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SSFC OKs CFACT budget

Committee approves revised proposal to shift group’s funding

The Associated Students of Madison’s Student Services Finance Committee approved a budget alteration Monday proposed by Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow to allow two new positions to be added to their staff.

SSFC agreed to allow CFACT to use their budget alterations to train the new financial manager and workshop manager that will be added to the staff.

The money will also help create a new program to ensure CFACT campaigns affect more students and the student organization becomes more of an on-campus presence.

The committee allowed for $1,910.45 to be removed from CFACT’s telephone line item that no longer served a purpose to the group and redirect the money to the creation of a new program called the “Campaign Project and Workshop Fund.”

“I do have a couple of apprehensions about the budget alterations,” said SSFC Representative Meagan Schmitz. “But I think that CFACT has a right to have more of a presence on campus.”

The majority of the council agreed it was an appropriate alteration.

“We feel that moving money into program line [items] from other areas benefits the students more, because more programs on campus means more students can participate,” SSFC Chair Carl Fergus said.

The SSFC also heard budget proposals for the ASM Bus Pass and SAFEride program.

The proposed budget presented by the Bus Pass Advisory Committee called for an increase in funds to be made available for the transportation programs.

According to SSFC Representative Tyler Junger, the Transportation Services are asking to have their total budget raised to $4,048,244. Junger added the ASM bus pass is proposing a budget of $3,859,700.

Junger added the difference in these amounts is mostly due to Transportation Service’s desire for students to cover $80,944 in what they call “Prior Year Reimbursement Cab & Bus.”

According to ASM Bus Pass Coordinator Margaret Bergimini, the committee has been developing their proposal for several months to create a budget that avoids any form of transportation to be removed from their programs.

Bergimini emphasized the importance of the bus programs by noting approximately 27,000 students a semester pick up bus passes, and UW students take an estimated 2.5 million rides each year on the Madison Metro. This year, ridership has risen by 7 percent, she added.

The high percent of students who participate also excludes rides taken on buses 81 to 85, since students are not required to swipe their bus passes and numbers cannot be accurately gauged.

Bergimini noted the increase in funding would not mean an increase in bus pass price.

Fergus said the SSFC has yet to formulate an opinion on the bus pass and SAFEride proposals.

The committee will meet Thursday to discuss the final budget alterations for the proposed budgets.