The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council meeting on Oct. 20 amended a bylaw that states the regularity by which David Andrews, vice-president (finance), must present bi-monthly financial statements to council.
The bylaw currently states that the vice-president (finance) is required to provide council with regular updates about financial affairs, as well as upon request.
The argument presented during the meeting was that this bylaw is unspecific, as it does not mention how often these presentations should be made.
The proposal was brought forth at a previous council meeting by arts and social sciences councillor Ruth Lau-MacDonald.
Prior to this meeting, the Constitution and Policy Review Committee had voted unanimously that this amendment would specify the time as every two months.
“Two months makes sense,” Lau-MacDonald said. “Three months is almost a semester – that doesn’t give council members enough time to stay on top of everything. One month seemed too frequent.”
The motion was passed unanimously, without debate.
“It will be more to do, but at least it’s something I’m already doing,” Andrews said.
He said he thinks this will help council members get more involved in the financial side of CUSA.
“It will be a great learning experience for students hoping to understand the financial side of what we do,” Andrews added. He said his only concern is that this might be difficult.
Charissa Feres, arts and social sciences councillor, made a motion to amend the policy to specify that financial reports should be written and distributed to CUSA members before the meetings.
“Having this report will ensure that councillors are engaged in the meeting,” Feres later said. “It gives us time to do research and come up with questions to bring up at meetings.”
This amendment was passed with a unanimous vote.
Financial business wasn’t the only issue brought up at this meeting.
According to Lauren Konarowski, vice-president (internal), funding for clubs and societies has increased by an average of $100 since last year, with an average of about $700 per club.
“Every year, we have tons of clubs come in and present to us,” she said later. “It’s amazing, how much students want to accomplish.”
She said that this extra money could go far for the students involved in these clubs.
“It can really better the student experience,” Konarowski said.
Additionally, this November will mark the first year that CUSA has held a second round of funding for clubs. The amount of money given to these groups will be smaller as it will only fund one semester. Clubs are only eligible to apply for this funding if they hadn’t already applied in September.
Concept designs for a brand new student union building have also been completed. According to Konarowski, this building will be an addition on the University Center and will act as a front gate to the school for students and visitors.
“This new building will better represent the beautiful school that we have,” she said.
