The student government reviewed its internal budget Thursday, adding a few items along the way. 

The Student Services Finance Committee reviewed the Associated Students of Madison’s internal budget, which ASM chair Brandon Williams presented to SSFC last week at $1,179,338.25. After Thursday night’s meeting, SSFC approved ASM’s budget with an additional $85,000 for a grand total of about $1.26 million.

SSFC members voted to add several items to the internal budget after some debate.

SSFC members added $75,000 for The Commencement Speaker Fund, which had been discussed by the committee last week. The addition of the fund to the budget will cost students about one dollar per semester, said Matt Manes, SSFC chair.

SSFC member Sarah Neibart said she did not believe the amount would be sufficient to account for all of the additional costs bringing a well-known speaker to campus would require.

Although other members agreed more money could be raised through private donations, Neibart said the committee should not rely only on private donors and should increase the fund by $25,000.

SSFC member Cale Plamann disagreed with Neibart and said he thought the fund was set too high. ASM should hold itself to the same standards it holds General Student Services Fund organizations and avoid high honorariums and unnecessary spending, Plamann said.

Manes said the program is unique because it is designed to target the entire campus instead of only small groups of people, which most GSSF groups target.

“We want to make these peoples’ last moment on this campus a memorable one,” Manes said.

The committee also discussed funding an iClicker rental program, in which students would be able to rent iClickers from libraries on campus for the semester at no charge.

Before adding the program to the budget at $10,000, members debated whether it was the responsibility of ASM to provide technology to students.

Neibart said there was no precedent for ASM providing technology to students on campus, and she did not believe it was ASM’s responsibility to provide the service.

SSFC representative Chase Wilson said the frequency at which the iClickers are being used in the classroom is increasing.

“A lot of 100 level classes are starting to use these more and more,” Wilson said.

Eric Ballecer, SSFC representative, said the program will provide iClickers to students who absolutely cannot afford them.

At $10,000, ASM can purchase a little over 300 iClickers, saving students who rent them between $60 and $80, Williams said.

The committee also decided to co-sponsor both Homecoming and the All-Campus Party instead of funding events through Finance Committee event grants.

Instead of forcing the committee to go through the event grant application process, ASM’s co-sponsorship would guarantee a set amount of money for each event over one year in advance, Manes said.

The fund for ACP was set at $25,000, and the fund for Homecoming was set at $15,000 by the committee.

The committee cut the events grant fund by $40,000 to account for the co-sponsorship of both events.

The budget will be reviewed by student council next week.