FINANCE STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT TO COUNCIL

Transcription

1 FINANCE STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT TO COUNCIL MEETING DATE: October Time and location: Author: Attendance: Regrets Absent no regrets: Observers: 5:30 pm, USC Boardroom Connor Lyons, Finance Standing Committee Vice-Chair Noronha, Diego (Chair) McCrea, Ryan Betancourt, Gina Helfand, Matthew Nguyen, Lisa Swamy, Desmond Charles, Austin Smith, Adam Zhu, Maggie Brown, Spencer Camilleri, Jordan Jodzio, Adrian Lyons, Connor (Vice-Chair) Power, Brendan Li, Qingning Ayala, Tony - Vice President Finance, USC Shaw, Andrew - Governance Officer, USC Fearnall, Adam Pesident, USC Santucci, Jeremy Vice President Communications, USC McGrath, Kaitlin Gazette Dickie, Gloria Editor in Chief, Gazette

2 Item #1 Amendments to Honoraria Policy Recommendation: That Council approve the Honoraria Policy as amended. Summary: Proposed amendments to the Honoraria Policy included adding Gazette editor honoraria to the current list of USC Coordinators that currently receive honoraria. Gazette editors currently receive honoraria however the policy was not updated to reflect the change. Proposed amendments seek to rectify this. Vice President Finance Tony Ayala was tasked with finding background information in regards to the following concerns: - around the amount of honoraria allocated to Gazette editors - why the policy was not updated sooner - when Gazette editor honoraria became un-written policy and who approved it It was found that the policy has been in place for about 20 years. It was missed in the honoraria policy mainly through oversight however it was approved in accordance with then existing policy. Honoraria Policy Whereas, the Gazette is the official undergraduate newspaper of Western and provides students with relevant news on campus; Whereas, the Gazette editors have been receiving an honoraria for the past 20 years; Whereas, the honoraria policy was not updated to reflect this change; Be it resolved that, the Honoraria Policy be amended as follows. See attachment of proposed policy. Legislative History: N/A Discussion: Concerned were raised around Gazette finances. Committee came to a conclusion that they would deal with this concern with a later agenda item that had come from Communications Standing Committee. Financial Implications:

3 N/A Attachments: Amended Honoraria Policy Consultation: Vice President Finance - Tony Ayala Governance Officer - Andrew Shaw Legislative Assistant - Sandi Roddy Item #2 Strategic Review of the Gazette Recommendation: That Council approve the Strategic Review of the Gazette as proposed. Summary: Item came from Communications Standing Committee. Strategic Review of the Gazette is an attempt to review the long-term operations of the Gazette, at all levels of the organization. MOTION Strategic Review of the Gazette Whereas, the USC seeks to enhance the educational experience and quality of life for all undergraduates at Western University. Whereas, the Gazette is the official undergraduate newspaper of Western University and is committed to providing undergraduate students with coverage of relevant news on and off campus. Whereas, the USC collects student fees annually on behalf of the Gazette for the purposes of the Gazette's publication. Whereas, the USC has a duty to students to ensure that student fees are being used effectively. Whereas, a review of the long term strategic vision for the Gazette has not been conducted within recent memory. Whereas, any review of the Gazette that is conducted should be undertaken by an impartial third party that is separate from both the USC and the Gazette. Be it resolved that, an Ad Hoc Committee be struck to review the long term strategic vision, business, and financial operations of the Gazette.

4 Be it further resolved that, the Ad Hoc Committee be comprised of members with no affiliation to either the USC or the Gazette. Be it further resolved that, the members of the Ad Hoc Committee be selected by mutual agreement of the Gazette Editor in Chief and the Vice President Communications, and if an agreement cannot be reached, that the Committee members be selected by resolution of Council. CHEESE/Ritchie Legislative History: N/A Discussion: An amendment was added to include a financial review of the Gazette to address concerns raised by committee members. Financial Implications: None. Attachments: None. Consultation: Vice President Finance - Tony Ayala Governance Officer - Andrew Shaw Legislative Assistant - Sandi Roddy Vice President Communications Jeremy Santucci Item #3 Mustang Express Surplus Funds Recommendation: That Council approve the Mustang Express Surplus Funds motion as proposed. Summary: When the fee for the Mustang Express was determined it was prior to actual numbers being negotiated with bus companies. As a result, the negotiated contract was considerably lower than fees collected. The resulting surplus of approximately $130,000 was collected from fees

5 during the 2011/2012 school year. Due to the limitations of the referendum question that approved the Mustang Express initiative only three options were viable: -refund students approximately $5 less a processing fee -freeze the fee and possibly reduce it -initiate an exam shuttle bus pilot project to take students to the Via Rail and Greyhound stations and the London Airport, expected cost is approximately $30,000 Mustang Express Surplus Funds Whereas, the USC is tasked with collecting and administering a number of student fees; Whereas, the USC in anticipation of higher costs collected a surplus of funds for Mustang Express initiative; Whereas, the surplus of funds collected in the 2011/2012 school year is approximately $130,000; Whereas, due to the scope and nature of referendum questions, funds cannot be allocated for anything outside the scope of the original referendum question; Be it resolved that, the Mustang Express fee be frozen until such time as an increase is necessary; Be it further resolved that, the Vice President Finance be tasked to assess the feasibility of reducing the Mustang Express fee through the use of surplus funds collected Be it further resolved that, the Vice President Finance also be tasked to assess the feasibility of an exam period shuttle bus to the Via Rail station, Greyhound station and/or the London Airport, through partial use of the surplus funds up to $30,000, for the December 2012 exam period with an option to extend it to the April 2013 exam period. Be it further resolved that, the Vice President Finance report back to the November meeting of the USC with a detailed plan and cost structure of the pilot project. BROWN/Smith Legislative History: N/A Discussion: Discussion centered on the best use of the surplus funds. Committee felt a refund would logistically prove too troublesome for an insignificant refund amount. Committee felt that freezing the fee as well as a possible reduction would be the best course of action. In addition, the committee felt that the exam period shuttle bus pilot project was a worthy use of a small portion of surplus funds.

6 Financial Implications: Yes. Proposed pilot project will require usage of surplus funds collected Attachments: None. Consultation: Vice President Finance - Tony Ayala Governance Officer - Andrew Shaw Legislative Assistant - Sandi Roddy President Adam Fearnall Author: Author of the report. Diego Noronha Financial Review: Other Standing Committees: Legislative or Legal Review: If there are any Yes. financial implications to the USC note if the matter has been referred to the Finance Standing Committee. If there are further n/a implications that could be better addressed by another standing committee please refer the issue by writing the committee name in the box. If it could have legal implications, could impact, change or contradict current USC policy or recent Executive Council or Council decisions, the Governance Officer should be consulted. n/a

7 Standing Committee Chair The Standing Committee Chair must approve the report. D.N