ASUCD Budget/2006-2007

This is a summary of the ASUCD Budget proposal for FY 2006-2007. None of the values are adjusted to the final approved values yet, though discussion of the high points is below.

The prior year's budget is also available.

The ASUCD Website has individual units' budgets available online.

Blue rows are self-sufficient units. Red rows are subsidized units:

The Coffee House does indeed make a large amount of money for ASUCD, but it is budgeted to break even — as a nonprofit organization, ASUCD isn't supposed to be making any money. In actuality, a few parts of it make money and the other parts spend money.

The 2006 Budget brings its share of critical points. Noteworthy are:

• El Rodeo was cut completely.
  

• The Office of External Affairs, created two years ago by Brian McInnis, is being dissolved back into its constituent units: State and National Affairs Office, City/County Affairs Office, and Lobby Corps. The Director of External Affairs is moving to the President's staff, where he will serve as Secretary of External Affairs or somesuch title. The total spent on External Affairs across these four units has decreased by $1,812. (The subsidy has actually decreased more, since the Secretary of External Affairs stipend was reduced.)
  

• UCSA is asking for a minimum fee increase for the third year in a row, at a cost of $0.10 per student. However, the Senate decided not to grant the increase of $2,178, but instead focusing on reform and improving the leadership of UCSA. UCSA's budget was moved to General Programs (from Grants) so that it could be modified later in the year if needed.
  

• AS PAPERs is asked for $7,500 more than their current subsidy, which is $5,350 more than the President's proposed budget — some of this would have made the staff be paid hourly. However, this was rejected, as well as their request for a web archivist (which is Creative Media's job anyway). Note that AS PAPERs received more than $8,000 in new computer equipment this year, primarily in the form of new computer equipment, and as a form of compensation for the loss of their archives.
  

• Tipsy Taxi will be combined with Specialized Transportation Services as their budgets were somewhat shared last year, anyway. The Tipsy Taxi fee will increase to $2 per ride, which isn't unreasonable considering the high demand for the service, the increasing minimum wage, and the high fuel costs. The subsidy for Tipsy Taxi was increased over $7,000 in hearings, due to an unexpected rise in costs.
  

• Unitrans is losing money, but they received a $6 million federal grant this year, which will enable ASUCD to avoid worrying about it for a little while.
  

• A lot of cuts were made to the units, in the interest of letting the Senate decide where more funding would go. $24,291 remained available for subsidy at the beginning of the budget hearing.
  

• The Office of the President, Vice President, and Student Government were all trimmed back this year.
  

• Aggie Pack's budget received a boost of $4,000, putting them on par with what they received last year through the "Money from Nowhere Act of 2005"⁷.
  

• Cal Aggie Camp got money for their T-shirts.
  

• KDVS got a bit more money to start their record label.

Comments:

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

2006-05-09 23:41:04   To say the least, I think it'd be ridiculous to pay well over 20k to UCSA and not be able to vote because this senate doesn't come up with the extra 2k required to be a full member. All or nothing guys, and frankly the current ASUCD lacks the experience necessary to really put up a strong argument why we should fault UCSA and choose the latter. —ThomasLloyd

• 2006-05-09 23:46:57   Tho, were we really taking an active role with our vote before? —JosephBleckman
  

• Just because you want to be Student Regent isn't a good reason to fully fund UCSA, Thomas. And if they deny us our vote, I'm going to push as hard as possible for leaving UCSA. They may not like $1.30 per student, but if we give them less can they really afford a $26,000 hole in their budget? The summary of UCSA's activities last year goes like this: a bunch of empty chairs, pass resolutions against ballot propositions on which ASUCD felt they should not take a stance, rallied to keep student fees constant the day after they were already raised, and increased member campus fees. What do they do for us? —BrentLaabs
  

• First of all, you're first comment made me laugh a bit. Student Regent is far from being my top priority (kind of have to get through my first year of Boalt first...). Second, the whole approach being taken is ridiculous. Whahh Whahh UCSA isn't doing anything, crying louder and louder with each iteration. We're always expecting to treat UCSA as a service organization. We ignore that it's a COALITION. There's nobody who we can blame so we blame it all. If it's not being effective, it's because we are failing ourselves. UCSA doesn't take positions, each school votes and a position is taken to match the interests of those who choose to turn out. This type of relationship is akin to the United Nations and the United States. You don't see Bush seriously considering pulling out of the UN just because he couldn't get his security resolution he wanted. He's still a member for all the other reasons it's important to be a member. If there's some area lacking, we can address that ourselves and go at it alone (gee, just like Bush did) or work within UCSA to fix it.

  I think that this negative attitude stems from the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find many on the third floor who have ever put in the time lobbying and working on UCSA activities. We look like a bunch of spoiled children who couldn't get along with the other children in the playground and we're taking our ball and going home. UCSA is a coalition. A coalition we always say we're going to be a bigger part of, but one we have yet to really hold our weight. When I was working as Lobby Corps director, I had other organizing director's phone numbers programmed into my phone. When UC Irvine, or UCSD, etc wanted to throw a lobby day, we scrambled the troops and got down there. That type of connection/ forum for discussion wouldn't have existed without a structure such as UCSA. We had a professional office in Sacramento, a common name, and a professional lobbyist to help us coordinate our efforts. When I wanted a meeting time with a legislator, I called Amalia and she got me one. Just because we choose to go at it alone (and trust me — we're not being any more effective) doesn't mean that UCSA isn't still a resource that is there for us to take advantage of. We're just neglecting to use it as an opportunity to actually come through on behalf of the students in the areas we've been promising for years.

  Oh, and PS: our fees AREN'T going up next year. Why do you really think that is? I can tell you it doesn't have anything to do with any activity on behalf of members of ASUCD. -thomaslloyd
  

• Thomas, have you been to a UCSA meeting recently? There's a difference between a coalition and a money sink. Coalitions seek to organize their members for the common good. However, the UCSA staff who are paid a salary to visit campuses only managed to come all the way from Berkeley twice this year: once to ask us not to leave them, and once to ask for more money. And it's not just that. The stances they take on behalf of students seem rather weak, and the meetings are very disorganized. One of the lobby goals is "free higher education" — are we actually supposed to lobby for that? The United Nations actually produces something: resolutions, international law, tribunals, and meetings of economic, environmental, and health groups. Show me something of political value that UCSA produced in the last year. Anything. And the words "Access Yearbook" had better not be there because that thing was an expensive piece of bad propanganda. —BrentLaabs
  

• Might I just point out:
  

UCSA Charter, Article IV: Composition and Membership, Section F: Membership in Good Standing

"In order to maintain membership in good standing [i.e. a vote on the UCSA Board of Directors and UCSA councils], a campus student government must submit at least one third of its annual minimum membership fee by November 1..."


Therefore, we retain voting rights until November, including the right to vote in the July Congress. If UCSA takes meaningful steps to reform by that date, we can give them one third of their proposed fee increase through the Senate Reserve.

Personally, I wanted to cut off UCSA completely, but I do not have the political support to do that. However, Brent Laabs, James Schwab and other people said we should not give them their extra funding until they either produce some better results or we (ASUCD) take a greater role within UCSA. However, if anything happens over the year, we now can stop their funds because UCSA is now under General Programs. So, at this time, the best solution was to not give UCSA their extra $2000. Also, I think the comment "frankly the current ASUCD lacks the experience" is not appropriate for a person who did not go to any of the budget hearings or has not yet been to a current Senate meeting. You should not judge a person's character without knowing them. The Reality of the situation is LEAD dominates and they control all the decisions in this senate and if I disagree, one vote cannot stop the other 6-9 people that usually vote against me. That included budget hearings too. And that is the reality: LEAD dictates, even if I have a voting block. Experience may create a great leader, but a person who is willing to stand strong for what he or she believes, even against opposition defines a great leader. Molnar


Experience: "Noun. Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill."

I wasn't intending to personally attack- and I wasn't talking about anyone's character - I was talking about experience. The thing that decisions are made on behalf of. Simply: what "person willing to stand strong" has been to Sacramento and lobbied on behalf of students? The gauge of a good senator is not merely what's done in a meeting. Especially in this case, it's what that senator does outside of that meeting- the effort made to represent the students' interests. Can you name a senator who routinely behaves in this manner? If not, then I'd say it's a fair assertion that the current senate lacks experience necessary to be making funding decisions concerning that type of activity.

Good to hear we'll still have the vote (thanks P.Money). I just have a fundamental problem with not paying our fair share that everyone else does.

Hopefully you'll all prove me wrong and get involved. According to your statement Molnar, then the whole thing would become moot- you'd be more involved and ASUCD would be more linked with UCSA. Then you'd all pony up the rest of the cash to pay the minimum. -thomaslloyd


Er...here's the funny part: contrary to the clear language of UCSA Charter Article IV Section F, the UCSA Executive Director says that we lose our vote at the end of May. I find this disturbing. -P-Money

2006-05-09 23:52:47   I DO NOT SUPPORT GIVING A SUBSIDY TO THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE. Either that becomes a break even unit or we make better use of the space. DO NOT GIVE USPS MONEY. —RobRoy

2006-05-10 11:25:58   Where will the final information on the completed budget come from? Will there be a bill at the next Senate meeting we can copy information from? —PhilipNeustrom

-It will come through the senate the Thursday after this Thursday (May 18th). Molnar

2006-05-10 23:30:29   The Senate also decided to cut the budget and pay of the Elections Committee. Last year, when the pay was higher, it took 5-6 months for four people to apply for four positions. This may be a "Critical Point" if no one applies again this year. —JonathonLeathers

2006-05-11 00:44:15   Where do salaries for Mark Champagne and the ASUCD Student Government Advisor come from? Is this why the Senate subsidy is almost as big as the KDVS subsidy? —ArlenAbraham

• 2008-09-07 14:09:00   Admin General is where Mark's salary comes from, but the Advisor's is from Student Government. Student Government is huge because they want to give themselves and their friends some money, and they don't make income like other units. Yeah, that makes about 25% overhead costs, even excluding commission programs in this budget year. —BrentLaabs