Members of Student Council hosted an appropriations reform forum last night, kicking off a series of public discussions that will eventually lead to the establishment of a new system of allocating the Student Activities Fund.
"There has been talk of reforming the appropriations system because it was created for a smaller number of student groups," Council Vice President for Organizations Rebecca Keyworth said. "We now want to get input from students and organizations about the process and the proposals we have laid out."
During the summer, Council came up with three proposals to overhaul the existing system.
Under the first plan, organizations would be split into 10 categories, and Council's representative body would determine what percentage of the SAF would go to each category.
The second involves a complete grant process. Council would set out criteria by which applications would be reviewed and establish initiatives to emphasize certain issues like cultural awareness or civic participation. The appropriations committee would consider requests for funding on a rolling basis.
Participants in the forum -- the Council members and several CIOs -- reached a general consensus that proposal number three, a hybrid system, might be best for Council's appropriations process.
Under this plan, the SAF would be divided into operational, travel and activity expenses for all groups. Operational budgets would be submitted annually, while activity and travel expenses would be submitted on a rolling basis.
"I like proposal number three, but I'm not sure how self-generated funds would be addressed," said Paul Benneche, budget advisor for the rifle and pistol club. "I also don't see where large capital sources will fit in with the hybrid proposal."
Sarah Thackeray of OFFScreen, a group that screens independent and foreign films, said CIOs need to be held accountable for their budgets.
"Right now, we are told to pad our budgets because it is going to get cut regardless," she said. "There needs to be a system where groups follow their budgets."
Keyworth claimed a rolling process would help with budget accountability.
Council President Noah Sullivan said regardless of which proposal is ultimately chosen, getting public opinion will help make the process better.
"This type of feedback is critical," he said. "Right now, about $100,000 of the money we allocate doesn't get spent every year because of inefficiencies [in the system]. At the end of this year, we want to be able to say that we added $100,000 back into the SAF fund."
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