By Aleksandra Sidorova
The Student Association Senate discussed last year’s audit report at its Dec. 5 meeting, grappling with the results that suggest the SA should increase the student activities fee further to keep up with its spending habits.
Robert Williams, an accountant with consulting firm EFPR Group, presented key findings from the audit report of the previous legislation’s activity spanning July 1, 2023, to June 30, released Nov. 15.
“You can’t continue to overspend,” he said.
The audit showed that the outlined budget was more than $1 million, with the revenue from students paying the SA fee covered just over half. While the SA spent less than its $1 million budget, largely as a result of clubs spending less than their allocated budgets, the habit of tapping into reserve funds that weren’t spent two years earlier is unsustainable, Williams said.
The audit report also showed that some budgets did not reflect some clubs’ activity. For example, House of Divinity, a modeling club, had a budget of $10,800 but spent only $3,433. Similarly, the Muslim Student Association spent slightly over $1,000 of its $9,000 budget. Plattsburgh Association of Black Journalists had $8,050 in its disposal but spent none.
Williams noted that nationally, student governments spend on average 77% of their budgets on activities, while the SA spent 60%. As such, the Student Association faces the challenge of decreasing its spending to sustain its work while striving to spend more on activities.
The Senate also approved the Laboratory Safety Team, a club dedicated to promoting safety in lab settings. Its members major in biology, chemistry, physics, biomedical sciences and education, club representatives said.
The members said Laboratory Safety Team’s philosophy is teaching without shaming, viewing mistakes as opportunities to learn.
The club plans to collaborate with clubs such as the Cooking Club, according to Sen. John Carguello, chair of the Clubs and Organizations Affairs Board — “for what is a kitchen other than a form of a lab?”
The Senate unanimously approved the club.
Senators also voted to approve Sarah Tansey as a member of the Finance Board. Tansey attended the required three meetings and is a “positive addition” to the board, SA Treasurer Sydney Wise said.
“I am fully behind her,” Wise said.
In her report, Wise said her goal is for the Finance Board to grow from three to eight members by February so they can begin drafting the SA’s budget for the 2025-26 academic year with Williams’ presentation in mind.
