The Associated Students of Madison’s Student Services Finance Committee met Monday evening to hear budget proposals from Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group and Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics.
In their first year of General Student Services Fund eligibility, AHA is requesting a funding level of $82,285.
Chair Ellie Bruecker said AHA’s funding request is “a little harder to judge” as there are no previous budgets with which to compare it.
According to AHA representatives, the group is requesting funds for the purchase of a high quality video camera to share events on its YouTube channel, which has already received over 60,000 views.
Bruecker said she found AHA’s initial budget request to be somewhat high and the committee will need to take a close look at it.
Ultimately, Bruecker said the committee should be able to come up with a responsible and appropriate funding level for AHA.
SSFC also heard a budget proposal from WISPIRG, a statewide student organization that is student funded and directed, and seeks to tackle student issues.
Despite SSFC’s approval of WISPIRG’s budget for the 2012-’13 academic year, Chancellor David Ward has not signed off on a funding contract for the group’s full-time, non-student staff employees.
Representatives from the organization said they believe these non-student employees’ expertise is invaluable to completing their mission.
According to Bruecker these contract issues will be the “center of the [budget] discussion.”
SSFC will vote on WISPIRG and AHA’s budgets at its next meeting Nov. 8.
