Budget to be topic of town meetings

Note: After the print version of Inside UVA went to the presses on Wednesday, the date and times of the town meetings were announced.

Staff Report

To help employees better understand what’s happening to U.Va.’s budget, the Office of State Governmental Relations plans to host town meetings Feb. 19 after the House and Senate complete work on the budget bill Feb. 17. Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget, and other U.Va. officials will give legislative and budget updates and answer questions. The University community is invited, and supervisors are encouraged to allow staff members to attend.

The meetings will be held at noon in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom and at 2 p.m. in the Facilities Management lunchroom.

On Tuesday newspapers statewide carried headlines warning that the budget crunch might lead to the layoff of 700 of the state’s 100,000 employees.

While Gov. Mark R. Warner stressed he had not yet signed off on such a strategy, U.Va. administrators said they would do everything in their power to prevent layoffs.

“Protecting our employees is one of the most important jobs we face in these tough financial times,” said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “U.Va. has an outstanding workforce and together we aim to help every one of them weather the state’s economic crisis.”

Governmental Relations will provide details on the meetings as soon as they are set. This information also will be posted at www.virginia.edu/topnews.