The Student Services Finance Committee approved a new hourly wage for student employees of Recreational Sports Thursday night.

If passed by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, the resolution will substantially raise the hourly wage for students working for Recreational Sports.

According to SSFC Chair Zach Frey, a resolution passed by UW students last fall required the committee to request the wage increase.

"We have to request that they all recommend the auxiliary budgets (to) pay students their hourly minimum of $10.23 an hour," Frey said. "Right now it varies. It starts at seven-something, but the recommendation is in an increase to all their student hourly wages to $10.23 an hour."

The vote passed with minimal debate by an 8-0-1 vote. SSFC representative David Lapidus cast the lone "pass" vote.

"I was against that referendum from the start," Lapidus said, explaining the only reason he did not vote against the referendum is because it would make it binding. "I don't think there is any good argument for why a student needs to get $10.23 an hour to swipe people into the SERF with their WisCard — I think that's ridiculous."

Although the vote was passed in the fall ASM election, Frey said the increase needs to pass through the chancellor's office, and then the regents, to be enforced.

Lapidus said even if students are strapped for cash, there are other routes for maintaining their finances.

"If students need financial aid, it would be much more efficient to just put that money into a financial-aid program," Lapidus said. "There are already measures in place to basically make the system run more efficiently than to reward work that isn't happening."

Lapidus was also the only member during the meeting to vote against a proposal to replace a laptop from the Red Gym that was "stolen right out of the drawer," according to Red Gym representative Molly Anderson.

Anderson said although valuable objects at the Red Gym are now under lock and key, a replacement would cost more than $1,500.

Lapidus said the replacement was overpriced for the needs at the facility.

"I thought the computer was too expensive," Lapidus said. "You could get something perfectly good for their needs for $700 to $800."

The proposal for the $1,500 eventually was passed by an 8-1-0 vote.

SSFC, which is the financial branch of the Associated Students of Madison, also went over proposals regarding the University Health Services budget, which covers various operational costs, new positions and shifts in employment.

The Wisconsin Union also proposed its $632,000 budget, covering student wages, the Union Building Project, food services and unemployment, as well as investments for the Union to expand and increase its self-generated revenue.