Hi List, Some of my greenish hue is starting to wear off on being a CAUT, but on budget matters with piano faculty, in particular, I shine brighter that the emerald city!!  We have 105 keyboard instruments here at the university, one of them being a Belt forte-piano about 25 years old.  The professor who plays it primarily is demanding a major rehabilitation to it which will require some outside help with my assisting this outside expert.  The estimated cost of bringing this "expert" in will take over 28% of my yearly budget.  The instrument is used in concert 6-8 times per year as compared to our 3 Steinway D's, 1 concert Baldwin and 3 Steinway B's which are used constantly. Some of the other faculty are up in arms about using the piano budget and insist that this is a "special project" and should use "special funds" like grants and the like.  Of course I agree strongly both ways!  It is a university instrument, so it should use university funds.  On the other hand it is used so infrequently, that I can't see using a huge slice of my pie.  On the third hand, one of my responsibilities is to see to it that all instruments are happy. Having such a limited budget as I do, if I had to replace a good quality grand, (not even concert level), I would be spending far more than one year's budget, leaving all other instruments on hold until next year whatever the need may be.INCLUDING the concert instruments. So I ask for a bit of seasoned advise from you all.  How have you handled such delemmas? Thanks for your help. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you..... Paul T. Williams RPT University of Nebraska-Lincoln