The University of Wisconsin Student Services Finance Committee met Thursday to discuss eligibility and budgeting for the General Student Services Fund for University Health Services. UHS’s budget was approved unanimously with six recommendations.
Prior to these votes, the Wisconsin Union presented their budget requests in a GSSF eligibility and budget hearing.
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To be eligible for GSSF funding, an organization must serve a different purpose than a university-funded program and must have free membership, among other requirements.
The Wisconsin Union president Lauren Damgaard outlined the importance and prevalence of the Union’s services for the campus and greater Madison community.
“We get over 4 million visits to our to Union facilities alone every single year, which just gives you a small idea of the amount of people within the UW-Madison campus community but also the greater Madison community that we serve,” Damgaard said.
According to the Union’s presentation, the Union operates Memorial Union and Union South, as well as the various retail and dining units in each union. The Union also oversees the Campus Events Services office.
One part of the new budget is a raised minimum wage for Union staff, from $11 per hour to $17 per hour in the last year. Damgaard said this was an effort to stay competitive in the job market and make the Union an attractive place to work for students.
When asked about efforts to improve the Union’s general services and to minimize lines using this budget, Wisconsin Union Deputy director Susan Dibbell said the Union has added kiosks which are only open during the lunch hour and is looking into starting delivery again — a service that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the presentation, SSFC members asked questions about the relationship between UW and the Union and why SSFC seems to be paying for services from UW when the opposite is not true.
Union director Mark Guthier answered this by saying that there are examples of a give and take situation between the Union and UW. For example, the Union pays around 30% of the utility bill while UW pays the other 70%, Guthier said.
“The Union benefits, and we don’t pay our full utility bill because we make arguments that the spaces are open for students and staff to use for meetings — we don’t charge for the meeting space,” Guthier said. “There are benefits back and forth and it all worked into this budget over the last few years.”
SSFC will vote on the Union’s budget during their next meeting Dec. 12.
