SAFC: Commissioner Handbook

Members’ Responsibilities

1. Sign and adhere to the Oath of Office. Failure to adhere to the Oath of Office can result in removal from the Commission subject to the approval of the SA (see Bylaw #2).
2. Submit a list of organizations with which they are affiliated and for which they hold an executive position.
3. Serve on SAFC committees if the need for such committees arises as deemed necessary by the E-board.
4. Be knowledgeable of the SAFC funding and allocation policies in the Commissioner Handbook, President and Treasurer Handbook and all SAFC processes.
5. Act in a professional manner at all times. Respect the rights of individuals and organizations that request and obtain SAFC funding.
6. Serve as a liaison to student organizations and submit a summary report of each organization twice during the semester to the Vice Chair of External Affairs (number to be determined by the Commission each semester or year). In their capacity as a liaison, commissioners must make themselves known by and available to all of their designated organizations prior to allocation to assist in budget preparation, event planning, and answer any other pertinent questions.
7. Attend one office hour per week for the two straight weeks prior to and after hearings and allocations and every other week thereafter.
8. Commissioners are expected to attend one-hour weekly meetings and any training/retreat sessions.

Hearings and Allocations: Commissioners should expect to attend 20 hours of hearings and allocations and additional time for appeals over the course of the semester. E-board members should expect to spend additional time allocating special case budgets, as well as the other time commitments. Due to the fluctuation in the number of commissioners and organizations the hours are subject to slight changes every year.

Executive Board Responsibilities

• Chair or Co-Chairs (2)
  1. Share and assume total/final responsibility for the functioning of the SAFC and its actions.
  2. Establish the agenda and chair/co-chair meetings.
  3. Conduct the President and Treasurer’s Workshop.
  4. Make timely responses to any inquires by groups concerning allocation procedures, rationale letters and funding transfers.
  5. Co-Chairs may vote when a vote among the Executive Board is necessary.
• VP of Public Relations
  1. Communicate with the community, including the press, campus groups, the administration and the Student Assembly.
  2. Submit ads in the Daily Sun regarding membership, budget submission deadlines, etc.
  3. Proof rationale letters for content, clarity, and accuracy.
  4. Arrange and oversee new commissioner application and interview process.
  5. Vote for final approval of allocations.
• VP of Internal Operations
  1. Notify all members, via email, of meeting times and location.
  2. Keep and enforce the attendance policy.
  3. Coordinate the schedules, office hours, and addresses.
  4. Take minutes at ALL meetings.
  5. Vote for final approval of allocations.
  6. Must keep records of controversial decisions, and informal commission precedents, to assist future members in training and aid in the building of institutional memory. These records must be available to members of the Assembly.
• VP of External Operations
  1. Be in charge of the Liaison program by making commissioner assignments and collecting reports
  2. Explain SAFC decisions to groups when questioned. Act as the “point” person for all inquiries and respond within 48 hours.
  3. Vote for final approval of allocations.
  4. Will take an active role in aiding groups� planning of events, working particularly with larger groups to ensure best utilization of funds and ensure that any groups which use large venues for events.
  5. Serves as a resource to the SAFC to ensure that the commission acts in a holistic manner whenever possible i.e. acts fiscally prudent and is constantly searching for bargains and advises and represents the SAFC in all relevant financial dealings.
  6. In order to have funds allocated most effectively, ensure that groups, which use large venues for performances or other events, don’t have largely similar events or conflicting events at the same time.
• Student Assembly Vice President of Finance
  1. Remain up-to-date regarding the allocated funding, funds remaining, over-expenditures, and committees about unspent funds.
  2. Contact the Director of the Office of Assemblies and advise of any over-expenditures and discuss procedures for reimbursement.
  3. Formulate recommendation to the SAFC and Executive Board regarding the status of groups that have mismanaged funds, taken advantage of the SAFC and/or violated any Treasurers Handbook rules.
  4. Help develop policies concerning financial manipulation by groups.
  5. The VP of Finance is a non-voting member of the Executive Board.
• Student Assembly Vice President of Internal Operations
  1. Ensures that the Commission follows its procedures and guidelines.
  2. Ensures that the SA VP of Finance and the SA Liaison to the SAFC are exercising their duties properly.
  3. Aids the staff of the SAFC office in general operations of SAFC functions.
  4. Serves as a link between SAFC and other Assembly organizations and committees, as well as the Cornell administration.
• Student Assembly Liaison
  1. Help the VP of Finance with their duties.
  2. Report to the Student Assembly of the activities of the SAFC
  3. Vote for final approval of allocations and serves on the Executive Board.
  4. Prepare weekly reports of all information deemed pertinent to give to the Assembly.

The Hearing Process

1. Set up the semester’s calendar before classes end the previous semester and have groups schedule their own hearings at the SAFC office after they have submit their completed budget applications on line over the World Wide Web or before the deadline.
2. The Chair or Co-Chairs will schedule and plan training for the commissioners (mock hearings) to impart some sensitivity to the hearing process.
3. The VP of External Affairs will schedule hearings. The hallway and the SAFC Accounting office are not appropriate places to hold hearings.
4. The budget form includes categories in which each category should be considered a priority. Groups then list specific expenses within each category. Organizations may transfer funds within each category, in accordance with other guidelines, but may not transfer funds between categories.
5. Commissioners should encourage groups to seek outside sources of funding such as: advertising, co-organized events, ticket sales, other funding boards, alumni, academic departments, and university administration offices.
6. A checklist should be available to prompt commissioners to make sure they have gathered all the information they will need for people to review the budgets at allocation time. Commissioners should take notes during the hearing and insure that the Funding Requirements Check Sheet is properly completed.
7. After each hearing, the SAFC will fill out a form for each group, delineating feedback of how the group did and how it can improve in the future. The SAFC can use a scoring system if it so chooses. All groups will also have the opportunity to submit feedback forms for the purpose of suggestions on how the SAFC can improve.

The Allocation Process

1. Know who the new groups are prior to beginning allocations.
2. Be sure that you have thorough notes from hearings for the allocations.
3. Review allocations by type to keep like groups in a similar context.
4. Funding histories should be available for reference for allocations but should not be treated as binding in any way for future allocations.
5. Commissioners must fill out the Allocation Form and write a detailed rationale for their allocation.
6. For any speaker request $500 and under, proof of contact is required. For any speaker request over $500, a letter of intent if required by the scheduled time of the group�s hearing.
7. If the budget request is $5,000 or over, or if the honorarium is $1,000 or over, then the commissioners should make a recommendation on the Allocation Form and then refer the budget to the Executive Board for allocation. All other budgets that the commissioners at the hearing feel the Executive Board should deal with may be referred to the Executive Board in the same manner.
8. For any conference or tournament request, proof of the conference of tournament�s existence is required. A web site announcement, brochure, or a letter from an event director is considered valid proof.
9. As a basic principle, the SAFC will allocate necessities and not luxuries.

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