The Wisconsin Union presented its budget for hearing to the Student Service Finance Committee Thursday.
The proposed budget of $39,063,500 in expenses contains a 6.9 percent increase to their 2009-10 budget and a $786,800 deficit.
Even though the threshold for increases in budgets presented to the SSFC is a 1.9 percent increase, Union Director Mark Guthier said the expenses of the Wisconsin Union are greater than what the regular increase could cover because of the opening of the new Union South in 2011. This means the budget for academic year 2010-11 has budgeted more expenses than revenue because of the opening.
He said hiring a new student staff, which would include 500 new jobs and a new full time staff for the Union South, must take place months before the building opens this year.
The budget only covers the first few months of the new union opening, when they won’t have time to generate enough revenue to cover their expenses.
Although the building has been designed to accommodate wind and solar energy, there is no money in the budget for the energy technologies upon the building’s opening, Guthier said.
He added Union South is very close to being on schedule, approximately 14 days behind schedule.
The union will also open a coffeehouse in September 2010 in the School of Education and a Badger Market in the Biochemistry Building, which is also included in the budget.
Guthier added if approved, the union budget will also include an increase in student segregated fees of $5 for next year in order to accommodate for the expenses of the new union as well as accumulated maintenance issues in the Memorial Union.
Guthier and Union President Xiangyun Zhang gave examples of water damage throughout the building: parts of the murals in the Rathskeller are coming off the walls, there is asbestos in the basement area and a bucket to catch water from leaks.
To avoid having similar issues in Union South over the years, Guthier urged the committee to allocate funds to combat maintenance issues that may arise in the new building.
Childcare Tuition Assistance Program also proposed its budget to the committee, reaching the 1.9 percent budget increase threshold.
For the 2010-11 year, the amount requested is $749,900, of which 87 percent will go to direct services, CCTAP Director Lynn Edlefson said.
Edlefson said this year was the first year there was a waiting list for childcare at the UW and the increase was to eliminate the need of the waiting list by expanding services.
“Part of what I stress out about is balancing all the different parts of my life. I don’t think I could pursue my program full time if it weren’t for these funds,” Aimee Kurian, a non-traditional graduate student who uses CCTAP said in open forum.
The union and CCTAP’s budgets will be decided by SSFC at their Feb. 18 meeting.
