The student government took its first look Monday at the budgets for four institutions generally considered to be campus staples.
The Student Services Finance Committee heard budget requests from the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program, the University of Wisconsin Unions, University Health Services and Recreational Sports.
SSFC Chair Matt Manes said he wanted committee members to have a thorough understanding of the challenges the organizations applying for funding will face in the coming years.
Keeping that in mind, he said it is important SSFC members look at the long terms goals of each organization.
“We can’t be looking at these budgets in single year snapshots,” Manes said.
Committee members heard the presentations of each organization’s budget. Further debate will take place later this week.
CCTAP Director Lynn Edlefson’s budget included a requested $770,700 of student segregated fees, an increase of about $43,000 from last year. She said the main reasons for the increase were to provide more emergency or sick care and to make sure every eligible student is given help with child care.
“We want to make sure that everyone who is eligible gets an award, and we want to beef up sick and back up care,” Edlefson said. “We think it’s good for everybody all the way around.”
Other organizations presenting budgets, including UHS and the Union, explained a significant decrease in portions of their budgets having to do with Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal that state employees, including university staffers, pay into their own health care and pension costs.
Because of this, Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier proposed an increase in staff wages. The Union budget included a more than $9.1 million request for segregated fees.
Guthier noted the Union currently plans to waive a previously granted $5 segregated fee increase because of the revenue it will be saving on pensions and health care.
UHS Director Sarah Van Orman’s five-year projection also included wage increases for full time staff. She said the increases in salary were necessary to attract and retain top quality staff, adding UHS currently pays around 30 percent less than health staff makes in the private sector.
“I think that’s something that’s just the reality when you look at both community and national (salary) averages. … We’re just that far below,” Van Orman said.
UHS’s budget requested more than $12.3 million in segregated fees.
Recreational Sports Director Dale Carruthers said the budget for Rec Sports, which requested $2.3 million in segregated fees, was larger this year because the state will require the university to pay half of the maintenance costs for facility upkeep. He added they also plan to replace the weight room equipment in the South East Recreation Facility.
Despite the increase, Rec Sports’ request will only raise segregated fees $2.34, as it is using its reserve fund to pay some of the maintenance fees.
All four groups said their proposed budgets were written assuming Walker’s budget repair bill will pass, and they will have to go back and take another look at their budgets if the bill does not pass.
SSFC also approved the final letter of denial of General Student Services Fund money to Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group after voting to deny it funds in front of Student Judiciary last week.
At last week’s meeting, representatives from WISPIRG said they expect to appeal the decision for a second time.
