Flood may cost
state $50M

Without federal aid, UH will need
to come up with an extra $30M

The state might have to come up with as much as $50 million to help the University of Hawaii recover from October's devastating floods, Interim President David McClain said yesterday.

The total amount needed from the state will depend on how much of the recovery costs -- if any -- get picked up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, McClain said.

University officials are awaiting response on a request submitted last month asking President Bush to declare a federal emergency for Manoa, which would clear the way for FEMA assistance.

With federal help, the state probably will only need to come up with about $20 million, McClain said. Without federal help, McClain estimated the state's tab could be as much as $50 million.

Any money the state comes up with would include a 3 percent deductible on the university's insurance policy, which McClain estimated at about $7 million. The insurance policy covers up to $25 million in damage.

The damage to property and building contents from the Oct. 30 floods is estimated at $76 million.

With the loss of work hours and intellectual property such as research publications, "I don't think it's going to be very hard to get well into the $80 (million)-to-$100 million range," McClain said. "Clearly, it's been significant."

McClain said he had no knowledge of whether the federal agency or the Bush administration was looking favorably upon the university's request.

Flood relief funds are not included in the university's two-year budget request to lawmakers for the next two fiscal years. McClain said the university would seek emergency funds to cover the costs of flood damage.

McClain outlined the university's funding requests for the next two fiscal years to the Legislature's money committees yesterday.

Overall the 10-campus system is requesting about $31 million in operating funds for the 2006 fiscal year that begins July 1 -- an increase of about 10 percent from the current fiscal year -- and $39 million in the next fiscal year, McClain said.

Those funds do not include $20 million in fiscal year 2006 and $28 million in 2007 to cover faculty pay raises under a new contract approved last year. Over the life of the six-year contract, the state is to pay $124 million, while the university will kick in $39 million only in the contract's last three years to cover the pay increases.

Meanwhile, the university's Board of Regents is seeking $420 million in state funds over the next two fiscal years for 31 "high-priority" construction and renovation projects throughout the institution's 10-campus system. The money is in addition to the $169 million set aside by Gov. Linda Lingle in her proposed two-year budget for four university projects.