Student Government was not in attendance for Thursday’s Apportionment Board meeting.

During the meeting, $66,195 was removed from various fee-funded budgets.

“I’m surprised that there was no representation by Student Government, and I agree with the Apportionment Board that (the absence) reflects poorly on their management and budget responsibilities,” said AB chairwoman Leah Pietraszewski.

About $8,226 was removed from Student Government’s budget request after AB member Eric Wilber declared the budget “fair game” because of a lack of serious representation.

“They were told to show up, but I have no idea why they’re not here,” Pietraszewski told AB member Tyson Holder when he asked for an explanation.

AB declined all Student Government budget requests except for the additional $4,600 to meet tuition waiver inflations. Consequently, $3,231 that was allocated to the Conference on Student Government Associations was removed instead of the tuition waivers.

“I don’t believe (the budget cuts) were a direct result of their absence,” Pietraszewski said. “The additional money was not essential to the operation of Student Government.”

The two Student Government budget representatives were Student Body President Cole Rogers and Student Senate Speaker Megan Ogulnick. Both were present for the March 6 AB meeting when they presented the budget.

“I think it would have been important for them to be here to represent themselves,” said Ceci Brinker, Student Government and University Board adviser. “I don’t know why they weren’t here, but I don’t know if there were scheduling conflicts either.”

Brinker said she thought Student Government had decided to accept any decision AB made.

At the time of the meeting Ogulnick was driving home to the Chicago area.

She had planned several days in advance to leave by 6 p.m. on Thursday, she said.

AB met at 7 p.m., she added.

Rogers was still on campus when the meeting began.

“Leah had mentioned it to me earlier in the week, but I had another meeting tonight,” Rogers said. “To be honest, it slipped my mind, and I’m not going to come up with any grave excuses.”

Co-directors of Campus Recreation Kevin Linker and Sarah Daugherty were present to hear the deliberation on their request for $227,700. The request was $18,300 more than last year’s approval of $209,400.

AB decided to approve the full budget request. The $18,300 increase is more than all budget changes since fiscal year 2006 combined. The fiscal year 2006 budget was $213,959.

An additional $10,000 was requested to meet the minimum wage increase for student workers. There are between 178 and 198 student workers employed at the rec center. The new wage will be eight dollars per hour.

“Every year they come in with a sound budget, and they get the most student usage of the four budgets,” said AB member Karen Gaines. “So I really warn you not to trim their budget because they do not request additional allocations.”

AB member Travis Bounds agreed.

He said UB could always request additional allocations before projects occur, but the Rec cannot afford to shut down for a few weeks to request more money.

Daugherty said she appreciates AB’s devotion to student workers because cutting student staffing would require many tough decisions.

UB’s budget request was reduced from $297,437 to $239,469.

Gaines said UB frequently requests additional funds during the year, and the money is usually approved. Therefore, the needed cut would have to be made and UB could make individual requests next year, Gains said.

Bounds made the suggestion that AMP be removed. The publication received $19,642 in fiscal year 2008 and was projected to receive only $13,521 in fiscal year ’09.

Ted Hart, AB adviser, said recent policy is to not tell the organization what line item to remove and that the money for the item should simply be removed with the implication. He said AB does have the legal ability to “micromanage,” but the board decided several years ago to avoid such actions.

UB chairwoman Melissa Schaefer and Vice Chairman Pat Lamorte will have to make budget adjustments to fit the allocated money and have the new budget approved during Thursday’s AB meeting.

Only Student Government and UB have to attend the meeting because theirs were the only budgets cut from.

Schaefer said a second budget was already started prior to the meeting in anticipation of the cuts. The two officers will meet with UB coordinators during the week to determine the final proposal.

By the numbers

Total requests to AB: $601,195

Approved funding to disperse: $535,000

Money removed from budget requests: $66,195.

Rick Kambic can be reached at 581-7942 or at rwkambic@eiu.edu.