Changes mark start of 2013 SA budget season

The SDSU Students? Association is set to begin its budgeting process for the next academic year on Feb. 1.

Last year?s SA was able to help allocate nearly $2.5 million from the General Activity Fees to The Union, the Wellness Center and student organizations.? This year?s budgeting process has already been quite different from years past in that it hasn?t started yet. Last year, access to student fees was on a first-come first-serve basis, so organizations presented their budgets throughout the year.

That system could get a bit confusing for some student organizations whose leadership generally changes every year. It also did not allow equal access to funds. The first organizations to the table often received more than the last as the money started to dry up.

?It seemed like it got kind of tight at the end,? said SA Finance Committee Chair Ben Ruggeberg.?

The budgeting process was further complicated by the fact that SA wouldn?t know for sure how much money would be available until the spring. The two largest portions of the SA budget, The Union and Wellness Center both of whom SA is obligated to fund, had also traditionally presented their budgets in the spring. Those complications led this year?s senate to make some big changes to the budgeting process.

?We decided to try something new and simplify the process,? Ruggeberg said.

This year all student organizations must have their budgets submitted to the SA finance committee by Feb. 1. According to Ruggeberg, this will help ensure every group gets equal treatment. It will have the added bonus of giving the committee a better idea of what all student groups would be asking for at the same time. The hope is to give every organization a fair shake.

?The goal is to get everyone on a kind of equal playing field,? Ruggeberg said.

Another hope of the new budgeting system is to reduce the risk of overspending by mistake ? a situation that hasn?t happened so far but is always a risk.

?You never want to run a deficit,? said SA President Jameson Berreth.

Another addition to this year?s budget request is a series of help sessions. The sessions will provide student group leaders with some help in navigating the budgeting process and paperwork.

?Having those times available to help student groups get the funding they can is going to be a very good thing,? said SA Vice President Wyatt DeJong.

Once the finance committee has received all the funding requests, it will begin to review each budget and meet with each group to talk about the request. The Union and the Wellness Center will be the first to receive funding recommendations.

?Those are the things that have the most people tied directly to them,? DeJong said. ?So being able to spend extra time on them will be very beneficial for us.?

Allocations cannot be made until the SDSU finance and business office releases a firm estimate of the amount of money the school collects from the GAF, which is currently $26.60 per credit hour. The GAF estimate is essentially based on the number of credit hours that students are expected to take during the next academic year.

If SA approves a budget request, it then goes to SDSU President David Chicoine, who has final approval on any GAF allocation.

Contact Nick Lowrey at nlowrey@sio.midco.net

Source: http://www.sdsucollegian.com/2013/01/16/changes-mark-start-of-2013-sa-budget-season/

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