OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE TREASURER OF STUDENT GOVERNMENT – September 1, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Club Leaders,
Welcome Back to the 2009-2010 academic year. I hope all of your summers went well. The formalized appeals process is outlined below. Some clarifications follow.
The third student Senate Meeting has yet to be scheduled so I do not have the absolute deadline but from experience, it usually falls in the third week of September. If you want to appeal follow these steps:
1) E-mail me with the Subject Heading “Appeal 2009-2010″ (Even if you have already e-mailed me please e-mail me again with a detailed description of your clubs mission, what budget cut you are appealing (e.g. We are appealing the cut of $250 to the State Convention), and why you are appealing it. Please take the time to do this carefully and well. It is a reflection not only of you but of your club.
2) Once I receive the e-mail I will note the appeal in my system and work to schedule times for you to meet with me and the Appropriations Committee for the formalized review of your appeal. It is here that your appeal will either be rejected or sent to the full Senate. Decisions of the Appropriations Committee are FINAL.
3) If your appeal is approved by Committee, one of the committee members will become the Senate sponsor for your bill. He/She will act as your advocate in the Senate.
4) Your bill will then go before the entire Senate. You (or an appropriate substitute) will be REQUIRED to attend the Senate meeting. You will be asked to give a short overview of your club and of your appeal. The bill will then go for an up or down vote. DECISIONS MADE BY THE SENATE ARE FINAL.
Some things to keep in mind:
1) PLEASE READ ALL E-MAILS CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY. I have had several issues this summer regarding clubs not reading e-mails.
2) PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL. I understand that many of you are disappointed with your funding and are frustrated. Remember you are representing your club.
3) UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS. This was a very difficult year to budget. Clubs asked for over $830,000. That represents about a $200,000 increase year over year. 59 Clubs requested money. A year over year increase of 4. The more clubs there are the less money there is on a per capita basis. And while I usually do not release the surplus numbers I think it is necessary. The current “surplus” is around $2000. That means that I cannot give out more than $2000 in the entire appeals process. The reason the surplus is smaller than last years was because of the huge increase in requests.
The student government allocations process was meant to assist clubs with funding, not to be the sole source of financial support. It is your responsibility as club leaders to think of creative ways to raise money yourselves to run all the programs you request. Whether that is through fundraisers, grant applications, or raising club dues there are solutions out there. I am more than willing to work with you to try to figure out a sustainable budget.
I will be sending out several e-mails over the next week. They will all contain IMPORTANT information and I ask that you read them.
Thank you and I look forward to working with you,
William Pugh
Executive Treasurer