University of Toledo offers buyouts to save money on tight ’18 budget

The University of Toledo is offering about 500 eligible employees a chance to leave their jobs with a buyout in an effort to save money by shrinking the work force.

UT announced the “voluntary separation program” last week to faculty and staff, who have until May 30 to submit an application.

Of the university’s 6,662 employees, about 230 faculty and 250 staff members are eligible for the program based on their years of service and age. It would require employees to quit their jobs June 30 in exchange for a payment equal to half their annual base salary.

The total cost of the incentives or the number of employees who might be given a buyout is unknown because there are so many variables, said Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Kelley.

“We don’t have a specific target that we have to hit,” he said.

Officials will review applications and make a decision about who and how many employees will leave the university under the program. The university doesn’t intend to hire people to fill the vacant positions, leading to long-term savings.

UT has been looking for ways to trim costs as it anticipates a tight 2018 fiscal budget, which must be approved by the end of June.

The governor’s state budget proposal calls for a 1 percent increase next year in state support to the university, but would freeze tuition for two years. A proposal to require universities to pay for textbooks in the state budget’s second year would cost the university more than $13.5 million annually.

Kelley said the university anticipates some enrollment growth next fall and said it was too early to estimate the amount of a potential budget shortfall.

Bob Hull, president of Communication Workers of America Local 4319, said 158 of the union’s roughly 600 university members qualify for the program. The union’s members work in custodial, secretarial, maintenance and skilled trade areas and their average hourly wage is $22 an hour, he said.

An early count estimates that 80 to 90 members are interested in the offer, he said.

Hall said the union, which is negotiating a contract to follow one that expired at the end of last year, questioned how UT will pay for the buyouts.

He said university officials have expressed concern and uncertainty about the state budget and have been “crying that they are poor.”

He’s also worried about how it will affect the workloads of those who stay, since the university doesn’t plan to replace employees who leave.

Kelley said UT will consider teaching demands first when deciding who will be given the incentive.

University leaders told the Faculty Senate that “providing the appropriate faculty resources is a priority,” said the group’s president Mary Humphrys.

That’s a key concern to faculty, who don’t want to see any particular academic area or department decimated by departures.

Humphrys said faculty expect to be involved in such decisions.

Only those eligible to retire under various state retirement systems can participate in the UT buyout. But because the incentive program is structured as a “separation” and not a retirement, employees could continue public sector work elsewhere and build up service credit toward retirement, Kelley said.