GSB budget ready for allocations

Fred Love and Ben Carstens / And
March 9, 2006

Legend has it that past Government of the Student Body allocations meetings continued so far into the wee hours of the morning that the senate decided to recess for a while so members could go home and sleep.

“I doubt that’s actually true, but they can go on a long time,” said GSB Finance Director Jason Carroll, senior in civil engineering.

GSB set the stage for this year’s marathon allocations meeting, to be held March 22, by approving a first reading of the GSB Finance Committee’s allocations recommendations for the 2007 fiscal year Wednesday night.

GSB has $1,186,249.39 at its disposal to distribute to student clubs, organizations and services for next year, and the finance committee proposed allocations for at least 81 student organizations at Wednesday’s meeting.

“Our ultimate goal is to distribute fees back to students and enrich the environment of the university,” Carroll said.

Members of the finance committee have spent dozens of hours over the last several weeks, he said, to prepare the allocations recommendations.

“They spent six-and-a-half hours just on Monday night to balance the budget,” he said.

Carroll said he’s seen allocations meetings adjourn as early as 11 p.m. or as late as 3 a.m.

“I’d expect this year’s to end around midnight,” he said.

A GSB election official said voter turnout for last week’s election fell short of last year’s numbers.

Katie Petersen, GSB vice election commissioner and senior in plant health and protection, said a total of 2,768 votes were cast this year, approximately half of last year’s total.

GSB President Angela Groh won last year’s race with 3,521 votes.

Petersen said the lower turnout may have stemmed – in part – from slates announcing their candidacies later than last year.

“Some slates this year didn’t assemble until early this semester, while last year many organized in the fall,” she said.

The election results will be announced at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Maintenance Shop of the Memorial Union.

The 10 groups proposed to receive the most funding

from GSB

Student Legal Services with $218,256.66

The Government of the Student Body with $148,415.56

The Committee on Lectures with $101,649.17

The Sports Club Council with $100,021.54

The Iowa State Daily with $97,864.92

Performing Arts Council with $82,200.00