Four days after asking the Associated Students of Madison to reconsider its proposed 2006-07 segregated fee budget, Chancellor John Wiley got his answer Monday.
"If he sees something wrong, it's up to him to pull the trigger," ASM Conference Committee representative Eric Saar said Monday after the committee discussed Wiley's proposed changes and decided on a revised segregated-fee budget.
Going through the letter Wiley sent to the Conference Committee co-chairs point by point, the committee opted to amend some of the chancellor's recommended changes, adopt others, but left many questions up to the chancellor to resolve himself.
On the issue of whether segregated-fees could be used to pay for a student organization's rent and utilities at a non-university facility, the committee decided they could for five out of the six organizations Wiley mentioned in his letter.
The issue was raised after Wiley, citing an October 2004 memorandum from University of Wisconsin legal services, said in his letter that organizations located at off-campus buildings cannot receive segregated fees to pay for rent and utilities.
Pending the chancellor's approval of the Conference Committee's proposal, the Jewish Cultural Collective, Sex Out Loud, the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow, and the Tenant Resource Center will all receive segregated fee funding for their rent at off-campus buildings.
Conference Committee representatives — questioning whether the memo was actual UW policy — argued it would put an "undo hardship" on student organizations to remove their only source of funding for already standing rental leases on short notice, especially when those organizations need space to operate and have no other options.
"To allocate $50,000, $75,000 budgets, but not provide [student organizations] the resources to properly use that money is absurd," Conference Committee representative Adam Schlicht said. "I think it's an even more bizarre question on whether organizations can find funding in that time."
However, should the chancellor disagree with the committee's decision, the committee added a provision asking him to grant the organizations a one-year exemption.
The one organization mentioned in Wiley's letter the Conference Committee said should not receive funding for maintenance and utilities is the University of Wisconsin Roman Catholic Foundation.
Committee members said they believed the foundation was in a different category than the other organizations because it actually owns the building where it's based and does not just rent from a landlord.
Most of the Conference Committee's discussions Monday centered on UWRCF, which Wiley said in his initial letter was ineligible for segregated fee funding for a number of reasons.
Citing UW System Financial and Administrative Policy F20, Wiley said the foundation could not receive segregated fee funding because it was not a registered student organization.
Wiley also said the foundation could not receive funding for many of its activities, personnel and printing, because of their strong religious nature.
Monday, the Conference Committee agreed with the chancellor that UWRCF should not receive segregated fee funding if it is not a registered student organization. The committee proposed that the foundation not receive any segregated fee funding until it registers.
However, it will be left up to Wiley to decide which of the foundation's activities, personnel and printing to fund.
Saying the issue involved to much legal "gray area," Conference Committee representatives opted to provide Wiley a summary of previous decisions various ASM committees had on the topic during the foundation's budgetary process to help guide his decision instead of putting forth a direct recommendation.
"What the chancellor wants is further justification that I don't think, at this point, this body can make," Schlicht said. "Ultimately, it's going to be the chancellor's decision."
The committee has until April 19 to send Wiley its revised budget proposal.
