Student Services Finance Committee kicked off spring semester Thursday with a discussion on how to understand the large budgets that it will handle in the upcoming non-allocable budget hearings.
From now through February, SSFC will be briefed on massive budgets, SSFC Chair Thuy Pham said. The committee typically uses these meetings to go over how to read the spreadsheets for the budgets in the month ahead.
“The union has a huge budget and I know when I first looked at it I was overwhelmed, so we put together a presentation to point to what you should focus on,” Pham said.
Brett DuCharme, SSFC vice chair, said because Memorial Union is a historical site, a lot of money goes into preserving it properly. On construction alone, the union has a standard annual budget allocation of $7.4 million, DuCharme said.
Yet, even with this large allocation of the budget, there is an expectation that the money allotted for student wages will drop due to Memorial Union being closed. Memorial Union is a section of the budget that normally holds between $4 million to $5 million, DuCharme said.
There is no quick and concise way to approach the upcoming budget hearings, DuCharme said, so similar questions will be asked throughout the hearing. When dealing with such large budgets, it is extremely important to ask questions, DuCharme said.
“Supplies and services is where you can go hog-wild with questions,” DuCharme said. “This is really what we are looking into, this is the kind of stuff you want to ask questions about.”
Also, with a recently submitted budget, Dave Black, WSUM general manager, came in on behalf of WSUM to remind SSFC that he will answer any questions regarding WSUM’s budget.
Black said he wants to show SSFC exactly where student money goes to in order for it to make the best decision regarding WSUM’s budget in the upcoming month.
“The station wouldn’t exist without SSFC and we do everything we can to keep your trust and build on it,” Black said. “You’re the bosses, the people who pay the bills are the ones who call the tune.”
The decision of WSUM’s budget will be made Feb. 4.
With only a handful of budgets to deal with in the spring semester, DuCharme said SSFC can use this time to be more introspective and take the opportunity to look into areas they may want to change.
“I think we have been able to save a lot of money for students while still providing sufficient student programming,” DuCharme said. “I just always want you guys as we move through the semester to keep those things in balance.”
SSFC will meet again Feb 1, with a budget hearing for the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program.
