Student Government spends close to a half a million dollars per year.Some of that money is spent on big events like Groovin’ on the Grounds or on operating costs like making copies in the SG office.The money comes from student fees and sponsorships. It is divided among the executive, legislative and judicial branches, concerts, the Programming, Support and Initiatives Fund, and the Organization Relief Fund.Student organizations can fill out applications to receive shares of the money from PSIF and ORF. They can also go through SG Senate and try to receive money through a resolution.This year, PSIF awarded the largest amounts of funding to the Cannapolooza project ($9,395), Residential Hall Association for Snowin’ in the South ($4,000), the Sleep in a Box event ($8,002) and the Indian Student Association ($7,800.) The organizations don’t always spend their awarded amounts.SG also generates money from corporate sponsors.During the 2008-09 school year, SG had a sponsorship budget of $42,950 and spent $52,391.34. The most costly expense from the sponsorship account was $28,832 for four buses for a single trip.During the 2009-10 school year, SG had a sponsorship budget of $43,075 and spent $38,753.14. The most costly expense from this account was $10,625 for buses for a trip to the Mississippi State vs. LSU football game.Of the roughly $500,000 used in all aspects of SG spending, $112,321 is budgeted as the operating budget among the three branches for next year.SG Senate approved next year’s budget, written by University Center for Freshman Year Sen. Justin Terracciano, during the organizational Senate session last Thursday.His budget decreased the presidential contingency accounts, increased the programming budget and closed the distance between the presidential and vice presidential salaries.”We decreased presidential contingency by $1,000, and we did that because the past administration had a good bit of money they didn’t use,” Terracciano said.Chris Sellers, former Finance Committee chair, created the budget for former President Stuart Watkins’ administration.Sellers said he did an “overhaul of the budget” from previous years.”In the past, the executive branch was pretty much the whole programming branch, and Stuart was willing to let us share programming with [Senate] as well,” Sellers said.The president, vice president and speaker of the senate contingency accounts were created to fund projects they’re passionate about, Sellers said.Sellers said his budget also raised the president’s salary after he did surveys of student governments in other Southeastern Conference schools, and he discovered the University’s SG president salary was “severely low.”He said Terracciano’s new budget improved on his substantial changes.”It was very good of [SG President] J [Hudson] and [SG Vice President] Dani [Borel] that they took a president salary decrease and a vice president increase,” Sellers said. “Last year Stuart got paid a lot, but that was basically a reserve to pay the vice president.”Watkins said he and Sellers looked at where they could be the most fiscally responsible.”We entered an administration where we kind of had some setbacks,” Watkins said. “The Groovin’ account was overspent by $10,000. We had limited resources.”Watkins said they also had less money because enrollment wasn’t as high as previous years.The Eye on the Tiger section of the SG Web site shows where SG spent money during the course of the year.Watkins said one of the most expensive programs was the new holiday bus shuttle system.”When you start a new program or new service, that will be the bulk of your costs,” Watkins said. “That one-part initiative costs exponentially more because we had to jumpstart a new program.”—-Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected].