The Student Services Finance committee met Tuesday to make the budget decision for the Student Activity Center Governing Board and hold budget hearings for WSUM Student Radio and the Transportation and Student Bus Pass.
There was some debate among representatives regarding the pay of SACGB members.
Rep. Dylan Resch proposed to defund pay for members, resulting in a budgetary cut.
Study spaces in SAC subject to change with requested budget increase
Rep. Zaakir Abdul-Wahid argued that not paying this position would put students at a socioeconomic disadvantage in a difficult position because they wouldn’t be able to take time out of their week to participate in this position. Associated Students of Madison positions should be available to all students, regardless of financial advantage or disadvantage, he argued.
On the other hand, Rep. Jeremy Swanson pointed out that this position only requires 1.5 hours per week and doesn’t deal with budgetary issues or a strict attendance policy like other ASM positions.
“I absolutely understand what [Rep. Abdul-Wahid] was saying about ASM being accessible to people of various socioeconomic backgrounds, however, in this scenario there’s concern over the job responsibilities and job description of what SACGB members would actually be doing on a weekly basis,” Rep. Max Goldfarb said.
The committee passed the reduction in pay by a vote of 7–1-3.
The total budget for SACGB was approved for $374,185 in a vote of 10-0-1.
SSFC also held a budget hearing for WSUM Student Radio. They proposed a 1.94% increase in their budget, mainly due to technology costs.
The budget hearing for Transportation and Student Bus Pass was also held. This budget contains the student bus pass with Madison Metro, the 80 bus routes and the shuttle service for those with disabilities that runs during the spring and fall semesters.
The budget decisions for WSUM and Transportation and Student Bus Pass will be made at Monday’s SSFC meeting.
