In the wake of questions about her authority over the Student Association budget, NIU’s vice president for student affairs is beginning to develop a process to iron out budgeting problems between students and administrators.

Barbara Henley said she’s “working on a process to come together on this issue” with students, but declined to elaborate on exactly what it entails, who it involves or when it will be finished. Henley said she’ll release a statement on the process when details are more concrete.

However, she did say clarification of the Board of Regents rule giving her veto power over SA budgets might be reviewed.

Student Regent James Mertes and SA Treasurer Michael Holy brought up the Regents’ rule last week after concern about Henley’s June 18 decision to reinstate an $850 allocation that the senate refused to pay.

“We want to have a good, productive year—not an adversarial year,” Henley said, reiterating that SA and student affairs officials at the meeting agreed with her reinstatement.

Because the senate decided to “zero-fund,” or take away the money for the refreshments after the SA Finance Committee approved them, “What Dr. Henley was doing was vetoing the (senate’s) zero-funding,” said Michelle Emmett, University Programming and Activities director.

Emmett said the budgeting process could be improved if there were “more discussion and dialogue before the eleventh hour.”

Each year before the final approval meeting, Emmett and other meeting representatives scrutinize the budgets for errors and other inconsistencies.

Emmett said the six-page memo listing 24 suggested changes wasn’t an unusual amount of suggestions compared to the SA’s budgets the past three years.

Many of the suggestions stem from groups’ underestimating their costs because the budgets are drawn up nearly a year in advance, she said.

The SA’s Fiscal Year 1990-91 budget was submitted for final approval later than normal, causing the final meeting to be held June 18 instead of in late May or early June, she said. Emmett said mid- to late-April would be ideal.