Budget Office

• New York State requires that non-construction purchases valued at $25,000 or greater include participation by Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises. This requires communication with the Procurement and Travel Office staff and/or Betty Tirado to document our good faith effort to engage MWBE vendors and have enough time to process these procurements.
• For purchases $50,000 and over, contact Betty Tirado, Business Services, immediately to discuss procurement process requirements.

• Consider your recharge allocation and spending needs through year-end and submit campus recharge allocation transfer requests to Benjamin Morris, Budget Office by this date. Transfer requests must be copied to the appropriate Dean, AVP, or VP.
• Academic department requests must follow the transfer process for that Division. After receiving Deans’ approval, OTPS and/or recharge allocation transfers can be submitted to the Budget Office. If the request involves Temporary Services, they must be submitted to the Budget Office and the Provost Office.
  • (Please note that recharge allocations are separate from general OTPS allocations.)

• Purchases for amounts less than $25,000 must be submitted by this date. Please begin submitting approved purchase requisitions to the Procurement Office now for remaining department needs, to avoid backlog at the cut-off date. Be sure to include the cost of shipping in your purchase price quotes. Requisitions received after the deadline will be returned to the department.
• Department P-Card holders must cease using their P-card as of this date. (If orders will have a longer lead time, please contact Procurement and Travel to have the order done by Purchase order to ensure use of 2023-24 funds).
• Submit any remaining travel request applications for employee travel through June 30 by this date. This will ensure that funds are encumbered to cover travel costs. Vouchers for travel reimbursement must be submitted within 30 days of your return date.
• 2023-24 purchases that are not received by mid-August will be paid from the department’s 2024-25 funding. “Rolling” current funds into the new fiscal year will be limited and requests must be coordinated with the Budget Office. Place orders now if you anticipate a long lead time for delivery.

• Campus Supply Room orders must be placed by this date to allow for year-end inventory. Available inventory might be limited, and items may need to be ordered through standard procurement processes. Departments’ storehouse balance must be sufficient to cover cost of orders.

With the start of a new fiscal year on July 1, the university continues to face budget challenges. The outcome of the New York State budget process was very positive for the SUNY system, with increased support for both operations and capital infrastructure. However, the university continues to deal with lower overall enrollment than we have had in recent years. Given that enrollment is a driver for about 80% of the university’s operating budget, we must always be attentive to the changing enrollment landscape and outlook and its impact on our current and future financial resources.

The Division of Finance and Administration has developed general guidance to fulfill the university’s operations while maintaining prudent management of spending. These guidelines will help sustain our financial position as we deal with the financial impact (this year and beyond) of lower overall enrollment, continue efforts to bolster recruitment and retention, and experience financial pressures such as inflation. Finance and Administration will support the 2023-24 spending environment with robust monitoring of account balances, and spending activity and trends.

The spending guidelines outlined here are expected to continue through June 30, 2024. Any significant change in internal or external conditions may require a change in guidelines, and any such change will be communicated.

Initial 2023-24 budget allocations (a.k.a. “form 1”) are expected to post to departmental accounts in BI- Finance in the late September timeframe. The Budget Office will provide departments with their preliminary form 1 allocation amounts as soon as the campus’s form 1 is finalized for submission to SUNY in late August.

It is the responsibility of departmental account managers to carefully monitor all expenditures and not exceed their available allocation. Finance and Administration will increase its monitoring of account spending relative to allocation, and account managers will be contacted if there are deficits or spending trends that require attention. These communications will include a cc: to the next-level supervisor. If deficits or other concerns remain unresolved, spending from the account will not be allowed to continue, and the VP will be contacted to assist with a plan for resolution.

Departments can purchase general goods and services within the limits of their account allocations, following procurement guidelines for allowable expenses, required price quotes, special purchases, etc. and other applicable policies. (VP approval is no longer required for purchases over $10,000)

The university’s IT Procurement Policy requires advance approvals from the CIO, or designee, for most technology purchases including but not limited to hardware, software, printers, and computers. The policy can be located here: IT Procurement Policy.

Cardholders should review charges and move expenditures to intended accounts daily. This will enable account managers to keep a close eye on account balances as they are approving new expenditures. If accounts linked to p-cards are found to have a deficit balance, the associated p-card may be turned off until the deficit issue is resolved.

Training on p-card use and maintenance is available by contacting the Procurement & Travel Office at Kristine.Palmatier@oneonta.edu, 607-436-2699.

Departments must manage travel-related expenses within their budgeted account allocations (VP approval is no longer required to travel). In lieu of traveling, consider opportunities for attending conferences, meetings, or other necessary professional development events virtually when possible. Also consider options for limiting the number of people attending the same event, as well as other ways to reduce travel-related expenses where possible.

Adherence to per diem limits will be maintained for approved travel. Travelers may on occasion find a need to request lodging that is over per diem rates, and this will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Business Office. See the Travel Manual on the Procurement and Travel website for more information regarding travel, including per diem limits and requirements for pre-approvals for over-per diem spending requests.

Please be aware that unanticipated events can disrupt travel plans and introduce financial risk to the traveler. For example, if a planned trip includes a flight, and the trip is cancelled but the airline reservation cannot be, the traveler bears that cost. Or, if a traveler is unable to return for a period longer than intended, they may bear additional expense.

Look to the Budget Office and Procurement and Travel departmental web pages for more information, forms, and for developing FAQ’s. Questions related to spending may be directed to procurementandtravel@oneonta.edu; questions related to budget allocations may be directed to budget@oneonta.edu.