Spring Break
SGA digs in, forgets rules
David Fitzgerald
Issue date: 3/26/03 Section: News
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Student government spends money on banquet but forgets to approve the cash for catering costs
The Student Government Association voted down a $161.75 appropriation to pay for an SGA reception directly following Tuesday night’s meeting. The food for the reception was already set up when the senate decided not to approve the money to pay for it.
The reception was part of SGA Days, a week devoted to building the image of the association.
According to SGA Director of Public Relations Whitney Leathers, the person in charge of SGA Days, she asked SGA Comptroller Elizabeth Krause to make the arrangements for the reception. According to Leathers, the reception cost was not supposed to exceed $100 so SGA President Christopher Mullins-Silverstein could approve the money. However, since the cost exceeded $100, it needed the approval of the senate to be spent.
“I’d really like to apologize,” Leathers said. “I didn’t make it clear that it had to be under $100.”
Krause had ordered the food using the SGA account.
According to the SGA constitution, all requests for money greater than $100 must be submitted to the Finance/Special Projects Committee at least one week before the money is needed. The food had already been charged to the SGA account before the request for it went to the FSP Committee.
“We had to approve it and get it out of there … to pay for the food that had already been purchased,” FSP Committee Chair Agustin Campos said.
“We cannot spend this money. We have rules that need to be followed,” said SGA Vice President Doug Smith.
After a five-minute recess that turned into a 15-minute recess, SGA officials decided that the appropriation was valid because the rule says that the appropriation must be filed a week before the money is needed. Because the reception was charged to the SGA account, the money was not needed that night per se.
“It’s a fuzzy area, something you can probably get around,” said former Speaker of the Senate Josh Schier.
The Student Government Association voted down a $161.75 appropriation to pay for an SGA reception directly following Tuesday night’s meeting. The food for the reception was already set up when the senate decided not to approve the money to pay for it.
The reception was part of SGA Days, a week devoted to building the image of the association.
According to SGA Director of Public Relations Whitney Leathers, the person in charge of SGA Days, she asked SGA Comptroller Elizabeth Krause to make the arrangements for the reception. According to Leathers, the reception cost was not supposed to exceed $100 so SGA President Christopher Mullins-Silverstein could approve the money. However, since the cost exceeded $100, it needed the approval of the senate to be spent.
“I’d really like to apologize,” Leathers said. “I didn’t make it clear that it had to be under $100.”
Krause had ordered the food using the SGA account.
According to the SGA constitution, all requests for money greater than $100 must be submitted to the Finance/Special Projects Committee at least one week before the money is needed. The food had already been charged to the SGA account before the request for it went to the FSP Committee.
“We had to approve it and get it out of there … to pay for the food that had already been purchased,” FSP Committee Chair Agustin Campos said.
“We cannot spend this money. We have rules that need to be followed,” said SGA Vice President Doug Smith.
After a five-minute recess that turned into a 15-minute recess, SGA officials decided that the appropriation was valid because the rule says that the appropriation must be filed a week before the money is needed. Because the reception was charged to the SGA account, the money was not needed that night per se.
“It’s a fuzzy area, something you can probably get around,” said former Speaker of the Senate Josh Schier.
