Spring Break
Business affairs VP says unspent funds unlikely to be reclaimed
McCann assures extra spending done annually
Bob Bajek / Student Government Editor
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
The $40,346 of additional allocations from the student activities reserve account that Student Government said had to be spent before the end of the fiscal year at Monday's emergency meeting does not have to be completely spent.
Student Senate Speaker Drew Griffin said Monday the allocations would have to be spent before June 30 or the state would reclaim the funds.
He said if the Apportionment Board had known in February that the student activities reserve account was going to be zero, it would have approved nine additional Frisbee golf holes ($15,000), new equipment for the Student Recreation Center ($16,190) and the University Board ($7,447).
Student Government also allocated $1,500 for a new office computer.
Paul McCann, interim vice president for business affairs, said Student Government does not have to spend all its money.
McCann said other entities on campus have to spend money in order to be below the excessive funds threshold set by the Legislative Audit Commission.
This commission is a joint committee of the General Assembly's House and Senate that sets Legislative Audit Guidelines; whereas, the auditor general assesses how much money that apply to universities are over the threshold.
"(The commission) created a mathematical calculation that is done annually to determine from the state's standpoint you are holding too much money," McCann said. "You could keep about three months of expenditures, so you don't have to spend it to zero. This is to prevent saving too much.
"You have to spend that money or it will go to our income fund. The money doesn't go to Springfield yet, but we are worried about (possibly) giving money back."
McCann said student fees is one of the entities on campus. There are about 30 organizations within the student fees entity.
About $500,000 has to be spent overall with student fees, but McCann said this amount is not much different from previous years. This is a small percent of Eastern's $195 million budget for fiscal year 2009.
The other funds affected by the Legislative Audit Commission are the local fund - money that is non-appropriated and consisting of no student fees or tuition that are not mandatory for academic services.
McCann said if Student Government does not spend all the money, there is only a small chance of losing its money. The other student fees, like campus improvement fees and student insurance, will be used throughout the year.
The Budget Office checks this every year from March through June to prevent surrendering money to the state, he said.
Griffin said Monday, Student Government could preorder the Student Recreational Center's equipment before the deadline and put it back into the fiscal year 2010 budget to "be smart" with spending.
"It will allow the money back to Student Government and the AB could reallocate the $16,190 to next fiscal year," McCann said.
Some senate members voiced concern Monday of not being notified in a timely manner. Dan Nadler, vice president for student affairs, said Student Government was advised as soon as possible on Thursday about the situation.
The money, Nadler said, is generated through the student activity fee and must be used for such, not on capital improvements.
Student Government also has to spend about $5,500 to $6,000 of its own budget.
The Student Senate will vote on these additional allocations during the senate meeting at 7 p.m. in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Two line-item transfers for the UB will also be voted on.
Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7942 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.
Student Senate Speaker Drew Griffin said Monday the allocations would have to be spent before June 30 or the state would reclaim the funds.
He said if the Apportionment Board had known in February that the student activities reserve account was going to be zero, it would have approved nine additional Frisbee golf holes ($15,000), new equipment for the Student Recreation Center ($16,190) and the University Board ($7,447).
Student Government also allocated $1,500 for a new office computer.
Paul McCann, interim vice president for business affairs, said Student Government does not have to spend all its money.
McCann said other entities on campus have to spend money in order to be below the excessive funds threshold set by the Legislative Audit Commission.
This commission is a joint committee of the General Assembly's House and Senate that sets Legislative Audit Guidelines; whereas, the auditor general assesses how much money that apply to universities are over the threshold.
"(The commission) created a mathematical calculation that is done annually to determine from the state's standpoint you are holding too much money," McCann said. "You could keep about three months of expenditures, so you don't have to spend it to zero. This is to prevent saving too much.
"You have to spend that money or it will go to our income fund. The money doesn't go to Springfield yet, but we are worried about (possibly) giving money back."
McCann said student fees is one of the entities on campus. There are about 30 organizations within the student fees entity.
About $500,000 has to be spent overall with student fees, but McCann said this amount is not much different from previous years. This is a small percent of Eastern's $195 million budget for fiscal year 2009.
The other funds affected by the Legislative Audit Commission are the local fund - money that is non-appropriated and consisting of no student fees or tuition that are not mandatory for academic services.
McCann said if Student Government does not spend all the money, there is only a small chance of losing its money. The other student fees, like campus improvement fees and student insurance, will be used throughout the year.
The Budget Office checks this every year from March through June to prevent surrendering money to the state, he said.
Griffin said Monday, Student Government could preorder the Student Recreational Center's equipment before the deadline and put it back into the fiscal year 2010 budget to "be smart" with spending.
"It will allow the money back to Student Government and the AB could reallocate the $16,190 to next fiscal year," McCann said.
Some senate members voiced concern Monday of not being notified in a timely manner. Dan Nadler, vice president for student affairs, said Student Government was advised as soon as possible on Thursday about the situation.
The money, Nadler said, is generated through the student activity fee and must be used for such, not on capital improvements.
Student Government also has to spend about $5,500 to $6,000 of its own budget.
The Student Senate will vote on these additional allocations during the senate meeting at 7 p.m. in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Two line-item transfers for the UB will also be voted on.
Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7942 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story