Galveston County Daily News,  Feb. 21, 2007 Viewpoint By George Reamy GALVESTON - Despite a constant increase in total net assets at the end of every fiscal year, as reflected in University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston's annual financial statements (www. utmb.edu/ utmb reports), the UTMB administration continues to claim that it is in the midst of a budget crisis and has used this "crisis" to justify laying off 354 employees and slashing faculty salaries. In response to these actions, the Texas Faculty Association hired a nationally known expert, Dr. Leroy Dubeck, to analyze UTMB's financial statements. His analysis and tables support neither the administrators' claims nor the personnel and salary cuts, cuts which have hurt not only the institution but also the Galveston region.