The Bond Revenue Committee Tuesday recommended room and board rates increase by 5.45 percent next year. The proposed increase is almost 2 percent lower than the 7.4 percent hike approved last year.

The new rates will range from $2,265 for a double occupancy room with the five-meal plan to $3,203 for a single occupancy room with a 15-meal plan.

The committee’s recommendations will now be evaluated by Shirley Stewart, interim vice president for student affairs, and then interim President Lou Hencken. The final decision on the rates will be made at Eastern’s Board of Trustees’ April meeting.

Fixed costs compose 40 percent of housing expenses while salaries take up a 30 percent share, food expenses account for 10 percent of the budget and remaining expenditures such as telephone costs account for 20 percent.

The rate increase will go toward increases in fixed costs and a few new services such as voice mail for resident assistants, salary adjustments for resident directors and associate resident directors, and a raise for resident assistants to be phased in over three years.

In addition, the budget also reflects a loss of income in some areas such as the royalty from Microfridges, since the Residence Hall Association is considering ending the contract with the Microfridge company and allowing students to bring their own microwaves.

The variable that was still not certain as of Tuesday’s meeting was the individual phone line charges, which are budgeted for a 3-percent increase, said Mark Hudson, director of Housing and Dining.

If the increase in telephone costs ends up being less than expected, the extra money will go to the renovation and repair budget. If the increase is more than projected, money will be taken out of the renovation and repair budget, so the room and board rates will not increase further.

The potential room and board rate increase started at 6.02 percent, but was lowered to 5.95 percent after $20,000 was taken out of the renovation and repair budget in order to get the increase into the 5-percent range. The number was further lowered to 5.45 percent when the estimated number of new residents was raised from 100 to 125 because of an increase in housing applications.