FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 29, 2016

The SSMU Board of Directors has approved the Operating Budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

As you may be aware, the Society was required to make significant cuts to the operating budget in order to break even for the 2016-2017 year. This budget reflects this reality, seeing major cuts to areas such as student staff hours, governance-related budgets, executive portfolios, operational expenses (e.g. reduced building security and reduced building hours), the SSMU-subsidized portion of the Club Fund, and administrative expenses (e.g. salaries). Additionally, the upcoming year will see further corporatization of the William Shatner University Centre, with the Society relying more on external events and corporate advertisement (e.g. floor decals and wall murals) as revenue sources.

The reduced staff hours will result in a reduced capacity for the SSMU to take on projects and provide services, in addition to increased delays in the processing of requests such as funding applications, room bookings, and club bank account forms. Further, as a result of the reduced resources and staff capacity, programming and services will be reduced across portfolios, with the SSMU no longer accepting applications for new Clubs serving as one example.

As you may recall, a referendum was held in January 2016 to increase the membership fee for all SSMU Members to address the financial constraints that have burdened our organization and have become more and more pressing over time. This referendum failed by 0.3% (18 votes) and thus the budget has been adjusted accordingly.

Questions regarding the budget can be directed to Zacheriah Houston, Vice-President (Finance & Operations).