2008 Woodie Awards
Distribution Of USG Surplus Raises Questions For Some
Timothy Bleasdale
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News
What would you do if you were folding your laundry and found a little cash - say $115,000? That's exactly the question that has faced USG this year, after they discovered a sizeable budget surplus that had gone unnoticed for years. The found funds were the result of an outdated bookkeeping system that rounded fractions of cents incorrectly over the course of many years, according to USG president Ryan McHardy, an 8th-semester political science major.
When USG sat down to decide what should be done with the found funds, several ideas were floated, including putting the money directly into the Funding Board, which approves funding requests from individual student groups, returning the money to students by reducing USG student fees or spreading the money between several different uses. In the end it was this last plan that was accepted, with $25,000 going to fund the GUARD Dogs Safe Ride Program, $8,000 for improvements to the USG office and the Student Organization Center (SOC) and the remaining funds, approximately $82,000, going to the Funding Board, according to McHardy.
Originally, USG had requested a student fee increase of $10 to take effect in fiscal year 2011, but recently withdrew the request. USG currently receives $70 per student in student fees.
"It's our policy to be prudent with student fees," McHardy said. "You don't want to play a guessing game."
McHardy said that the fee increase had been requested in anticipation of continuing to fund the GUARD Dogs program after the newly found funds were used up. However, USG hopes that in a few years the program will become self-sustaining through private donations.
"Without [spending this money], we wouldn't have been able to keep [GUARD Dogs] running," McHardy said. "And it's an important program that gets a lot of use."
The found funds have also been used to increase the amount of money USG has to offer student groups for their activities.
However, the spending plan for the funds has not been without some controversy. The roughly $8,000 spent to improve the USG office and SOC have drawn sharp criticism from opponents.
When USG sat down to decide what should be done with the found funds, several ideas were floated, including putting the money directly into the Funding Board, which approves funding requests from individual student groups, returning the money to students by reducing USG student fees or spreading the money between several different uses. In the end it was this last plan that was accepted, with $25,000 going to fund the GUARD Dogs Safe Ride Program, $8,000 for improvements to the USG office and the Student Organization Center (SOC) and the remaining funds, approximately $82,000, going to the Funding Board, according to McHardy.
Originally, USG had requested a student fee increase of $10 to take effect in fiscal year 2011, but recently withdrew the request. USG currently receives $70 per student in student fees.
"It's our policy to be prudent with student fees," McHardy said. "You don't want to play a guessing game."
McHardy said that the fee increase had been requested in anticipation of continuing to fund the GUARD Dogs program after the newly found funds were used up. However, USG hopes that in a few years the program will become self-sustaining through private donations.
"Without [spending this money], we wouldn't have been able to keep [GUARD Dogs] running," McHardy said. "And it's an important program that gets a lot of use."
The found funds have also been used to increase the amount of money USG has to offer student groups for their activities.
However, the spending plan for the funds has not been without some controversy. The roughly $8,000 spent to improve the USG office and SOC have drawn sharp criticism from opponents.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Frank
posted 4/09/08 @ 1:29 PM EST
1) Why did USG feel the need to spend the money? Ever heard of savings/CDs etc.? You could have put that money away and earn upwards of $5,000 a year in interest alone. (Continued…)
Emily
posted 4/09/08 @ 4:25 PM EST
It sounds like Office Space!
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