The person who said so, is Andrew Scrivener, one of the five NovUM members in the University Council. He emphasises that the training that the university organises for council members prior to the budget discussion, was very good. He also feels that the team from the department of Finance did a “great” job and that the financial position of UM, as Vice President Nick Bos already said earlier during a committee meeting, is “excellent”. “I have no formal objections, but I refrained from voting because I do not have enough expertise. I cannot oversee everything; I don’t know exactly what the consequences will be of certain budget decisions. At a moment like that, I feel very uneasy about voting in favour. But I also didn’t want to disrupt the process, so I chose to refrain from voting.” Should the option to ‘abstain’ not have existed, he would have voted ‘in favour’, he says.
For other points on the agenda, it is easier to feel certain of oneself. “A policy memo is often about one subject, is clearly written and contains much less uncertainty, something that you don’t have in a budget.”
Can the UM do something to better prepare council members for the budget which, certainly, for newcomers is not an easy subject? “To improve preparation a comparison with previous budgets and ones of other Dutch universities would be helpful.” He realises that, should he be re-elected, the coming year will be easier. “Then I will have more experience.” Although the consequences of certain budget decisions will still be unsure.
The budget 2024 was adopted.