After Student Government Office Manager Cira Mervin’s retirement this month, SG leaders and their advisers are discussing what to do with the money allocated to her position.
Of Mervin’s $47,500, there remains $35,000 for the year.
Paul Cousins, director of the Office of Student Conduct and Mervin’s direct supervisor, said some of the student body officers and their advisors have formed a personnel committee to discuss the matter.
“The first step has to be ‘what are the needs of the office?'” he said.
According to Cousins, Mervin’s position was a beneficial one in the past.
“Even though not all student leaders would say this, it’s a big reality check to have someone like Cira in a student organization,” he said.
Despite this observation, Cousins said it does not necessarily mean that Mervin’s position needs to be filled.
“Organizations evolve,” he said. “This group of student leaders is different than other student leaders.”
Not filling the position, he said, doesn’t impact anybody but the vacancy provides SG leaders with an opportunity to assess the way they can be most effective.
“The biggest mistake that they would make is to act in haste,” he said.
But, Cousins said he is currently struggling with paperwork and logistics due to the vacant position.
He said if her position is not filled, the Office of Student Conduct will take on any judicial board duties of her position, the student body officers would manage other paper work and new work study students would help with whatever else is needed.
Student Senate President Greg Doucette said the personnel committee has not actually met yet, but that Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Evelyn Reiman wants to draft a job description for a replacement employee to become the official SG adviser, and to hire that employee by January.
“The problem as I see it is I don’t want a replacement person in that position because once you hire them, you can’t get rid of them until they retire,” he said.
According to Doucette, he finds a proposal to hire two graduate assistants and four work-study students as more feasible, all with one-year commitments and contracts.
He said if Mervin’s position is filled, SG will face a minimum impact of $60,000, which will keep going up as the legislature requires salary raises, and SG will have to pay for benefits, a parking permit and retirement.
Adam Compton, senate finance committee chair, said his committee has been receiving various proposals from SG leaders as to where they want the money from Mervin’s position reallocated.
“That’s one thing the finance committee has been looking at these past two meetings and will continue looking at,” he said.
According to Compton, Student Body Treasurer Dave Foxx and Doucette are pushing for a lot of the money to be allocated to appropriations for different student groups.
Foxx is also pushing for funding for his financial education week and Student Body President Bobby Mills is pushing for funding for various new tradition programs.
Some proposals, Compton said, include things like payment of gas for the Department of Government Relations when its members take students back and forth to the polls during elections.
“That’s something the finance committee will turn a critical eye to,” Compton said. “Everything will be looked at very critically.”
Doucette said none of the proposals will go through until Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford and Reiman make a decision as to whether or not to hire a new person for the position.
