News

Procedure queried as SG budget below $100,000

By Thomas Frisk

Posted on Dec. 01, 2011, at 2:16 a.m.

With less than $100,000 in its coffers, emotions ran high at the University of Maine Student Government meeting on Tuesday.

Although this year’s budget, estimated at $847,925.58, still has some installments left, the money pot is running dry, according to Vice President for Financial Affairs Nathan Kinney. Wednesday evening, he said the account stood at $99,097.42.

If an organization has unused allocated funds at the end of the fiscal year, that money would be considered rollover and would be used in the next fiscal year, as stated in Article 8, Section 6 of the UMSG Constitution.

At the meeting, Sen. Christopher Knoblock moved to allocate $30,000 from the unallocated fund to Student Entertainment. In the past, rollover funds for Student Entertainment have either been returned to Student Entertainment or reallocated by the Executive Budgetary Committee with senate approval, according to Kinney.

Student body Vice President Caleb Rosser ruled Knoblock’s motion out of order under a UMSG standing rule that states only the EBC has jurisdiction over the senate’s finances.

Vice President of Student Entertainment Joseph “Pat” Nabozny noted that funds, including the $82.72 that had been allocated to the Iranian Student Association earlier in the meeting, unapproved by the EBC had not been objected to under this rule.

Nabozny also called the request an “extenuating circumstance.”

He said Student Entertainment has been negotiating with artists for potential campus concerts assuming it would receive rollover from the previous year.

Having made two large bids, which are legally binding if accepted, failing to have the stated funds could mean UMSG could be sued, according to Nabozny.

“Obviously this is a pretty drastic situation,” Nabozny said.

Rosser expressed his opinion that the situation was not as urgent and could be brought to the proper channels on the Nov. 30 EBC meeting and then discussed at next week’s meeting. The motion failed.

After 50 minutes of questioning and debate, the senate denied allocating $6,000 to the Residents on Campus’ annual Quebec trip.

Residents on Campus Vice President of Programming Tucker Adams explained that since its inception, ROC has become more associated with Auxiliary Services, meaning it can spend no more than 25 percent on programming activities.

“With the situation that’s happening now and with ROC being told how to spend student money, I am absolutely against allocating money,” said former ROC member Knoblock.

Later in the meeting, Sens. Sarah Howard and Ben Goodman moved to allocate $3,000 to ROC’s Quebec trip with an amendment by Goodman to create an ad hoc committee to oversee the future of the Quebec trip.

Andrew Ian Dodge, a conservative Republican candidate running for U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe’s seat, addressed the senators.

Dodge describes himself as a “true leader forged in the fire of tea party fiscal conservatism” on dodgeforsenate.com. He advocated a platform of 21st century conservatism.

Dodge set himself apart from other conservatives by condemning other Republican leaders’ and candidates’ “disgusting xenophobic and homophobic remarks” during campaigns.

“I think that my [outlook] is very modern. It’s not really squabbled with the prejudices of the past,” Dodge said.

Primary elections will be held in June 2012 to determine the Republican and Democratic challengers for Snowe’s seat next November.

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