University of Wisconsin Student Services Finance Committee passed a referendum Thursday to include a question on the Associated Students of Madison election ballot regarding use of ASM resources to support statewide student grassroots movements.

The referendum, which passed 5-4-1, was designed to allow ASM to better gauge student body support for the use of these resources. However, some student representatives expressed concerns over the vagueness of the question and the fact there was not a specific dollar amount attached to the question.

Rep. David Morel, who supported the referendum, said before focusing on financial details attached to the question, it’s more important for students to first consider the implications of allowing such use of resources.

“This is simply asking students if they support a certain idea,” Morel said.

UHS Budget

Another topic on the council’s agenda was whether to increase the budget for University Health Services. During the open forum, the council heard student voices on the need to increase the UHS budget, particularly for mental health services.

Danielle Oakley, UHS mental health services director, said UHS is in need of more staff. She said compared to universities of similar size, UW lacks the staff to meet demand for mental health services.

Oakley said to put UHS’ mental health services on par with comparable universities, UHS would need to hire 12.5 more staff members.

Currently, she said UW students in need of mental health services only receive roughly half the individual visitations to mental health professionals that students at comparable universities do.

The council will reconvene Monday to vote on increasing the UHS budget.