by Alec Williams
Associated student government (ASG) President Josh Dillinger encountered unexpected push-back from senators on Wednesday, Sept. 14, for a proposed cut to the ASG biennial budget.
Currently, CMU’s student government receives $51,769 on a yearly basis for their operations and employee salaries. The proposed budgetary changes would hope to reduce $11,500.
The proposal was submitted and backed by the current executive staff and would decrease student fees in the next academic year if passed.
“I think a lot of them were just playing devil’s advocate, a lot of them might truly not agree with it, but I think either way it’ll be a stronger policy from the questions asked today,” Dillinger said after the meeting.
“You’re writing a budget that basically changes our constitution and our bylaws, before we change our constitution and our bylaws,” Tracy Langford, senator for graduate students said as she began questioning Dillinger. “You’re assuming that we’re going to approve all of these during your budget process.”
Dillinger spent the next 30 minutes answering questions from the senators, including Langford. “So you’re going to increase one person’s workload and pay them less,” Langford said. Dillinger replied to this “To an extent,” he said.
ASG presented their funding changes to the Fee Allocations Committee (FAC), the organization in charge of approving an organization’s yearly budget, on Friday, Sept. 16.
The proposed budget was amended by members to less budgetary costs. A vocal opponent to the budget was FAC member Jacob Reimer, who is also an ASG senator.
The FAC’s process of budgeting happens every two years, often referred to as the biennial process. FAC is one of the changes that the executive staff proposed to make, and they hope to phase out the organization entirely over the course of two academic years.
“So right now, FAC has, in my opinion, too much power,” Dillinger said to the senators. “Overall, FAC is not a very effective representation of the student body and yet they have, I would argue, more say than this body.”
Currently, FAC is seated with members who were not voted in by the student body and usually make the final decision on bills that ASG have voted ‘no’ on.
“FAC is obviously represented – has representatives from the board [of trustees] sitting on it. […] So, do you anticipate any push-back from the board? We’re essentially taking their voice out of the bill process,” Reimer, a social and behavioral science senator and FAC member, said.
Dillinger returned that he understood, but felt that it was an “unfounded issue” and the decision making should lie with elected officials.
The $11,500 budget cut would come primarily from eliminating positions in the executive branch of the student government. The chief of staff, FAC chair, director of communications and director of external affairs would all effectively be removed under the proposition.
The director of external affairs and director of communications would become one position as director of public affairs. The two positions currently make a $3,000 yearly stipend each, while the new position would make $2,500, taking a pay cut. The trustee would also take a $1,000 pay cut.
“Honestly, I can’t believe no one’s ever scrutinized our budget as much as we scrutinize everyone else’s,” Dillinger said.
For this change to become reality, the executive staff would need senate approval, and if the budget is voted down, a petition by the student body would be initiated. Either way, ASG will need the student body’s approval, as this is a student constitutional change. Ten percent of the student body will have to vote to approve the change sometime in the coming month for it to go into effect.
