The agenda for this year looks fairly crowded. There have been new changes in federal tax rules on treatment of such a benefit. In addition, the expansion of Duke Hospitals, and the Duke University Health System means that certain kinds of changes may be recommended. The committee is going to want to consider this though it's obviously a compensation issue. There is a very strange system at Duke whereby some buildings are operated on a decentralized maintenance basis and some are maintained centrally.
Some schools operate by paying all of the charges for their buildings.
Others simply pay taxes to central administration to take care of their rooms. It's a mixed system and the incentives aren't real straight between the centralized and decentralized operations. This apparently hasn't gone on for a number of years, but Vice President Trask has agreed that with Jim Roberts in the Provost's office, the forecast budget will be brought to the Academic Council for general information in the December Council meeting. Having thus concluded his report, Prof. Weintraub invited questions from the floor. There was no way to know how the budget presentation will work out and whether, over time, it will be something Council wants to continue.