The ASUO Programs Finance Committee recalled two student groups’ budgets at its Thursday meeting. The PFC will hear the Oregon Daily Emerald’s and Career Center’s budgets at 5 p.m. Monday. However, PFC did not vote to discuss recalls before it began discussing and voting on them.
“I just realized we didn’t vote to bring up recalls yet,” PFC chairwoman Kate Shull said while the committee discussed the process after the votes. Members discussed the recall decision in detail because PFC had not previously formulated any guidelines in its bylaws that dictated how recalls could take place.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the committee heard recalls for four groups, and subsequently passed new budgets for the groups. All four dealt exclusively with budget issues regarding minimum-wage increases.
Shull said recalling groups was appropriate PFC business, and added that she did not think recalls required a two-thirds vote. Earlier in the day, ASUO accounting coordinator Jennifer Creighton-Neiwert said PFC had the right to do any number of things during a normal meeting, including recall budgets. PFC members emphasized they were simply interested in completing the budget process as accurately as possible.
“We just want to make sure we get numbers right,” PFC seat No. 2 Alex Dietrich explained earlier in the day.
The committee voted 4-2-1 to recall the Emerald’s budget. PFC at-large member James Tilford joined Dietrich in casting the two dissenting votes. Tilford said he was worried about recalling the student newspaper before new contract negotiations took place.
Contract negotiations could be a central issue in determining a new Emerald budget. At the Emerald’s original PFC meeting, the ASUO Executive, which usually purchases 10,000 newspapers as a student subscription each year, recommended that the committee fund the Emerald’s 169 issues at 10 cents an issue, and reduce the daily number of papers purchased to 6,500. After more than 90 minutes of discussion and several failed attempts to pass revised budgets, the Emerald’s budget passed with a 2.81 percent increase from the previous year, and the subscription stayed at 10,000 papers, although ASUO officials said they planned to reduce the amount during contract negotiations.
PFC programs appointee Joy Nair said she was just interested in seeing how the Emerald and Tilford, the newspaper’s PFC tag, came up with their original budget request of $132,811.
“I just really want to see PFC have to go through the same stuff … James did,” Nair said. “If we could just get a cool subscription or that rate figured out this year, well, that’s a really big deal for next year’s PFC.”
Despite possible subscription rate adjustments, PFC members were careful to avoid saying whether they planned to raise or cut the Emerald’s budget. During the past six weeks of budget negotiations, the committee has boosted student group funding from $4,294,948 in 2002-03 to $4,827,013, an increase of 12.39 percent.
The ASUO planned a benchmark, or allowable increase, of up to 16.15 percent, which allows them to add up to $161,587 to 2003-04’s budget if they desire. However, PFC members added they were glad they are considerably under benchmark.
The Career Center’s budget will also be discussed Monday night. PFC senator seat No. 3 Mike Sherman said he’d been approached by several student senators who wanted to hear more discussion on the career center.
Shull said she planned to contact both groups Friday, and added that notice of the recalls would be publicly posted outside the ASUO controller’s office.