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Impact 89FM struggles with receiving tax money

November 29, 2012
	<p>Dylan DeVries, then-senior in the Residential College of Arts and Humanities, talks to his audience between songs while he deejays on-air for Impact 89FM on June 6, 2011 in Holden Hall. The Impact has been named College Radio Station of the Year for 10 years running. State News File Photo</p>

Dylan DeVries, then-senior in the Residential College of Arts and Humanities, talks to his audience between songs while he deejays on-air for Impact 89FM on June 6, 2011 in Holden Hall. The Impact has been named College Radio Station of the Year for 10 years running. State News File Photo

Photo by State News file photo | The State News

Impact 89FM might be at the beginning of the end when it comes to its frozen student-tax revenue.

A bill allowing Impact 89FM to collect its currently frozen student-tax revenue with some conditions was passed by ASMSU’s Policy Committee on Thursday night.

Should ASMSU’s General Assembly approve, Impact 89FM only will need to meet some conditions and receive the Council of Graduate Students’, or COGS, approval to receive its frozen student-tax funds.

Currently, Impact 89FM has not received any of the $3 taxes collected on each student because of some concerns from student governance groups ASMSU and COGS about the organization’s financial records and the station’s oversight group, the Radio Board, not meeting for several years.
In a previous interview, station general manager Ed Glazer said after receiving ASMSU and COGS’s approval, the radio station should receive the tax money.

“ASMSU does not wish to impede student groups, such as (Impact 89FM), from their regular operations as a consequence of the errors of the MSU administration,” according to the bill.

The bill states the group will “retroactively” authorize or ratify the tax MSU students approved by ballot in the spring, on condition the station undergoes a full external financial audit and has a budget for the rest of the 2012-13 fiscal year, both with the review and approval of the Radio Board.

The bill also states the already-collected student tax money will not be distributed and no new taxes will be collected unless the Radio Board reviews and approves of the audit and budget first.
The Radio Board has not met since at least 2009.

In memos and emails obtained by The State News, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Services Denise Maybank stated ASMSU and COGS are supposed to renew the Impact 89FM student tax before it receives approval by a majority student vote, but this did not occur.

“We don’t want to be charging students this tax if we don’t have a clear audit,” said committee chair Jessica Leacher, who introduced the bill. “The ball’s in their court.”

Next week the bill will be presented in ASMSU’s General Assembly and the issue should be discussed at COGS’ Full Council meeting.

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