Spring 2009 rental rates for campus housing may see a $40 increase in price.
Housing officials sent students living in on-campus housing their spring 2009 bills on Oct. 29 along with letters informing them of mid-year rental rate increases due to unexpected utility costs.
Kristen Pitera, a UF sophomore and resident of Beaty Towers, said no residential assistants or other housing department authorities warned her that utility bills were high, so she didn't think of paying closer attention to the amount of electricity she was using.
"I was kind of surprised because they hadn't said anything about it," Pitera said.
Norbert W. Dunkel, the assistant vice president and director of housing and residence education, said the cause of the fee is not a rise in utility usage but the result of a projected January increase for the cost of energy provided by Progress Energy Inc., UF's utility source.
The UF Board of Trustees will vote on the proposed additional fee on Dec. 10. If approved, on-campus residents will receive a second bill with the fee added.
"We are hoping they would approve it," Dunkel said.
The contracts students sign to live in on-campus housing allow for utility increases at any point in the year, Dunkel said. The fee will only be applied to undergraduate housing.
In the 2008-09 budget for dorm housing, 18.3 percent of rental payments are put toward utilities including cable TV, according to the housing department's Web site.
The overall projected fiscal budget was $40.7 billion.
Students with housing deferments must pay rent by Feb. 11, and depending on the Board's decision, the extra $40 will be due at the same time.
The rent for students without deferments was due Monday, and the extra $40 could be due about 30 days after the decision.
Dunkel said if the increase proposal is passed, it will be a permanent addition to dorm prices, but the housing department will begin a program next year to encourage dorm residents to turn off their computers.
"If we get students to turn things off," he said, "we can save energy."
