IUSA Congress accepts new operating budget including cuts, changes

On Sept. 21, IU Student Association Congress accepted a new $97,996 operating budget for the 2010-11 school year.

IUSA’s operating budget comes directly from money collected by student fees.

The new budget includes several changes, including one more executive stipend, parking passes, a new phone system and a room for an executive
adviser.

It also includes cuts in the areas of advertising and elections allocations.

The budget was approved on a vote of 31 to 1.
 
Chief of Staff Stipend

The iUnity administration’s operational budget includes a $2,500 stipend for Chief of Staff Neil Kelty.

Vice President for Administration Peter SerVaas said this change came on the heels of failures in last year’s administration, of which SerVaas was president.

“There was a stipend and chief of staff position until last year,” SerVaas said. “I ignorantly thought that for some different reasons, we didn’t want to put it in our
administration.”

The 2008-09 administration’s budget totaled $82,800 and included a $500 stipend for the chief of staff position.

Treasurer Sierra Hsieh said the increased stipend reflects iUnity’s growth.

“Neil does have a much bigger responsibility in that regard than previous chiefs of staff,” Hsieh said.

SerVaas said because IUSA’s staff has grown, Kelty’s position helps the administration run smoothly.

“The only person who’s in this office more than me and (President) Mike (Coleman) is Neil Kelty,” SerVaas said.

Both the iUnity and Kirkwood tickets included a chief of staff in their campaign team, but only the four executive spots appeared on the ballot.

Kelty said he believes the chief of staff stipend will ensure he treats the position as a job.

“That stipend makes sure the person is accountable to Congress,” Kelty said.

The executive stipend must meet several qualifications, according to IUSA’s bylaws.

It must be submitted to the congressional finance committee for approval, and the committee must make a recommendation for approval in February.

Cuts

While the operating budget total is roughly the same as the previous $97,198 budget, it includes cuts in some smaller areas.

Task force/archives is allotted $7,000 on the most recent budget, but was given $29,000 in the 2009-10 operating budget.

Money budgeted for IUSA departments has decreased as well.

Funding board’s office budget decreased from $2,000 to $500, and Congress’s budget decreased from $1,000 to $500. The elections department funding decreased from $750 to $500.

Hsieh said these allocations help cover the department’s rent within the office, phone bills, printing needs and other office necessities.

Phone System

Last year, the Btown administration cut costs by more than $3,000 by eliminating an intricate and under-utilized phone system from its office in the student activities tower of the Indiana Memorial Union.

This year, the budget allows nearly the same amount to be spent on phones as did last year’s budget, but the costs have been divided in a different way.

Part of the phone budget is spent on a small number of office phones.

The rest of the phone budget is spent on data plans for smart phones used by seven members of the executive team.

These data plans total $30 per month for each of the four executives: the chief of internal affairs, the chief of external affairs and the chief of staff, Hsieh said.

Parking Passes

This year, the budget for executive parking passes totals $2,292.20. This is a $406 increase from last year’s budget.

This year’s budget covers the cost of two summer A passes, three academic year A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and three C passes.

Last year’s budget included two summer A passes, two academic A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and three C passes.

The 2008-09 budget included three A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and one C pass, totaling $1,639. There were no summer passes issued.

“It was necessary for them to have it over the summer so they can make it to the meetings and be at the same places that presidents and directors are,” Hsieh said.

Executive support

The budget includes a $16,000 “executive support” provision.

This position is defined in the budget as “a type of Executive Support position that will aid the IUSA administration and provide continuity in an organization that inherently lacks it.”

SerVaas said the idea for this position also came from his experiences in the last
administration.

After eliminating almost $26,000 traditionally paid to an executive secretary, SerVaas said he recognized the need for more executive support.

SerVaas said he has spoken with other Big Ten schools that have this support position.

SerVaas said this person would ideally help future executives understand the student government process and ensure continuity.