New budget has key differences

By Giovanni Roverso

The 2015-16 ASC Budget is in the final stages of approval. More than half of expenditure accounts have seen increases, thanks to “Parking Support” having been dropped completely.

The yearly ~$19,000 parking support expenditures have been inadequate at covering annual parking lot maintenance costs for a while now, let alone funding for periodic parking lot resurfacing, currently set at a 10-year bare-minimum. The new fee would cover the necessary costs for a while, ideally adding up to $52,000, according to Director of Support Services Patty McCray Roberts.

Mileage fees for the Black Pearl bus have seen a necessary increase to $4/mile compared to the original $2/mile, according to Associate Dean Rick Ross. The previous fee was not sufficient for proper maintenance, especially considering the age of the Pearl. This was complemented with a boost to individual sports teams’ budgets so as cover the the higher cost of traveling to and from tournaments and championships. Athletics and student programming got cut by $6,000 due to the college picking up the NWAC membership fee, Ross said.

Budget Graph