The $70,000 Student Association budget surplus for Fiscal Year 1990 will not result in lower student activity fees for next fall.

SA Treasurer Bruce Williams said the money will be used to ensure that fees for next year are not increased.

“What the $70,000 is allowing us to do is counteract the decrease in credit hours that is projected to occur in the forthcoming years,” Williams said.

He said the money will allow student organizations to expand despite the fact that the number of credit hours is expected to diminish according to projections made by NIU’s Finance and Planning program.

An estimated decrease in credit hours caused an increase in student fees, Williams said. The SA’s budget was made last year with the assumption that fees would increase by 7.5 percent, but the fees were actually increased by 15 percent. This caused the surplus, he said.

Assistant Provost Anthony Fusaro, who was a member of NIU President John La Tourette’s Fee Study Commission, said the commission acted on recommendations made by the Office of Student Affairs.

“We didn’t give them (the SA) more than was requested,” Fusaro said.

Fusaro said the Student Affairs Office gave a long explanation of the need for the increase which led to the surplus.

However, Barbara Henley, vice president for Student Affairs, said she could not comment because she had no involvement in the situation.

Williams said the Office of Finance and Planning actually allocates funds, but Eddie Williams, vice president for Finance and Planning, said he was unable to comment on the situation.