| October 13th, 2016
Fall Allocations Suspended by SGA
By: journeymagazine
Words By: Kiara Whitehead
The 46th Student Senate announced via memorandum that special allocations for the Fall 2016 semester will be suspended.
Simone Nisbett, the Senate Organization and Finance Chairperson, sent out the memorandum on Oct. 12 informing student organizations of the circumstances surrounding the suspension.
Nisbett in the memorandum said:
“As of right now the estimated amount of Carry-Forward is about $293,000…Due to the FAMU Board of Trustees Policy 2005-005, we are unable to obtain the estimated Carry-Forward amount until the board votes on this budget increase during the December 1, 2016 meeting. Thus, special allocations for this Fall 2016 semester have been declared suspended.”
Carry-forward are the funds that are unallocated at the end of a fiscal year. The carry-forward funds according to the State of Florida Statutes are to be given back to the Student Government Association (SGA) ; the funds are to be used by SGA to allocate to campus clubs, organizations and departments that benefit the student body.
Florida A&M University’s fiscal year ends every year on June 30 and carry-forward, at least for the last two fiscal years, has been given to SGA around October or November.
Although this has been the pattern in prior years the FAMU BOT has decided strictly to abide by state regulation 2005-005. The regulation states that the board must approve carry-forward funds as an amendment to the University budget if they exceed $100,000. This year the estimated amount of carry-forward funds, according to Nisbett, is around $293,000
In prior years the amendment to the University budget are not approved until the final BOT meeting of the Fall semester yet the carry-forward budget amounts were deposited into SGA accounts before approval.
The University Budget Office declined to comment on why the rule is being enforced this year.
Brandon Johnson, the president of the 46th Student Senate, said he is doing everything in his power to get allocations back on track for the Spring semester.
“The 46th Student Senate is working diligently to resolve the current state of our financial situation. In the meantime, we are trying to assist organizations to find alternative sources of funds for the semester,” said Johnson.
