ASPSU stipend shortage

Due to a clerical error, ASPSU is nearly $60,000 short of what it needs to pay all of its stipend positions throughout the year. It will present to the Student Senate tonight at 5 p.m. how this and next year’s ASPSU can compensate for the shortage.

ASPSU chose not to ask for additional money from the Student Fee Committee to cover the shortage, but has already implemented a fundraising plan and a new printing contract to save money in its day-to-day operations, said Edward Hallman, administrative director.

“We didn’t want to start the year by asking for exceptions and there are less [SFC] reserve fund dollars this year than last year,” Hallman said.

The mistake
During the initial budget request phase of the SFC proceedings last school year, the amount needed for Student Senate stipends was calculated at $180,000 for the coming year by student government, though only $62,400 was needed for Student Senate stipends.

“The initial request was a gross miscalculation, it was way too large,” Hallman said.

The stipend cap for ASPSU is set at $200,000 so, combined with the amount needed for other stipend positions, a total of $343,650 was requested from the SFC, $143,650 over the allowed stipend amount, Hallman said.

When the SFC saw the $343,650 request for stipends, the calculation error for Student Senate stipends was undetected. Instead, the SFC reduced each line item by a percentage to reach an overall total of $200,000, he said.

“This is a wake up call to the SFC to check it [everything] twice,” said SFC Chair Johnnie Ozimkowski.
When Hallman discovered the error, the SFC adjusted the Student Senate stipend amount to the correct amount of $62,400. However, the other line item remained at the reduced rate.

“That means that the total stipend amount for ASPSU for 2009–10 ended up at $159,777, which is around $60,000 short of what we’d need to fully fund all stipend positions for their full terms,” Hallman said.

Solutions
ASPSU is now operating 20 percent short of what it originally budgeted for because of the error.
“This only effects ASPSU’s pocketbooks and there are ways to be creative and proactive to get around the shortage,” Hallman said.

In Hallman’s proposal to the Student Senate, he will make the following suggestions to achieve savings:  implement small pay cuts across the board for the remainder of this year; implement slightly larger, strategic pay cuts for next year’s staff; and include a line item for a stipend overage in next year’s budget.

“If anyone can work out the ASPSU budget and do it well it’s Eddie,” Ozimkowski said. “I am more than willing to take as much of a pay cut as next year’s staff might be expected to take.”

Fundraising
A foundation account has been established by ASPSU that will allow them to collect fundraised money, which was a tenant of President Jonathan Sanford’s campaign. Sanford was unavailable for comment.

Several hundred dollars has so far been collected through events and donations. ASPSU initially paid out money to sponsor an American Sign Language Club event on Oct. 9. The club fundraised at the event and some of the money was returned to ASPSU to seed the foundation account, Hallman said.

Tasha Triplett, ASPSU’s outreach and funding coordinator, has also collected money from ASPSU alumni and will continue to fundraise at ASPSU events.

Printing savings
ASPSU signed a new several-year printing contract with IKON Office Solutions, Inc., saving ASPSU nearly $30 per month on printing costs. Their old printer only produced black-and-white pages, whereas the new printer can print 11-by-17 inch color copies for only 10 cents. At a print shop, the same work would cost almost 75 cents, Hallman said.

ASPSU currently allows student groups to use the copier and after Hallman sets up protocol, printing will be open to all Portland State students.