The Student Services Finance Committee made drastic budget changes to SAFE Nighttime Services and the UW Labor Center Wednesday night.
SSFC also made minor cuts on the Movimento Estudiantil Chicana De Aztlan organization’s budget while passing WisPIRG’s budget as it was requested.
SAFE Nighttime Services’ budget had been up in the air since SSFC heard its request Monday. Some SSFC members wanted to put the entire process on hold for ten days until the service’s functions could be reevaluated.
According to SSFC member Matt Modell, the organization put too much money into SAFEwalk, which he said was an underused function of the group. Modell had said he would rather see this money going toward extending bus access on Thursday nights until 3 a.m., as it is on Friday and Saturday nights.
“The number of students that use [SAFEwalk] is relatively low, while the cost is really high,” Modell said.
Wednesday, SSFC kept these worries in mind and actually added an extra $5,250 to the group so that SAFE could experiment with this Thursday night service. The allotment also provided a stipulation that would allow cutting this added money from the SAFE budget Feb. 28, the day before the budget goes to the chancellor’s office, if this service was deemed impossible.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the questions came down to whether or not the service was needed and whether or not it was appropriate for SSFC to tinker with SAFE’s business.
Some members, including SAFE coordinator Jane Goemans, were unsure whether or not extending the Thursday night route would even be feasible.
But SSFC decided to grant the money with the stipulation in hopes that campus safety will be improved in the long run.
The final budget passed for SAFE was $193,471, up from a requested $188,221.
SSFC drastically cut the budget of the UW Labor Center, though, from the $10,360 the Labor Center requested down to $6,880.
SSFC found that the Labor Center, despite asking only for the bare necessities of a staff, a place to work and a telephone, was not serving students adequately.
“I don’t see really see a service they’ve provided,” Urmanski said. “[But] we need to give it something so that it can survive and improve.”
But most members felt the budding organization’s minor request, along with a demonstration that they will use the funding to work harder on student issues in coming years, was important.
“The questions and concerns I have with the Labor Center are so numerous and overwhelming I can’t see [funding them fully],” said SSFC member Andy Wallmeyer. “[The $6,800] still gives them enough money to operate ? and come back next year.”
After only minor debates, SSFC granted WisPIRG the entire $77,200 they requested and granted MEChA $41,138 of the $41,399.50 they requested.
SSFC also heard the budget requests of UW Greens, which is asking for $25,274.72, and the Tenant Resource Center, asking for $34,303. Both of these organizations’ budgets will be decided Oct. 15.
In another move, the committee set a minimum funding level of $5,085 for applying organizations.
