Student Council passed the final piece of the appropriations legislation Tuesday, which reformed the previous system of dispensing student activity fees to Contracted Independent Organizations.
Council President Noah Sullivan said the former process was inefficient and unrealistic.
"There is about a $100,000 of the student activities fee that was never used," Sullivan said. "Our plan was to become more efficient and less arbitrary, more set in criteria. We laid it all out on paper. We needed a set process to judge allocation by."
Council began reforming the system last spring.
"We wanted to change the system and make it better," Sullivan said. "We started with some basic questions. The appropriations committee had become essentially a bank."
Council made the structural change to the appropriations system at the end of last semester when the appropriations committee established a rolling process.
"Most groups can't plan a year in advance what they want to do," Sullivan said. "For most groups, students don't think a year in advance. With the rolling process, it becomes more efficient."
Council divided appropriations into four categories: operational, travel, activity and contingency. Sullivan said the categories make the process less arbitrary.
"The activities category makes sure monies go where they are most needed and desired," Sullivan said.
CIO leaders embraced the new system with both concern and optimism.
"Generally, it could be a good thing as far as getting money into the system," Collegiate Mock Trial President Lauren Peck said.
Concerns remain about how lenient Council will be in allocating money to CIOs for travel, Peck said.
"The way our budget is structured, it's all travel," she said. "So it all depends on how open they are to giving travel money to competitive organizations."
The bill also set specific requirements for each appropriations category, Sullivan said.
In the spring, Council will deal with operational expenses. Most CIOs will opt to submit travel and activity budget requests within a rolling process, Sullivan said.
Some competitive groups see the rolling process as problematic, Peck said. Those groups can choose to submit a year-long budget for all appropriations.
"I do think the rolling admission is difficult because we need to budget before the year starts," Peck said. "The other option should be okay. It is a little strict as far as knowing dates of every tournament, and this could be a problem with our travel cost."
Peck also said she is concerned about how Council will prioritize CIOs.
"Ultimately, the fear is we are a small group, so we don't benefit the entire University community," Peck said. "But having this team is important on a campus. There is always a fear that this won't come true in the process."
Sullivan said the most challenging aspects of reforming the system have not yet begun.
"The hard part comes with implementation," he said. "We need to be prepared to deal with transition pains. But, there will be more going on, more intensity and breadth of student activity. This is the closest we can get to a perfect fix."
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