The Physical Plant will tentatively cut from its budget close to $650,000 — the second highest of any of the University’s units — if a proposed $16.3 million cut to the University is approved by the Board of Regents.

The 1.53 percent cut would bring the plant’s total fund reduction to $4.25 million since 2002.

Physical Plant Director Ralph Johnson said the cuts his organization makes will primarily stem from personnel reductions “through attrition, not layoffs.”

“We’re not going to fill the positions that are currently vacant or those that will be emptied through retirement,” he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “There are around 28 to 30 such positions (currently).”

The plant manages the maintenance and operation of resident and instructional facilities on campus.

The division is responsible for custodial grounds maintenance, cleaning up debris after storms, keeping equipment functional, managing heat and ventilation systems, electrical distribution and the steam plant, Johnson said.

“We want to approach the cuts in a planned way rather than an emergency,” Johnson said. “We’re still in the process of making decisions about how to deal with the cuts.”

He said the cuts occurring throughout his organization are in custodial, trades, heat and vent, carpenter, paint and administrative areas.

“We’ll continue to stretch our people and try to do as much as we can so as to not affect our work on campus,” he said. “We’ll defer our work, such as the maintenance of the campus’ appearance.”

In addition, Johnson said the Physical Plant will not replace equipment that has exceeded its useful life “in hopes it won’t break down where we have to completely replace it.”

“We are stretching our preventive maintenance from monthly cycles to quarterly cycles,” he said. “We’ve deferred programs throughout campus — such as the replacement of vehicles, of which close to half have already passed their (set) mileage and economic value, according to state guidelines.”

The division is also postponing the replacement of electrical cables outside buildings, he said.

Although Johnson said he would like to have the money to do the work he said he feels is necessary, “everybody is doing their share to deal with the cuts.”

“We do not have a lot of flexibility, but what we have done is examine our internal process to increase efficiency and be more effective in management,” he said.

For example, Johnson said his division is trying to change its methods of buying material so it can secure better bargains.

“I’m the one division that’s rather unique,” said John Benca, director of the utilities and construction department at the Physical Plant.

“I’m going to turn the steam on regardless,” he said. “There’s really nothing that I can cut in that regard, except ensure that my equipment is running efficiently.”

Benca said the budget cut is a “dynamic process.”

“We’ve been anticipating it coming, and so we have put off hiring people, deferred some projects, managed our alternative fuels and energy consumption,” he said.

Benca said budget cuts don’t help the morale among personnel, but he said every University division is managing to do more with less.

“It’s just part of life,” he said. “You just have to do what you have to do.”

Other directors of the Physical Plant’s divisions declined to comment.