Student council decreases officers' stipends

Published: Monday, July 27, 1998

Monday, July 27, 1998

USAC: Groups to benefit from $5,900 reallocation to base budget with vote

By Diana Ting

Daily Bruin Contributor

A strike of the gavel made the decision: USAC members would take a decrease in their stipends.

The council voted unanimously on Tuesday to re-allocate funds provided in last year's stipend increase for USAC officers and student group presidents.

"Kandea Mosley (last year's USAC president) and I fervently, fervently, opposed (last summer's) stipend increase," said Stacy Lee, USAC president.

The proposal to increase officer stipends last year and the debate that followed sparked controversy among students and bitterly divided the council.

Last year's decision increased USAC officers' monthly stipends from $175 to $275 and raised the stipend for student group presidents to $275 as well, from $100. This year, Lee proposed that the council take a $50 stipend decrease, dropping the stipends to $225.

The cut will add $5,900 to the base budget, the fund from which student groups receive a large portion of their money. The decision will not affect stipends for student groups.

General Representative John Strelow suggested an amendment to this proposal, calling for a $100 decrease.

The roughly $10,000 that Strelow's proposed cut would create could be re-allocated into the base budget, he said.

"When we were running last year, one of the platforms was to cut the stipend, and I was following up on that promise," said Strelow, the only council member who ran on the Sanity slate, which called for stipend decreases as one of its campaign points.

External Vice President Liz Geyer argued that taking a $100 stipend decrease would only hurt USAC.

"We have to remember that the stipends are what make it possible for the students with jobs and on financial aid to participate in student government," Geyer said. "They are the ones who are affected when there is a rollback on financial aid, so it's important that they participate."

The stipend decrease could mean that members would work less hours in their offices - hours that are necessary to perform their duties, Geyer said.

The council voted 7-1 not to pass the amendment. However, the original proposal of the $50 decrease was passed unanimously.

"I am pleased with the decision. It was sufficient (for the budget) and will help USAC people pay their rents and other needs," Strelow said. "Some need their $225."

The money used to satisfy the stipend increase last year was taken from the allocation of funds to pay for overhead and maintenance fees, not the base budget.

However, that couldn't be done this year, USAC officials said, resulting in a $10,000 decrease for the base budget because of the higher stipends.

The increase in the number of students enrolled this year led to more money collected by USAC from registration fees. However, this did not offset the increase in other costs.

"There are more organizations coming up for funding (this year)," explained Budget Review Director Johnny Nguyen.

"Some of these organizations probably can't even stay above water ... that's why we were asking you guys to take a stipend decrease, so we can (give) back to some of these organizations," he continued.

Other major drains on the base budget include administration and support staff, the computer information center, upgraded equipment for the elections board and the Finance Committee.

Lee said that all the increased costs for the elections board were necessary because the university upgraded from the old identification cards to the new electronic card swipes.

Student Welfare Commissioner Omid Shaye supported the decrease, saying that it was the council's duty to look after students' interests.

"I feel that our responsibility is to ensure that the other organizations have proper support to implement their programs," he said. "We have to make sacrifices to benefit everybody."

This decrease would not affect the limits for officer stipends set by USAC's guidelines but would only re-allocate the amount of money council members receive this year.

Even though USAC currently has the lowest stipend in the UC system, Lee commended the decrease.

"What they did today was a humble move by the council. The people are prioritizing the student organizations budget and programming over their own personal money," she said.