1.1 million in cuts will
be made to the more than $250 million Facili-
ties and Operations budget, according to
information provided by the division.
After the Provost asked Facilities and
Operations to cut their budget by 5 percent,
officials say they considered a number of
budget reductions.
The reductions included modifying late-
night bus service, re-organizing the Depart-
ment of Public Safety student assistance
program and instituting a fee for the free
Ride Home taxi service.
"In expectation of a general fund budget
tightening, we have been asked to identify
ways to reduce our expenses next year by 5
percent," Vice President for Facilities and
Operations Henry Baier wrote in an e-mail to
his staff dated Jan. 31.
"We did some of these and more," Baier
said this week. "As part of any good manage-
ment our costs are always increasing due to
inflation."
Baier's office oversees a variety of Univer-
sity departments which build, maintain and
operate campus-buildings and grounds.
Baier noted that new construction and ren-
ovation increases the amount of work for
Facilities and Operations staff.
Renovation projects are nearly complete in
several buildings including Mason Hall, the
Perry Building and a former warehouse on
East Madison Street.
The largest cost saving initiatives within
Facilities and Operations include $300,000
from not replacing positions vacated by
retirements or other departures, $250,000
from reducing copying costs, office supplies,
training and travel and $200,000 from re-
negotiating contracts with suppliers. The
department has also saved $150,000 from
reducing the number of maintenance by about
20 vehicles. .
Facilities and Operations officials are try-
ing to cut costs in additional ways through
recycling and energy conservation, and have
completed mechanical tune-ups and lighting
upgrades of a number of University buildings
as part of the Energy Star and Green Lights
programs.
Also, University Housing is encouraging
students to recycle and reduce use of water
and electricity.
"That's where the real savings are ... elimi-
nating waste," Baier said.
Other cuts considered but not implemented
in Parking and Transportation Services
included "modify late-night Ride Home taxi
service" and "eliminate small bus provision-
ing."
Baier said that the Ride Home service and
bus system remains unchanged.
Baier said one of the scrutinized services
was the Night Owl bus service. "It's underuti-
lized, there's probably another more cost-
effective way."
"There was a lot of student opposition (to
working with AATA), we are planning to con-
tinue it," Baier said.
While student bus drivers say few students
use the service, Facilities and Operations
decided to continue the route unchanged.
"There aren't a lot of people who use the
Night Owl," said LSA junior and student bus
driver Susan Luth who added that she had
four passengers in a five-hour shift last Sat-
urday.
Luth said the Night Owl Route was recent-
ly changed.
"Last year it used to service the student
neighborhoods ... It doesn't go there any-
more," said Luth, who added that the changes
have made the route easier to understand by
students and bus drivers.
"It's good for me because I get paid a lot to
drive, but from the University's perspective
it's not a financially good situation," she
added.
In the January e-mail, Baier outlined a
number of budget reductions "that are being
discussed."
Two cuts considered within DPS, but not
implemented, were eliminating an associate
director position and reorganizing the student
assistant program, Baier said in the e-mail.
"In the end, we didn't do much (in DPS),"
Baier said. He added that the program was
determined to be a high priority for the
department.
Baier also noted in the e-mail that "If nec-
essary, reductions in positions will come
from existing vacancies and attrition (retire-
ments, voluntary departures, etc.), and we
will plan for a merit increase for non-bar-
gained-for employees along with contractual
increases."
Baier said another change considered but
never implemented was the elimination of the
football shuttle run on football Saturdays.
"Our biggest challenge is to analyze
expenses and maintain services," Baier said.
"We want to increfese our productivity," he
added.
Other changes considered ipclude "reduce
use of outside consultants" in Occupational
Safety and Environmental Health, and
"reduce overhead where possible" in Plant
operations, Baier said in the e-mail.
Rock, hip-hop groups get
students to go out and vote
By Carmen Johnson
and Pilar Parish
Daily Staff Reporters
Ann Arbor rockers Oblivion and New York hip-hop
singer J-Live, along with other politically active bands,
supported yesterday's Voice Your Vote Commission
concert aimed at registering students to vote.
The concert, held at the William Trotter House, was
the culmination of a semester-long effort by the Youth
Vote Coalition and The Michigan Student Assembly's
Voice Your Vote campaign to register and inform stu-
dents of the voting process and register for the Nov. 5
elections.
Voice Your Vote, in conjunction with the nationally
funded Youth Vote Coalition, have been actively
involved with political student organizations in an
effort to make registration more accessible to stu-
dents.
"Half the battle is talking to someone about regis-
tering," said Henry Rosenbaum, an organizer for the
concert. A man dressed in a bear suit has been used as
a device to attract students, he added.
"The best thing so far was the bear. Nobody can look
at a man in a bear suit without being interested,"
Rosenbaum said, who handed out registration forms on
the Diag.
Voice Your Vote co-chair Brooke Gerber said stu-
dents are often unaware of the election process.
"Students don't realize how much power or important
local elections are. For example, the two regent posi-
tions (are up for election). Local elections directly
affect us," Gerber said.
"Politicians don't cater to the needs of the youth and
don't campaign youth issues. So that's why students
don't think their vote matters," Gerber added.
Rosenbaum said policy makers are going to be look-
ing at how many of the 40 million young people
between the ages of 18 and 25 vote.
"When the results come in next year, they will see
that young people matter. We are out to prove our opin-
ions matter," Rosenbaum said.
LSA sophomore Adam Kelsey attended the concert
because of an advertisement in his political science
class.
"I was already registered but I wanted to listen to
the live music. It would help (bring students in) if (the
event) were a little closer to campus," Kelsey said.
Ben Umanov, a guitarist for Oblivion, said the band
was happy to support the cause.
"This is great publicity for us. It's a free show and
it's a great cause," Umanov said.
JAU wui-- .r /uaay
Hip-hop artist J-Live performs at the Trotter House during the Rock the Vote rally
yesterday.
Detroit, Guyanese
universities team
upto d o research
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) -
The university in this ethnically divid-
ed South American country and anoth-
er university in Michigan are planning
to develop research and a curriculum
in political and ethnic conflict resolu-
tion, organizers said yesterday.
The University of Guyana and
Detroit's Wayne State University
have agreed to exchange faculty,
students and research in conflict
resolution studies in Guyana over
the next five years.
"It is very timely and significant
for us, given the conflicts which
have arisen and which we are facing
in our country today," said Vice-
Chancellor James Rose of Guyana's
,only university.
Rose and other officials from
both universities, which began dis-
cussing the project last year, signed
a memorandum of cooperation
Tuesday.
Guyana's population of just over
700,000 is almost evenly divided
between people of African and East
Indian descent.
Black Guyanese largely support the
opposition, while ethnic East Indians
support the governing party.
As a majoritarian democracy,
however, the government is run by
the party that wins a simple majori-
ty in elections, often leaving a large
minority opposition that feels
underrepresented.
In recent months, violence has
increased drastically, with unidentified
gunmen targeting police officers and
business leaders.
So far this year 12 officers have
been killed, compared to seven officers
killed over the last 20 years.
Many black Guyanese have seen the
gunmen as freedom fighters, demand-
ing and end to perceived discrimina-
tion against blacks.
The government, dominated by
Guyanese of East Indian descent,
has denied the accusations of dis-
crimination.
Mark Kirton, dean of social sciences
at the Guyana university, said the con-
flict resolution studies could-help
Guyana work out some issues of repre-
sentative governance.
"Guyana has never been short of
conflicts," he said.
Conflict resolution is also a new
subject for the Detroit university, a
public school teaching about 31,000
undergraduate and postgraduate stu-
dents.
SENATE
Continued from Page 1A
that's going to give it a lot of leverage,"
he said.
One of the more unusual develop-
ments in this race is that both par-
ties' nominees agree that two major
tax cuts should be halted. Gov. John
Engler has already approved legisla-
tion halting the .1 percent annual
reductions in the single business tax,
a move they both applaud. The cur-
rent SBT rate is 2.1 percent.
But Darr and Brater both said
in the state income tax, which is cur-
rently 4.1 percent.
"It's not politically feasible to raise
them," Brater said. "We're
stuck with the revenue shortfall we
have and I think we're going to have to
look at some additional economies."
Does that mean budget cuts?
Attorney General Jennifer
Granholm, the Democratic guberna-
torial nominee, has proposed cutting
all major state budgets by 5 percent
across-the-board.
Brater said cuts may be necessary,
but that a reduction in the prisoner
IF