Goode plan may hurt strapped U.

The University will be hard-pressed to find money to pay the city "user fees" if a plan proposed by Mayor Wilson Goode is approved, Senior Vice President Marna Whittington said yesterday. The Goode administration has proposed the University and other non-profit institutions pay a combined $20 million in user fees -- money to support fire, police, sanitation and other basic services -- to help bail the city out of its current fiscal mess. Whittington said despite the restoration of $37 million state funds last month, the University's budget is "quite tight." Administrators did not plan for the city to assess user fees this fiscal year ending next June, she added. Whittington, the University's chief financial officer, said although she would have preferred that city administrators discussed their plans with the University before they wrote the draft, she hopes the University and the city will be able to work together to help forge an appropriate solution to the city's financial troubles. Currently, the city does not levy several taxes on the University that for-profit organizations must pay, although the University contends it deserves reduced tax rates because of the medical care, volunteer time and prestige the University offers the city. The suggested user fee hike is part of a proposed five-year plan the city must submit to its financial oversight board. The oversight board must approve the plan before it will borrow money on the city's behalf and before the city receives approval to charge a regional sales tax. It is not yet certain how much the city intends to charge the University under Mayor Goode's plan. The report has not yet been released to the public, and details of the plan were not available. Whittington said she has not seen a copy of the proposal, adding the University is trying to obtain one so they can analyze what the city wants the University to pay. The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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