Student Assembly Finance Commission
October 3rd, 2011
5:06 p.m. — 5:20 p.m.
163 Day Hall

I. The meeting was called to order at 5:06pm.

II. Roll Call

III. Budget Hearings

• L. Kogos reminded the commissioners to write their names on comments and to read all emails.
• Comments on hearings:
  • E. Barton said that it was good that groups got to apply twice. However, it was hard at the second hearing because the commissioners didn’t always know what documentation was or was not necessary.
  • L. Kogos suggested that the first and second review could get separate boxes to indicate changes from one to the other.
  • C. Baldwin said that the layout was confusing.
  • L. Kogos replied that the website was not made by a professional. Maybe we could get a professional system with tabs to make it easier to see.
    • The system is complicated for groups and commissioners. For example, many groups mistakenly apply for 0 funding. Maybe the system could double check if groups actually want that.
    • Also, maybe a student position on the e-board would help.
  • A. Connors said it was difficult to know what questions the groups with missing documentation had because the problems were not laid out in the initial review.
  • L. Kogos said that names and a way to bring up comments on reviews would help resolve this issue.
  • B. Coulter asked if it is feasible to assign the same people to do the initial and secondary budget hearings for the same groups.
  • L. Kogos replied that it may only be necessary to have one person from the initial hearing at the secondary hearing. It is a good suggestion and requires just a little extra planning.
• L. Kogos informed the commissioners that next week they will be discussing specific guideline changes. There are a lot of groups and the system is complicated. They should start thinking of ways to make the system better. Right now, we end up giving groups what they want through a complicated system. Maybe we can fix this.
• There will be two help sessions for groups: 4:30–5:30 on Wednesday and Thursday. Please sign up for and attend one.

IV. Caps — L. Kogos

• It was hard to forecast how much to hold back for spring so a fall cap ($2700 for established groups, $1500 for new groups) and a spring cap were set separately.
• Annual caps did not make sense so they were ended.
• The caps may seem low, but they have to be for the budgets to work properly.
• The overall annual cap is about $5000.

V. The meeting was adjourned at 5:20pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Miriam Asher