In a rare self-induced funding cut, the Singapore Students Association requested the ASUO Programs Finance Committee pull all funding out of the group’s programming budget at Monday night’s string of back-to-back hearings.
A representative for the group said SSA decided it would not put on a cultural show next year, though the group has done so in the past and usually received more than $2,000 in student incidental fees to fund its event.
PFC Chairwoman Kate Shull said she did not feel comfortable zero-funding the group’s programming budget. The committee decided to give SSA $50 to co-sponsor an event or organize a coffee hour next year, as well as to grant them several hundred dollars for office supplies and operating costs.
“I think it’s dangerous just to leave a group with administrative expenses and no programming,” Shull explained.
PFC allocated $496 to SSA for 2003-04, an 84.21 percent decrease.
On the flip side of the coin, the Philosophy Club petitioned committee members to boost their programming budget and cut their administrative budget.
A representative for Philosophy Club said the group’s primary purpose is to bring in speakers, typically two or three a year. The group overhauled its budget because it was not spending enough on administrative line items such as postage, long distance, and printing and duplication, and members thought they could improve their organization by focusing on programming.
The committee heeded the Philosophy Club’s request and gave the group an overall budget of $1,359 for 2003-04, a 10.47 percent decrease.
PFC broke precedent at Monday night’s meeting and allocated significant funding to two new line items in the Student Insurgent’s budget: travel and conferences. Committee members said they felt justified in starting off funding for these two expenses at $250 and $2,000 respectively, because representatives for the Insurgent have consistently requested money from Student Senate for these expenses over the last few years.
The committee gave the Insurgent a budget of $16,347 for 2003-04, a 16.44 percent increase.
Sexual Assault Support Services received a diminutive budget cut when PFC gave the group $49,705 for 2003-04, a decrease of 1.28 percent.
The committee heard the University Theatre’s budget proposal and allocated $100 for the group’s new summer theater line item. The group received a total budget of $29,600, a 8.13 percent increase.
PFC agreed to hear the Spencer View Tenants Council’s budget proposal, despite the fact that PFC zero-funded the group when its representative showed up late for the original hearing. The committee agreed with the ASUO Executive Recommendation and gave the group $2,832, a 32.52 percent increase.
After noticing a payroll discrepancy, PFC voted to recall the Student Senate’s budget. The administrative assistant position had been funded at a different rate than the same position at other programs. The committee voted to fund the position at $900, changing the senate’s overall budget to $25,736 for 2003-04, a 23.86 percent increase from the 2002-03 school year.
Committee members voted to table the Multicultural Center’s budget and reschedule it for Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
PFC zero-funded Model United Nations for failing to submit a budget for 2003-04.