Finance Reform Bill Passed by SGA

Author: Caroline Stauffer

As a result of repeated complaints from student organizations concerning the procurement of funds, the Student Government Association (SGA) finance guidelines have undergone drastic revision.
According to the Student Co-chair of the Community Council Ben LaBolt '03, specific complaints from organizations included difficulty interacting with the community because groups were unable to purchase items that would permanently leave campus and the near impossibility of hosting events with food.
To address these and other issues, SGA President Ginny Hunt '03 convened an ad hoc committee to revise the guidelines so organizations could obtain funds more easily. The committee, co-chaired by LaBolt and SGA Finance Policy Chair Ami Kilchevsky '04.5, was comprised of a Finance Committee member and three leaders representing student organizations.
In previous years, the treasurer of the SGA has reviewed the guidelines with the Finance Committee, resulting in minor changes and procedural clarifications, according to LaBolt.
"This year, we decided to critically assess why the guidelines existed and how they were affecting organizations," LaBolt said.
The SGA Senate passed the ad hoc committee's revisions on Nov. 8.
As part of these revisions, the statement regarding the purpose of the Finance Committee was also altered. According to the revised statement, the SGA Finance Committee exists to allocate the Student Activities Fee, to serve as an advisory role to student organizations and initiatives and to organize information sessions at least once in the spring semester to introduce new leaders to the funding process.
The former guidelines were cut nearly in half, and the areas of travel, entrance fees, food and procedure were given special attention.
The Finance Committee will continue to pay for vehicle rentals through the College and gas money at its discretion, and there is no longer a mileage limit to receive funds.
Entrance fees will now be 50 percent funded and a limited number of conferences and tournaments will be fully funded.
The committee recognizes that funding food has proved difficult for organizations in the past and will now fund food when it is "an appropriate component of an event germane to the organization's purpose or the specific event," according to the newly drafted guidelines. This does not include funds for refreshments at regular club business meetings. The revised guidelines also strive to simplify request procedures.
Groups that need money and were not previously included in the budget will generally need to attend a Finance Committee meeting and are subject to committee review. Requests from groups already within the budget, however, will now simply be rubber-stamped by the chair, without recipients having to attend a meeting.
The committee will continue to approve the periodic purchase of club team uniforms and some equipment. Officers of selected organizations will also continue to receive stipends.
Activities that take place during the summer will not be funded, and to receive a budget, groups must submit a proposal in the spring for the following year along with an inventory of the group's equipment.
The Finance Committee stresses that the guidelines are to be read as a guide, not as rules, and that while it believes the committee's ability to meet funding requests has improved, the amount in the Student Activities Fee remains the same.
"Student leaders have already given a significant amount of positive feedback on the revisions and appreciate that they are able to more fully use their budgets, deal less with 'red tape' and can more fully realize the goals of their organizations," LaBolt said.