The Student Services Finance Committee met Monday to hear budget proposals from Supporting Peers in Laid-Back Listening and the Multicultural Student Coalition, which unexpectedly requested approximately $1 million less than originally proposed.
MCSC initially submitted a budget of over $1.3 million for 2013-’14, however the group presented a revised budget of $380,738.80 at Monday’s meeting.
Although the changes were unexpected, SSFC Chair Ellie Bruecker said it might be possible for MCSC’s full revised budget to be passed as a block amendment at SSFC’s next meeting, allowing committee members to work from this altered budget for the rest of the budgeting process.
Bruecker said the revised budget was a “good step in the right direction,” and the group’s shift of priority from events to direct services is more fiscally responsible.
SSFC and MCSC have a contentious history after SSFC decided last October to deny the group General Student Services Fund funding eligibility.
Debate further ensued after a second SSFC decision in April to freeze MCSC’s funds for 52 weeks, citing an intentional violation of university policies when the group failed to follow a policy requiring it to select the least expensive candidate to perform staff trainings.
Although the group’s funding remains frozen until April 2013, the ASM Student Council approved the group’s funding eligibility for this year on April 25, 2012, amidst heated controversy over whether Council representatives had the proper training and remained viewpoint neutral in their decision.
Libby Wick-Bander, an executive member of MCSC, called the events of last year “unprecedented” and “absurd.”
However, due to SSFC policies and procedures, the committee is not allowed to take any past decisions into account when deciding on current budget proposals.
SSFC also heard a funding proposal from SPILL, an anonymous peer-based online support system that provides students with a confidential venting outlet.
The group requested $39,819.90, a $16,266 decrease from its current budget.
According to representatives from SPILL, the group requested less money after it did not use the full amount requested in this year’s budget.
SSFC will make the final budget decisions for MCSC and SPILL at its meeting Thursday.
