The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate finalized its student-group budget on March 9, dispensing over $1.1 million to student organizations for the next academic year.
The Senate's Allocations Board (ALBO) submitted figures for the total sums to be given to individual groups during fiscal year 2009, which covers the 2008-09 school year.
With a budget of $182,718, Concert Board reeled in the most money of any student group.
TCU Treasurer Scott Silverman, a sophomore, said this year's budgeting process went smoothly, despite some challenges staying within the budget toward the end.
"It went very well. It was overall very smooth," he said. "It's always a challenge every year to get all of the councils under their caps," he said.
He said that all groups that applied for funding were generally satisfied with the outcome, but that the last few days of finalizing budgets were particularly stressful.
"Pretty much every group I've spoken with is content with its budget," he said. Only the mock trial team appealed, Silverman added. Although its appeal was denied, the team received more money than it had last year, Silverman said.
The Senate allocates all money for student organizations through the Student Activities Fee. Each undergraduate's bursar account was charged $258 this academic year for the fund as part of the annual student fee.
ALBO works directly with student groups on budgeting and regularly makes spending recommendations to the Senate body. Nine senators sit on the board, and the treasurer is its non-voting chair.
Student groups had until Jan. 31 to submit budgets, and ALBO reviewed them over a three-week period beginning in February.
ALBO divides the 142 student groups it recognizes into nine councils, each of which has a particular category. One senator, internally elected, oversees each council, and all chairs vote on funding recommendations to the Senate. ALBO deals with regular budgeting as well as other types of funding, such as buffer and new group funds.
Silverman said the treasurer sets a limit at the beginning of the annual budgeting process on the amount of money that each council can give out.
The council that deals with social programming groups received the most money of any council. It will distribute over $510,000 to 14 groups for fiscal year 2009.
Senator Matt Shapanka, a junior who chairs the council for community service and miscellaneous groups, agreed that budgeting concluded well.
Some problems with budgeting stemmed from former TCU Treasurer Evan Dreifuss' resignation at the beginning of this semester, Shapanka said. Dreifuss, a senior, resigned to take medical leave from the university.
"It was rough because we lost Evan just as budgeting started, so [at first] things were confusing a bit," he said. But he added that Silverman helped smooth the transition.
"Budgeting's always stressful," Shapanka said. "It's one of the most stressful things we do on Senate. I also think it's one of the most important things we do."
This year's budget allocations of $1,136,051.62 showed an increase of about $46,000 over last year's amount.
Jen Bailey, the chair of the council that oversees publications and media groups, said that she was satisfied with the process.
"It was my first time doing it," she said. "Overall, I think I had a pretty good rapport with all my groups."
Bailey, a junior who also chairs the Senate's Culture, Ethnicity, and Community Affairs committee, said that her specific category of groups was particularly challenging to work with.
"It was a little difficult with publication groups ... because every year publication costs increase," she said. "But I think we did an excellent job making sure groups felt comfortable with what they were budgeted ... and that they felt that they got the most out of the budgeting experience."
In addition to monetary inflation, a slightly altered approach to the uses of buffer funding and regular budgeting contributed to the increase, according to Silverman.
"It seems silly to me that the same event gets buffered three years in a row, but it's still not written into the budget," Silverman said. He said that a focus for him was working to include these repeatedly buffer-funded events in group budgets.
The figures approved at the March 9 Senate meeting were composites of all budget requests approved by ALBO at prior meetings during the spring semester. Each council chair requested funding for all budget requests for groups in his or her council. All amounts passed without any debate.
"ALBO takes need, previous expenses and available resources into consideration to determine each and every expenditure," according to the Senate's procedures manual.
The 142 student groups that will receive funding for fiscal year 2009 mark an increase of four groups from last year. Organizations seeking money must be recognized by the TCU Judiciary.
The Senate approved $103,455.23 for 23 cultural groups, $510,004.29 for 14 social programming groups, $136,565.06 for 16 media and publishing groups, $86,314.58 for 10 religious groups, $38,441.15 for 20 performance arts groups, $106,927.75 for 22 community service and miscellaneous groups, $31,637.92 for 20 pre-professional groups, $28,676.22 for 11 political groups, and $94,029.42 for six TCU groups.
