Despite expectations that ASMSU’s Student Assembly would pass its 2002-03 budget Thursday night, not enough members were present to vote.
The undergraduate student government must pass the budget by April 4 or it will be in violation of its own code.
The proposed budget includes a $12,000 budget cut and rearranged money allotments within the organization.
Inflation and the organization’s failed $3 tax increase referendum last week contributed to the new projected $775,855 budget. The organization will continue to receive a $13 tax incorporated in undergraduate students’ tuition each semester.
Student Assembly external vice chairperson Joe Mignano said next year might be a repeat of this year’s budget shortfalls.
“Our departments could be running out of money again,” he said.
The budget is divided among 13 departments, including salaries for the Red Cedar Log, MSU’s yearbook.
Last year’s total budget was $787,640, which doesn’t include the 2000-01 year budget surplus of $79,007 that rolled over into the Special Projects account. The special account is spent by Student Assembly on supplies and projects by assembly members.
Student Assembly finance committee chairperson Andy Schepers said the organization will continue to see budget problems throughout the next year.
Funding Board, which provides up to $9,000 each week for three student organizations registered with ASMSU, was budgeted $77,585 compared with last year’s $78,764. Funding Board receives 10 percent of the budget.
Programming Board, which pays for events for 16 appointed groups, was budgeted $155,171 compared to last year’s $157,528. The board always receives 20 percent of the total budget.
In 2002-03, ASMSU budgeted $3,900 to advertise the $100 interest-free loan program. Last year, it budgeted $1,950.
“Why are we using that much money toward a program that’s already successful?” said Charles Beachnau, a finance committee member.
Beachnau said he doesn’t know why the organization continues to pay the yearbook staff’s salaries. The yearbook automatically gets $3 of ASMSU’s tax.
“One minute we are passing something without thinking in the future,” said Beachnau, who is a College of Agriculture and Natural Resources representative. “Next assembly is going to have a heavy responsibility to address students. There’s a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.”
Schepers said the finance committee has two short-term goals for the budget - taking the majority of money out of Student Assembly’s power and having each department budget its allocated sum efficiently.
“By doing this, we’re attempting to get the money back into the hands of the students through Legal Services, programming and funding,” Schepers said.
The Special Projects account no longer will get the total surplus of the previous year’s rollover money. In addition to the special account, next year’s surplus money will be split between Programming Board, Funding Board and the Risk Management fund.
But Schepers said the organization still faces the problem of ASMSU Student Legal Services’ contract that ends in 2005. The professional law firm requests salary raises each year in the contract. Next year, the firm is requesting $14,900 for updated law books, compared to last year’s $4,500.
“We are so binded up in contracts, that the money is already allocated,” Schepers said.
