The Carleton Academic Student Government (CASG) is moving forward with plans to hold a referendum on increasing its levy to $2 per semester, executives said at the student government’s Feb. 16 council meeting.
The referendum, which would increase the CASG levy by $1.39 from the current $0.61 per semester, is to ensure the association can continue to support students, CASG vice-president (operations) Vanessa Buecking said.
“CASG’s budget is limited, and this poses a number of restrictions on the extent and the scale of financial support CASG can provide to students,” Buecking said. “An increase in council funds will mean more opportunities to give back to students.”
Buecking said additional funds would allow CASG to expand the Ravens Academic Relief Bursary (RARB), which provided roughly 150 students up to $200 for academic-related expenses, and the Academic Initiative Fund, which helps fund academic club events.
Matt Gagné, CASG president and president-elect of the Carleton University Students Association, said 224 students applied to RARB.
According to Gagné, if all the student applicants had been fully funded, it would’ve cost CASG $35,113.45, more than the entirety of its 2018-2019 budget expenses.
“[RARB] has been a huge success,” Gagné said. “This rapid growth has also led to the inevitable growing pains along the way.”
At its January council meeting, CASG amended its budget to allocate an additional $4,800 towards RARB, increasing the bursary’s funds to $7,800.
In late January, the Provost Budget Working Group approved CASG’s plan for the referendum, according to Buecking.
Buecking said CASG wants to ensure this levy generates a “positive response” among students by running advertisements.
Campaigning for the referendum is scheduled to take place March 8-10. Voting is scheduled for March 11-12.
CASG also dropped the writ of election for executives, scheduling voting for March 24-25. Voting in CASG executive elections is limited to members of CASG council.
