Monday, July 27, 1998
Student council decreases officers’ stipends
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.