The Temporary Student Government Financial Restructure Committee will meet this week to reflect and debate how to best structure its accounts to provide funds to student organizations.
Student Government President Taylor Cox said SG’s accounting system was created by former SG President Michelle Gieg in 2006 to describe how student fees should be used. But Cox said the way SG would like to access several of those accounts has changed since then.
“We want to very effectively, but as quickly as possible, meet with all the people on the committee, go through this document, make sure that it’s updated,” Cox said.
When Arlette Henderson, SG’s current financial coordinator, reviewed the accounts, she said the terms and descriptions of the accounts were outdated for the needs of the student body in 2012.
“When we meet, we’re just kind of having an open discussion just to see if the way the setup is currently is good for Student Government for 2012,” Henderson said.
Gieg approached the University’s Finance and Administrative Services, commonly known as FAS, to develop the 2006 document with assistance from Eddie Parfait, the assistant director of Investments and Endowment Accounts who became a liaison between the FAS and SG.
“I worked with their financial coordinator … to help them set up the budgets and the general ledger system, set up new accounts and make any sort of accounting entries that need to be done according to the structure that they set up in 2006,” Parfait said.
Henderson said there are some accounts listed in the 2006 document that are not being used, and he explained that the fees were not outdated, but the descriptions associated with each account needed to be reviewed.
“It’s simple [terms], but I think the memo was just kind of written for people that were actually in the position, and I don’t think it kind of extended to when a new person came in like myself to get all the background,” Henderson said.
Henderson said she likes to know the background information of the accounts system to operate in the right manner, so she and SG can follow the proper guidelines for the accounts.
For example, Henderson said she understands how SG funds like the Programming, Support and Initiatives Fund, commonly known as PSIF, and the Organization Relief Fund, or ORF, are used to assist students and student organizations, but said she thinks she and the new SG members need to review the account history by meeting with committee to discuss its background.
Cox and Speaker of the Senate Meredith Westbrook have both said informing student organizations on how they are supposed to properly apply for funds is one of SG’s priorities this year.
Westbrook said when students come to Senate for money, the author of that legislation needs to inform the students of everything they need to know for the funding process. Cox said he plans to have executive members visit organizations with packets that include a “how-to” to apply for PSIF and ORF funds.
“They think sometimes that we have a checkbook and that we just write you a check on the spot when it’s done — well, we have to go through our process, too. It has to be approved through us and then it has to be approved through FAS and Arlette [Henderson] and then we get a check cut,” Cox said.
While nothing is certain until the committee meets this week, Cox said students should expect changes in SG this year.
“We have a unique opportunity because we’ve had an administration that no other person has had the opportunity with – not only new leadership, but new advisers,” he said.
