Student Government is currently in the process of making their budget for the fiscal year that runs from July 1 to June 30. The Senate is expected to vote whether to approve the budget next week.
Engineering senior Colin Raby, the chair of the budget and appropriations committee, explained that SG’s money comes from the $2.20 student activities fee students pay on their fall and spring fee bills, as well as a $1 initiative fee on the spring fee bill.
SG is expected to bring in an estimated $124,787 for the fiscal year.
“All of our funding is contingent on how many students we have and how many students pay their fee bills,” Raby said.
The Senate, Raby said, has the final say on how that money is allocated between SG’s branches.
Political communication junior Byron Hansley, director of finance for SG’s executive branch, is working with Raby to produce the budget. Hansley said the pair will work with each branch to determine how much money they think they’ll need and allocate it accordingly.
While the Senate has the ultimate say in the allocation of funds among branches, the executive branch is able to push initiatives faster since it doesn’t have to go through a long voting process, Hansley said.
The legislative and executive branches will likely receive the majority of the money, with the judicial branch receiving a smaller portion since their main job is to regulate the activities of the other branches, Raby said.
The budget, which will be voted on again in the spring, has to be passed in the Senate by a two-thirds vote, he said.
According to Student-Body President Lizzie Shaw, the president and vice-president each make a personal income of $4,000 a year. The executive branch mostly spends its money on events and in the past has used senate funding for larger projects,
Shaw said the executive branch is putting forth their own initiatives, including creating a way for students to report professors who don’t respond to emails or post grades, as well as working to reach the designation of a hunger-free campus.
Along with the money SG gets from the student activities fee, Raby said SG also holds funds in the Programming Support and Initiatives Fund, as well as the Organizational Relief Fund. The Programming Support and Initiatives Fund, controlled by a designated committee, is used to fund student organizations.
Hansley said new organizations, minority organizations, sports organizations and other groups are encouraged to apply for funding from the Programming Support and Initiatives Fund. The money in the Programming Support and Initiatives Fund can be used by groups to help them market themselves and fund events.
Organizations must appear before the committee and apply for money, Halsey said.
The Organizational Relief Fund, Raby said, is used to help student organizations travel by providing reimbursement funds. Students pay for their trips and contact the Organizational Relief Fund for reimbursement to pay them back for their expenses.
The Organizational Relief Fund is a dean of students account chaired by SG, SG adviser Cortney Greavis said.
Students can also apply for funding for their organizations directly from the Senate, Raby said.
