Groups still dragging feet on appropriationsSome filed late, will put more pressure on sponsors, others haven’t turned in receipts and won’t receive fundsTy JohnsonEditor-in-ChiefAt least 80 organizations filed for appropriations on the last day they would be accepted and about 30 filed within an hour of the midnight deadline Sept. 15, according to Sen. Stephen Kouba, who watched the filings as they came in last Tuesday night.Student Government received 156 total requests for group funding and will distribute $68,670 among the organizations, which combined requested $135,682.04.Kouba, who sponsors four organizations, said the sponsors will work to make sure the groups get what they need, even if they don’t get all of the funds they requested, though late-filing groups may have more issues getting their checks.”We want to make sure what they’re asking for is reasonable,” Kouba said. “A group asks for $2,000. Why? A lot of these groups use these arbitrary numbers and if they file late it’s hard for their sponsors.”Kouba said the most important aspect of the process is fairness.”We want to make sure everybody gets their fair share,” Kouba said. “The money will all be given out, but we want to give it out in the best and the most fair way possible.”Student Senate President Kelli Rogers said issues with the requests can be as minor as filing under the appropriate organization name the Student Organization Resource Office has on file. Inconsistent addresses and name filling issues hinder the process, but Rogers is confident most organizations will have their checks in about a month.”Our biggest struggle after getting people to file early is getting the checks out as fast as we can,” Rogers said. “This year we hope to get them out by the end of October.”Another problem that can block organizations from receiving funds is if it has failed to turn in receipts showing how it spent last year’s appropriated money. Kouba estimated about 70 groups hadn’t turned in receipts, and Chair of the Appropriations Committee Jackie Smith said those groups won’t be getting money until they have filed proof of how they spent last year’s funds.Smith said Student Body Treasurer Elmo Lamm was taking receipts seriously, and she would enforce the policy, which maintains groups must turn receipts or a bank statement in by the time interviews begin. This semester’s interview process begins Thursday.