A taskforce of business leaders, Board of Regents officials and lawmakers stemming from a 2020 law calling for cost effectiveness across the state's six public universities met for the third time on Thursday, airing a range of ideas for adopting a "lean" budget. "Why don't we have one food provider?" asked Rep. Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown, who called for a new mindset for approaching cutting costs within the state's six public universities and the governing Board of Regents. "Why don't you talk to the one who does the prison? I think meals there are about 68 cents." Sen. Ryan Maher, R-Isabel, opened his remarks by acknowledging, "I've always been a pretty big opponent to what the regents were doing."
