The Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee made recommendations Monday for the Recreational Sports and the Child Care Tuition Assistance programs’ non-allocable budgets.
The committee made small provisions to the budget plan, recommending Recreational Sports create a list of student segregated fees to clarify where student funds are being spent.
SSFC members also commended Recreational Sports for showing fiscal responsibility by not raising student segregated fees for the 2010 fiscal year and for creating student jobs by participating in work-study programs.
Secretary Tyler Junger was not fully in support of the Recreational Sports non-allocable budget, noting an expansion to the SERF and Natatorium was an unnecessary use of segregated fees.
“I feel segregated fees should go to services and programs. I have a hard time being convinced that students should pay directly for buildings,” Junger said.
SSFC member Brandon Williams agreed with Junger, saying recommendations for the expansion of buildings were not the job of the SSFC and should instead be discussed among the Recreational Sports Committee.
Williams added with the increase in tuition, raising segregated fees would be detrimental and dangerous to students based on the current economic climate.
A spokesperson for the Recreation Sports said assessments and research for the non-allocable budget have been going on for the past several years.
He added the idea was for a building plan to go to referendum in spring 2010. If passed, two years would be set aside for project design and construction would be complete by 2013.
SSFC members said they would welcome a presentation from Recreational Sports on future plans.
SSFC made small cuts to the tuition assistance budget and commended them for the majority of their budget layout.
The committee commended CCTAP for how their program draws students to campus — specifically for their advisory board — is made up of 80 percent students and their 90 percent graduation rate.
The Wisconsin Union also presented their auxiliary budget before the SSFC.
Union President Jeff Rolling said the budget is broken down into four areas of operating revenue from the smallest to most prevalent: investment revenue, other revenue, student segregated fees and direct operating revenue.
According to Rolling, direct operating revenue consists of 64 percent of their budget and is made up of $18,339,300. Student segregated fees make up 28 percent of the budget, consisting of $7,873,900.
Williams was concerned about student employment and what happened to the students employed at Union South when it closed.
“We have a re-allocation plan. As people retired from Union South in the past few years, we didn’t fill those [positions]. We have moved students to other outlying units on campus,” Union Director Mark Guthier said. “Everyone should see better service and management presence in the next two years.”
Rolling said the Union is the “heart and soul” of the university, especially with all the programs and services offered to UW students.
SSFC will make budget recommendations for the Union non-allocable budget on Thursday.
