Meeting highlights
PRESENT
Ruby Sycamore-Smith (Chair), Ryan Edgar, Laura Harris, Kurt Purdon, Jess McLean, Paul Hunt and Henri Faulkner
IN ATTENDANCE
Darel Hall (General Manager), Laura Munro (Chief Reporter) and Donna Jones (Minute Secretary)
APOLOGIES
Payal Ramritu
Moved from the Chair
252/14 THAT the above apology be accepted.
CARRIED U
SPEAKING RIGHTS
Moved from the Chair
253/14 THAT Darel Hall, Laura Munro and Donna Jones be granted speaking rights for the duration of this meeting.
CARRIED U
MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
Moved from the Chair
254/14 THAT the minutes of the executive meeting held on 2 September 2014 be accepted as a true and correct record.
CARRIED U
Moved from the Chair
255/14 THAT the minutes of the executive meeting held on 4 September 2014 be accepted as a true and correct record.
CARRIED U
BUDGET 2015 REVISED
The executive had a meeting to go over the budget thoroughly and wanted to make some changes. Their overview and the decision are as follows:
OUSA should allocate funding based on students priorities. As student representatives the purpose for the meeting held on Thursday 4th was to determine those priorities and incorporate them in the budget presented to students at the Referendum being held from 22-25 September 2014.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) negotiations with the university administration are ongoing. Recent indications are that OUSA will not be able to fund all activities and services it had hoped to.
For the purposes of the SLA negotiations, determining our priorities increases the likelihood OUSA can fund the top priorities. This is because the university assesses the specific area, not just the overall amount requested. Merely providing a large wish list runs the risk that the most important priorities are overlooked.
OUSA could fund services and events from reserves. However, digging into reserves reduces OUSA's long-term spending ability and the capacity to generate revenue via investment. Fiscal responsibility safeguards to an extend OUSA funding for future students in a uncertain revenue environment (eg: Voluntary Student Membership (VSM) vs Compulsory Student Membership (CSM) legislation and nothing compels the University to fund OUSA.
While Ryan Edgar (Administrative Vice President) and Payal Ramritu (Welfare Officer) are absent, their priorities were noted. They discussed their priorities with the President and the Finance Officer prior to this meeting.
a) President's $8,212 proposed increase (as recommended by Deloitte) cut entirely.
b) Decreased the allocation to OUSA celebrations from $10,000 to $5,000
c) Decreased the applied honoraria to executive members from 3% to 2%
d) Cut entirely the proposed new Executive Assistant ($20,380)
-This meant the executive made total savings of $34,167 from the proposed 2015 budget.
2. The executive determined the following SLA Contingent Items Priority List:
1. Campus Groups: $70,000 (100%)-Social Cause Groups, Faculty Clubs and Service/Volunteer Groups-Memorandum of Understanding funds).
2. Satellite Campus Groups: $21,000 (70%)-Wellington, Christchurch, Southland, Student Support Centre Satellite Campus Group.
3. International Games: $10,000 (100%)
4. Critic three new editors: $22,680 (100%)
5. Satellite Campus Groups: $9,000 (30%)
6. Radio One Projects with University Department: $14,000 (70%)
GENERAL BUSINESS
Back Benches political debate - Monday - 8th September in ReFuel.
Political Debate - 9th September
NZUSA pamphlet distributions - sign up on the roster to hand out in lecture theatres and around campus.
Meeting closed at 5.20pm