Student Senate Finance Committee met last night in what was deemed as one of the “most important meetings of the semester.”
Multiple bills went through committee quickly because all of the buzz and controversy surrounded line and block allocations and fee review.
Line and block allocations occur every two years and address larger entities that are funded through Senate. The student fee review subcommittee also made recommendations on all student fees.
The finance committee meeting was rescheduled for last night in the Centennial room of the Student Union rather than Wednesday because of the travel plans of some committee members.
All legislation moves through committees and will be presented at the next full Senate meeting next Wednesday.
Block Allocations
Senate treasurer David Cohen, a senior from Leawood, presented legislation to allocate $612,678.000 from the student activity fee for the block budget.
Finance committee originally discussed removing certain social services from block funding because they said those services are not considered an “activity” and therefore it would be inappropriate to use the student activity fee to fund them. The Douglas County AIDS Project, The Gadugi Safe Center, Headquarters Counseling Center and the Willow Domestic Violence Center all looked to lose funding from Senate based on the discussions during the block hearings.
Student Body President Michael Wade Smith, a senior from Goodland, said he is not saying these groups are unimportant or don’t deserve funding.
“They just shouldn’t be funded here,” Smith said.
An amendment was made to the bill to strike the lines that would deny funding for three services: the Douglas County AIDS Project, Gadugi Safe Center and Headquarters Counseling Center. Those services will receive funding for one more year, although the Willow Domestic Violence Center will not.
Smith said he supports the development of a task force that will consider alternative funding options for the social services on campus.
Line Allocations
Line allocations for the fiscal year 2012 passed with much less controversy than block.
Committee passed the bill allocating $106,088 for the line budget.
Services funded under line-items range from Alternative break funding to student organizations and groups.
Fee Review
The campus fee review subcommittee suggested an increase in 17 areas within student fees.
However, committee chair Mark Pacey said the fee increases are offset by a significant amount of decreases that will ultimately result in a zero percent increase from the current total of $428.95.
Here are some areas that received increases:
-Student Senate Activity Fee: $15.50 to $17.00
-Studetn Health fee: $119.80 to $125.30
-Campus Transportation Fee: $78.50 to $87.30
-Student Union Activity Fee: $5.00 to $6.00
Areas that decreased fees:
-Women’s and Non-revenue Intercollegiate Sports Fee: $40.00 to $25.00
-Wireless Implementation Fee: $5.00 to $0.00
Campus Transportation Fee to referendum
In a vote of nine to five, the bill to move the campus transportation fee increase to referendum before the student body at the next scheduled Senate election did not pass.
According to the bill, the increase in the transportation fee will result in extended bus services west from campus to include more apartment complexes such as Legends Place Apartments and The Grove.
The $7.80 fund increase did still pass in fee review and will go before full Senate at the next meeting but will not result in a vote by the student body.
Angelique McNaughton 