As the battle over how much Student Activity Fee funding Madison House should receive enters its third year, a proposal has been put on the table which would restructure the way Madison House receives SAF money by decreasing funding by 5 percent each year.
The new plan, proposed by Student Council members and William W. Harmon, vice president for student affairs, would implement a 5 percent decrease every year over the next 10 years, with a total end to funding at that time.
Madison House now is supposed to be gradually weaned from SAF funding over the next 10 years, eventually becoming self-sufficient.
Jamey Thompson, Council vice president for organizations, said clearly- defined funding increments would clarify the Council resolution passed last year that started weaning Madison House off the SAF.
"It's a plan that makes the resolution we put in place a year ago more concrete," Council President Taz Turner said.
Harmon confirmed he has discussed the issue with Council members but declined to elaborate on any specifics.
Council Chief Financial Officer John Finley said the plan to cut back on funding by 5 percent each year was discussed in Council's original negotiations with Madison House last fall, but was abandoned after Madison House officials objected. Council members have not yet discussed the details of the plan with Madison House officials, but plan to meet with them late this week, said Brock Jolly, Council vice president for administration.
Madison House Board of Directors members Elizabeth Murray and Brooke Brower declined to comment on the proposal. Madison House Executive Director Cindy Frederick did not return phone calls.
Madison House now has an endowment of about $800,000, which has been a source of conflict between Council and Madison House since April 1998, when the Appropriations Committee gave the community service organization a zero allocation.
Thompson said he still does not see the need for Madison House to continue to receive SAF funding that could be made available to other Contracted Independent Organizations.
"We see an organization with almost a million dollars as not really needing our money," Thompson said.
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