AMS Council met on February 27 to discuss the budget reforecast, the Ombuds Report and approve a revision to a referendum question.
Here’s what you might have missed.
Budget reforecast projecting surplus
The budget forecast, presented by Interim VP Finance Amber Dhaliwal, outlined increased spending in the President’s Office and VP Admin's Office, attributed to increased staff hours and Clubs Fair expenses.
Dhaliwal also said there was reforecast due to an extra $30,000 spent on additional legal counsel.
However, Dhaliwal noted the reforecasted budget still projected a surplus of $260,000 due to salary and benefit savings and increased contribution of tenant services.
But AMS President Christian ‘CK’ Kyle, highlighted “a huge chunk of that surplus is really just unfilled positions” — noting some people are on maternity leave.
Councillor Eshana Bhangu said she didn’t see a lot of detail in the presentation on discretionary items that don't require Council's approval for spending, and asked Dhaliwal if she can clarify.
Dhaliwal said “historically we’ve always done reforecasts like this,” but said she would be happy to provide more information.
The motion to approve amendments to the budget in alignment with the variances presented was approved.
Ombudsperson recommends more training
Noah Mossey, the AMS ombudsperson, presented the Ombuds Report which showed the primary cases being dealt with were “unprofessional conduct” or disagreement fueled conflict.” Mossey said most are solved informally and only a few are sent through to a private investigator.
"There is a few cases dealing with bullying, harassment, there's a few cases going through the external investigator as we speak, related to some of this stuff," he said.
Mossey noted there was an increase in cases in September through December 2024, but, in January, case levels returned to where they have been historically.
He also emphasised the need for more formal training for future ombudspersons.
Mossey said he will only have a few weeks to train the next ombudspersons whereas in the past people set themselves up for the role by observing their predecessor for a year or longer.
Referendum clarification
Council also approved a clarification for the fee referendum question, which would put a chart on the ballot and provide more detail on the fee/fund descriptions.
Councillor asks about releasing inquiry report
Toward the end of the meeting, Councillor Emma Porter said there has been a tough air around releasing removed VP academic and university affairs Drédyn Fontana’s inquiry report.
She noted many people have had questions and it's difficult since she cannot publicly speak about the inquiry report.
“[People] don't understand, and they're hesitant to trust the AMS,” Porter said.
She also noted Fontana had publicly given his consent to release the report in a reddit comment and asked if the report could be released now.
Kyle said the AMS had reached out to get Fontana’s consent to release the report, but said Fontana had rejected giving consent privately.
“Consent was immediately retracted privately, but the public consent is still standing,” said Kyle.
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