Significant Investments Secured for WMU in State Budget Appropriations
Early in the morning hours of July 1 the state Legislature passed and sent to the Governor the FY 23 budget that represented an agreement reached just the day before. This action is this culmination of months of negotiations and debate. We are excited to share that this budget includes some significant wins and investments for WMU. We applaud and thank our legislative delegation for their support on each of our funding requests and priorities. Contact Sen. Sean McCann, Rep. Julie Rogers, Rep. Christine Morse and Rep. Matt Hall and thank them for their support and advocacy throughout this process!
As you will recall, paying off the state-mandated, unfunded pension liability related to MPSERS was our top priority. While the budget that was sent to Governor did not fully solve this problem, it did invest $300 million towards this unfunded pension liability Additionally, their is an agreement that statutory changes will be enacted later this year to "rebase" the formula used to calculate our payment. What this means is that almost $6.5 million will be freed up for us to invest back on campus to support our students, faculty and staff. We are also hopeful that we can work with the Legislature and Governor to get the remaining $250 million needed to fully retire this debt included in either a supplemental budget or the FY 24 budget.
WMU also received an overall operational base funding increase of 2%. While less than we had hoped for, the MPSERS universities were given a smaller increase to base funding because of the expected savings related to the MPSERS payment and subsequent rebasing. All told this increase and the MPSERS savings equate to a 6.5% funding increase for WMU.
Another significant win was $3 million in funding that will go directly to the MI Geological Survey on campus to support its mission and operations. Sen. Sean McCann pushed for and secured this funding which, many will recall, is something long needed in that the state has never truly funded MGS since it was transferred to WMU from the state in 2011. Please reach out and thank Sen. McCann for his efforts on this!
With the support of Rep. Mary Whiteford, we were able to secure the final installment of $750,000 for the WMU Resiliency Center. The Resiliency Center is a unique entity that serves as a model of integrated services for West Michigan and beyond. The Center has facilitated a paradigm shift among the clinic coordinators and clinicians in the WMU Unified Clinics building where nine clinics operate. The clinics are moving from a multidisciplinary focus, where multiple clinics operated in the same space but as individual and isolated entities, to an interdisciplinary focus where clinical services are integrated. An interdisciplinary focus allows for a greater synthesis of information across all clinics, seamless processes encountered by clients, and more robust outcomes. This third year of funding will bring the total state investment in the amazing work being performed at the Center to $3 million. Please reach out and thank Rep. Whiteford for her advocacy on this issue!
Through the efforts of Rep. Julie Rogers, $550,000 in state funding was appropriated for the construction of the Asylum Lake Stormwater Treatment System (funds will be awarded to the Asylum Lake Policy & Management Council). This will address runoff issues and its impacts on Asylum Lake and includes a research project with WMU faculty to study effective ways to control runoff from highway salt. Please reach out and thank Rep. Rogers for her work on this important initiative!
We have much to celebrate in this budget, but also more work to do on the advocacy front to build on this momentum and ensure WMU receives the financial investments necessary to allow us to thrive. Please reach out and thank our legislative delegation for their continued support of WMU's priorities!