The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Treasury announced that it has balanced the budget for next year by cutting nearly $50,000 from last year's budget.
The budgeting process for the 2002-2003 academic year was much more difficult than in most years because the Treasury had to compensate for over $53,000 in spending that previous treasuries had overlooked.
Treasury officers, who worked with a total budget of $850,000, said they wanted to do whatever was necessary to end the year with a budget balanced. "We were in a difficult situation this year," Assistant Treasurer Nik Abraham said. "[Treasurer] Ben [Lee] and I were adamant that we did not want a deficit this year."
In the interest of saving costs to allow for a balanced budget, many groups faced tighter budget constraints this year, and funding for next year's annual music festival Fall Fest was cancelled.
The Treasury decided that the sacrifices to achieve a zero deficit were worth it in the long run, according to Abraham. "It is vital to the Treasury that we have a surplus for unexpected expenditures that arrive," he said. "We felt we needed to do this immediately because we didn't know what the future held."
Treasury allocations are organized into nine councils, divided by group type. The largest cuts to the budget were those made to student government and Fall Fest funding, which fall under Council IX. Fall Fest's $30,000 allocation was cut, as well as $8,000 for student government groups such as the TCU Senate and the TCU Judiciary.
Cuts of approximately $5,000 were made to Councils II and IV, responsible for social programming and religious groups, respectively. But a substantial raise was given to Council III, which budgets for media groups.
Most student groups were understanding of the Treasury's predicament, Abraham said, which made the budgeting process easier. "The groups I worked with said they understood the situation, and they were willing to help out.," he said. "Thanks to their cooperation, we were able to meet our goals."
Despite the cut of funds for Fall Fest, it remains possible that the event could be held. [****The winner tonight****] has assured that she will try to continue the Fall Fest tradition by fundraising from businesses and individuals.
An ad hoc committee has unofficially raised between $5,000 and $10,000 for the concert. Although the festival may not be as large as in past years, Abraham said there will be "some sort of musical event this fall."
Among the overlooked expenses from last year was a $10,000 loan payment on the Mountain Club's New Hampshire lodge and the $43,000 allocated for the salary and benefits of the Budget and Fiscal Coordinator. The error had been made in past years but were not discovered until an outside firm audited the budget this semester.
The costs had been automatically deducted from the budget, as designated by contractual agreements with the University made in the late '90s. The unaccounted for deductions, combined with inadequate accounting procedures, led to a decrease in the surplus from $200,000 in 1998 to approximately $20,000 today.
