With the Student Government Association (SGA) requesting a budget increase that violates the Student Activity Fee (SAF) Manual, SGA Vice President for Financial Affairs Billy Haddad will have to walk a fine line in the coming weeks.

Haddad helped craft the budget as an SGA vice president, but will also play a role in approving the controversial budget as chair of the Budget Review Committee (BRC).

Members of the BRC left the senate chambers during the presentation of the SGA budget last Thursday, and Haddad said he will look at the budget in a different light when he fufills his duty as BRC chair.

“I was elected based on my ability to be impartial,” Haddad said. “When I’m the chair, it’s a completely different hat that I wear.”

SGA has come before the committee to request funding before, and they are treated as any other student group, he said.

Haddad said the current SGA proposal seems to contain many aspects that will need to be debated within the BRC when it is reviewed April 13. As with all groups that request an increase in funding, the committee looks at the justification behind the increase and decides accordingly, he said.

SGA President Ashley Adams said the transition from free tuition for the executive board to stipends is not going to be easy for SGA, and because of the extenuating circumstances of the situation, SGA is justified in asking for the increase from the BRC.

“Hopefully, the BRC will understand how grave a situation this is and how hard we’ve been working to get a solution,” she said.

– Jessica Torrez-Riley, News staff