Student Body Treasurer Nicholas Carre is not shy about his desire to make needed cuts to the Student Government budgets.
Earlier this year, he worked with the Budget and Appropriations committee to trim about $75,000 from the SG portion of the activity and service fees budget and helped craft what the majority of UF’s Student Senate agreed to be a fiscally responsible budget.
And at Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, Carre said one of his long-term goals is to slow the annual increase in activity and service fees.
For this to happen, Carre said he wants the Senate to assess the budgets they create and pass each year in order to find out where the appropriate cuts can be made.
“My task for you is to evaluate increases, to evaluate where that money is going, so that we know, and you can, with dignity and integrity, answer your constituents when they do tell you the A&S fees are too high,” Carre said.
The activity and service fee — which was $18.19 per credit hour for the 2014-15 academic year — funds four main budgets: SG, the Reitz Union, Rec Sports and the Department of Student Activities and Involvement.
SG representatives meet with the local fee committee every year in October, which is when the student fee rates are determined.
“You need to make sure the students are OK with you taking their money,” Carre said.
The 2015-2016 activity and service fee budget totaled just more than $20 million.
While it provided funding for services that directly impact students — such as memberships to both gyms on campus and the recently restored New York Times readership program — it also pays for items students might not directly know about, such as nearly $1 million in SG salaries and $90,000 for SG lobbying.
What else happened at Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting?
The UF Field and Fork Food Pantry, which will provide free food to UF students, staff and faculty, is getting closer to its opening. The pantry’s soft opening is tentatively set for July 28, Sen. Susan Webster said. The official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be Sept. 1 at 10 a.m.
Student Senate Resolution 2015-1040 Commending the Dean of Students Office and Division of Student Affairs for the Development of a Sexual Violence Online Education Course passed by unanimous consent.
Three Summer B replacement senators (Gabrielle Bork, Engineering; Arie Hariton, District B; and Max Klein, District D) as well as two committee seats (Janae Moodie, Allocations; and Neil Decenteceo, Information and Communication) were approved by unanimous consent.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 7/9/15]
