The Wisconsin Union Council met to approve a budget of nearly $43 million last night, which would draw on about $9 million in student segregated fees, a measure members said was a necessity due to a budget deficit.

“Unfortunately, in late September we got an email asking us to put our revenue down by $370,000. The budget now is based on a 3 percent fee increase plus a $5 increase in segregated fees for students for the next three years,” said Wisconsin Union Associate Director Hank Walter, who presented the budget.

Some 25.6 percent of the total of the operating budget for the Wisconsin Union comes from fees, while the other 74.4 percent is generated by the Union’s own revenue, Walter said.

Associated Students of Madison Rep. Sam Seering said he was very comfortable passing the budget.

Wisconsin Union President Katie Fischer said the segregated fees only support expenses related to maintaining and operating the facilities.

However, it is the Union’s own revenue, which comes from over two dozen units, that funds the Union’s programs and services as well as supports the cost of maintaining and managing the Union’s facilities, Fischer said.

The Union’s $43 million budget is comprised of a combination of approximately 75 different budgets.

Walter went on to explain that $4.3 million is budgeted for student wages for next year, which is 45 percent of the revenue from segregated fees.

“I am glad that we can put $4.3 million back into the student’s pockets,” Walter said.

Union Council faces a challenge regarding the $270,000 deficit and budgeting for the upcoming year, as it is not fully aware of the construction schedule yet and will not know some major pieces of it until the end of February, Walter said.

This will require some estimation on Union Council’s part, he added.

With this in mind, Union Council has requested $9.469 million in segregated fees, an amount lower than the $11.85 million that it would likely be without the profit from dining hall services to offset the budget.

Walter also highlighted that Der Rathskeller and the Daily Scoop are among the most profitable areas in the Union.

The process for budget approval started with Union Council reviewing the budget. The budget will be sent on to the Student Services Finance Committee for review. SSFC would pass the budget on to the chancellor, who would make a final decision before sending it to the Board of Regents for approval.

Aside from presenting the budget, Union Council also briefly discussed its next meeting, which will be held solely for selecting officers for the Wisconsin Union and the Wisconsin Union Directorate for the upcoming school year.

Union Council’s next meeting will be held on March 1, 2012.