Eight student organizations and services have until 4:30 p.m. today to figure out where to cut at least 14 percent of their 2005 budget allocated by the Student Association’s Finance Committee.

Campus Activities Board, Campus Child Care, Health and Humans Services, Campus Recreation, Residence Hall Association, Student Association, Huskie Highlights and Student Legal Services were not the only groups to receive at least a 14 percent budget cut, but they are unique because they have accountants who must reconcile the cuts in the form of revised budget proposals.

With the finance committee disagreeing how to reach 2005’s $1.3 million budget for organization funding, SA adviser Nolan Davis suggested the committee take its cues from the governor’s office.

“Let’s do what the governor of Illinois did to us – cut funding and send the budgets back, tell them this is how much you have and make it work,” Davis said.

SA Treasurer DuJuan Smith said he did not want anyone to receive cuts and that the organizations and services “deserve more.”

“There is no fair way to cut this one and not that one,” DuJuan Smith said. “We’re giving it back to you [organizations] so you can cut where you can still operate.”

After the committee cut eight organizations’ and services’ budgets, the committee was still $35,462 away from balancing the $1.3 million budget.

The committee then tried cutting only 7 percent from organizations to whom they had allocated between $3,000 and $23,929, but realized they would still be over budget if they did not cut 14 percent.

Several organizations, including NIU Black Choir and Prism, also received a 14 percent reduction.

The finance committee cut CAB’s 2005 budget to $382,706. The committee’s initial recommendation of $450,958 was cut by 14 percent and an additional $5,118 to reconcile the remaining deficit of the overall budget. The cuts combined represented a 15 percent reduction.

Committee member Dion Smith suggested cutting the money from CAB.

“They are pretty close to where they wanted to be,” Dion Smith said.

The committee debated dipping into the SA’s emergency funding budget for the remaining $5,118, but agreed to cut the amount from CAB’s budget.

“We didn’t just come up with the numbers out of thin air,” DuJuan Smith said. “A senator could potentially move to add $50,000 to CAB’s budget, and we would have to come back in here and go through it again.”

The budgets now go to the SA Senate for their first reading Sunday, with a vote planned for April 24.

Prior to the finance committee meeting, John Acardo, CAB president-elect, said he was confident the finance committee would fund CAB appropriately.

“Budgets are tight this year,” Acardo said. “I think the committee will give each budget careful consideration and adequately allocate the monies to all student organizations and services.”

CAB’s administration budget, the amount of which in question due to the finance committee’s resubmitted budget cuts, will pay the salaries of four CAB executives and 10 coordinators.

“The great thing about CAB is we can get corporate sponsorships and revenues generated from events,” Acardo said. “Those are pretty much the main other [revenue] sources. There will be no candy drives.”

Throughout the previous two finance committee meetings, members complained that the actual write-up of CAB’s budget proposal was unclear.

Having seen the budget process and how current and past administrations have filed budget requests, Acardo said next year CAB’s budget proposal will be “very detailed where the money goes and where it is allocated.”