Campus composting, the 24-hour library service, and 24 other proposals were made possible last year by springtime allocations from $735,000 in the ASUO’s over-realized fund. This spring, however, there will be no money for the ASUO Senate to distribute – instead, the process will be delayed until at least fall term, when funding will again become available.
The over-realized fund is made up of excess money collected when the University underestimates enrollment and sets the incidental fee, which funds the ASUO, higher than necessary to fund student government services.
This year, the fund would have exceeded $2 million, about a sixth of the total ASUO budget, because of the unexpectedly high number of freshmen admitted in the fall. However, under a plan by ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, the over-realized funds generated during fall and winter terms were used to reduce the incidental fee for spring term.
Because of the plan, the ASUO will only be able to allocate over-realized funding from the spring term’s incidental fee. Sen. Nick Gower, who sits on the committee that would disburse the over-realized fund, said it will not be that simple.
“The basic thing is there’s zero over-realized dollars for this year,” Gower said at the April 22 Senate meeting.
Though spring term has begun, Gower said, the money is not available yet.
“Spring term, well, not everyone’s got their bills paid on time,” Gower said. He said even he has not yet paid the fee.
The funding distribution will be postponed until fall term, Gower said, but the committee is still meeting this term to discuss the process it will use to disburse the funds.
Sen. Carina Miller, who will head the committee, said its members do not yet know how much will be available to spend because EMU Business Manager Jean Sun resigned, leaving them in the dark about how much will be in the fund. ASUO Senate Treasurer Nathan Perley and Dotters-Katz estimated, however, that the fund would total about $150,000 to $170,000.
Miller said the committee will meet for the second time Wednesday before the scheduled ASUO Senate meeting, although the committee did not send out a public notice 24 hours before the meeting as required under Oregon law.
The unavailability of the money could affect the ASUO’s ability to fund retaining the Knight Library’s five-day, 24-hour schedule next year.
Figures mooted for keeping the service range between $20,000 and $150,000, and using the over-realized fund to extend it has been a subject of much discussion in Senate meetings this year.
The possibility is problematic because the ASUO’s Clark Document, which governs the allocation of the incidental fee, says that the over-realized fund must be used to “address one-time, non-recurring expenses for which other funding sources are not available or are inappropriate.” Because the library hours were extended this year using over-realized funds, the ASUO may not be allowed to use the same money to do so again. Perley said at the April 22 meeting that the use of the funds was admissible. Others took a more cautious tone.
“I think Sam (Dotters-Katz) is planning on sending out an e-mail or discussing with (University Vice President of Student Affairs) Robin Holmes whether the administration would veto it or not if we put it before Robin Holmes,” ASUO Senate Ombudsperson Tina Snodgrass said.
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