University of Hawaii athletic department staff and coaches will be asked to cut between five and 10 percent of their expenditures for the remainder of the fiscal year, athletic director Ben Jay said.

Jay said Tuesday he is in the process of drafting a memo ordering the trims to help the department reach its budget mandate.

"I think right now we’re looking at five to 10 percent, that’s everybody," Jay said.

He said actual amounts will vary depending on the areas served.

In agreeing to forgive a $14.7 million accumulated net deficit built up over the past decade, UH Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple last summer told the department it must reduce its annual operating deficit to no more than $1 million per year for the next three years as a "runway" to solvency.

The 21-team department has an operating budget of approximately $30 million.

Jay told the UH Board of Regents earlier this month that the deficit for the department has been pegged at $2 million and he would undertake measures to trim it. UH’s fiscal year ends June 30, 2014. He said he was not immediately able to say how much might be saved by the cutbacks.

The cuts do not include salaries for full-time staff and coaches, which are set by union and individual contracts.

Jay has held out the possibility of trimming hours for part-time and temporary employees, if necessary. He said several coaches who are being recommended for pay raises would not see any increase in the current fiscal year.