PAD 3733 University of Central Florida Public Computer Lab Budget Justification Essay
Question Description
For this assignment, you are going to use the information below to write a budget justification for a new public computer lab in a local city library.
Here is a link to an Example Budget Justification (Links to an external site.) document. Use this to help you create your budget justification.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
You are on the City Council for The City of Franklin. You have a population of 53,500 citizens, and 17% of your population is unemployed. Through multiple discussions with the Director of the Franklin City Library, you have come up with a plan to convert one of their larger conference rooms (30 ft. x 50 ft.) into a public computer lab. The both of you believe that opening this lab will provide a space for unemployed people to search and apply for jobs and create their resumes and cover letters.
The space is already owned by the City, so there while there is no cost for the space; however, there will be some cost to renovate it. The Library already has Internet, so all you will need to do is pay to have new ports and wiring added in the conference room. You will also need to buy computers, monitors, Ethernet chords, desks, chairs, and printers. Also, the library will need to hire someone to oversee the computer lab while it is open. Windows comes installed on the computers whether they are bought or leased, and the City has an Enterprise license for Microsoft Office Suite (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint), so there is not cost to install this software on any of the computers.
I don’t want you to get too deep when writing this justification, but here are some things you need to consider:
- How many computers and printers will you buy for this space?
- Will you rent or buy the computers and printers?
- What type of workstations will you use for the computers?
- How will you staff the computer lab? Full-time employees, part-time employees? You will need to determine the hours it will be open to answer this.
- What supplies will you provide citizens? Paper, staplers and staples? How about paper clips?
- You also need to factor in toner with the printers?
Here are some of the estimated costs?
|
Item |
Cost |
|---|---|
|
Conference room renovations |
$10,000 |
|
Adding Internet Ports |
$75 each (one for each computer) |
|
Computers (rent, includes monitors and servicing and replaced every two years) |
$650 (each) |
|
Computers (buy, includes monitor, no service, replaced when needed) |
$500 (each) |
|
One full-time library position |
$32,000 annually |
Not included in the table are the workstations. You must go on the Internet and look at the cost of workstations (e.g., Office Deport, Staples). Remember, the room is 30 ft. x 50 ft. Decide the best workstation for this space and how many you can fit into this space. That will tell you the number of computers you need to buy, and the number of ports you need to install. You can then decide how many printers you think should go in this room. You must also determine what supplies you will be providing people, and how much that will cost each year. You will notice that the salary for one full-time person is included in the table. A full-time person only works 40 hours per week. You have decide how many people you will need to hire to operate the hours of your library. Will they be full-time or part-time employees or a combination of both. Also, you need to identify what are one time costs and what will be reoccurring costs.
What You Will Submit
Using this information and the information from the reading this week, you will write a budget justification for this proposed new computer lab. Please let me know if you have any questions about this assignment.
