As soon as the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina went down, prices for almost everything in New Orleans went up.

Loyola’s finally feeling that effect, 16 months after the storm.

The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, met with the Board of Trustees yesterday and will meet with them again today to vote on a recommended 5 percent tuition increase, partly needed to help raise faculty salaries.

“I am … very conscious of wages and salaries for faculty and staff, the fact that there were no increases last year, and that New Orleans has become a more expensive place to live,” Wildes told the Maroon on Dec. 1.

With an increase in tuition, Loyola would see an increase of several million dollars to its operating budget, an increase necessary for pay raises.

“The tuition increase would generate approximately $4 million in additional net tuition revenue,” said Rhonda Cartwright, vice president for finance and administration.

The tuition increase will be used to award a 3.5 percent increase in salaries, totaling approximately $1.9 million.

While part of the increase is to aide faculty, another necessity for the increase is the rising cost of operating in New Orleans. The additional income will also pay increased utility costs of $1.5 million, increased cost of insurance policies of $400,000 and increased costs of maintenance contracts of $200,000, according to officials.

The proposed increase is 5 percent for all students, which would be approximately $610. According to the 2005-2006 undergraduate bulletin, tuition for a first-year freshman is $12,205 a semester.