The Privilege Fee committee recommends a $100,000 decrease to the Recreation Services budget citing surplus funds in maintenance reserve accounts.
“This is one of the bigger entities,” said Ethan Shultz, committee member and senior in statistics and data science. “It is easier to cut a lot from their budget than a little from other entities.”
Recreation Services includes the Peters Recreation Complex and Ahearn Natatorium. Privilege fee dollars help provide fitness courses, equipment rentals and student worker salaries. Currently, Recreation Services is allocated $3,171,114.
“There are not very many entities of this size and are as important,” said Michael Dowd, College of Agriculture senator and junior in animal sciences and industry. “It’s a lot more feasible for Rec Services to be decreased.”
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The committee debated the recommended cut briefly as some committee members worried about renovation projects. Nathan Bothwell, speaker pro tempore and junior in communications and political science, reminded the committee that Recreation Services must ask the committee before using more than $30,000 on a single project.
“They have only spent about the amount we have replenished them, so what is the point of giving them extra,” said Sara Wallace, committee member and junior in biochemistry.
The recommendation will be introduced to Student Senate on Feb. 13. Donny Riffle, committee chair and senior in computer science, said he expects lots of debate on the recommendation since it is a substantial decrease.
