SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 4

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Eric G. Griego

A JOINT MEMORIAL

URGING THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO TO EXERCISE GOOD JUDGMENT AND RESTRAINT DURING A TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED FISCAL CHALLENGE IN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO BY LIMITING THE SALARIES OF TOP UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS.

     WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico has experienced an unprecedented and precipitous drop in tax revenues since fiscal year 2008 and, while there is hope, there is no evidence that the decline in revenues has bottomed out; and

     WHEREAS, the decline in tax revenues has forced drastic cuts in state spending, cuts which have impacted public employees and the taxpayers they serve in the form of layoffs, furloughs and wage cuts for public employees, cuts to public school budgets and enrollment freezes in some state-sponsored health insurance plans; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexicans have been warned that additional sacrifice will be necessary, either in the form of increased taxes, reduced service or both, before state revenues return to previous levels; and

     WHEREAS, in the midst of this collective sacrifice, more than a dozen top administrators at the university of New Mexico continue to enjoy six-figure salary and compensation packages that place them among the top five percent of wage earners and far out of line with public and private workers in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, these extraordinarily high compensation packages average more than six times the state's average wage and continue to be paid as tens of thousands of New Mexicans struggle to find work, and as still more toil in low-paying jobs for which they are overqualified; and

     WHEREAS, the recipients of these high salaries benefited disproportionately from the 2003 personal income tax cuts that reduced the state's top income tax rate by forty percent and contributed to the present fiscal crisis now confronting the state; and

     WHEREAS, these generous compensation packages for the growing ranks of top administrators at the university of New Mexico come at the expense of the school's core mission of classroom instruction, research and public service; and

     WHEREAS, the appointed members of the board of regents of the university of New Mexico have a duty to the taxpayers of New Mexico to join with other public leaders in setting an appropriate tone and example during these challenging fiscal times by ensuring that tax dollars spent by the state's flagship educational institution are used in a way that does not shock the conscience;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the board of regents of the university of New Mexico be requested to immediately reduce both the number and the dollar amounts of the salary and compensation packages of top administrators at the university; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the board of regents of the university of New Mexico.

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