UNC’s student fee advisory committee decides fates of athletic, transit fees

The student fee advisory subcommittee decided on its two most contentious fees Wednesday.

Both fees — a $45 athletic fee increase and a $14.50 student transit fee increase — were debated at length and altered before a decision was reached.

The athletic fee, which has undergone three revisions during the past month, left the committee divided with a 4-3 final vote.

The fee did not pass because of a lack of unanimous consensus.

The subcommittee was also skeptical of the proposed $14.50 transit fee increase. They approved a portion of the fee.

Only $8.74 of the $14.50 was approved by the subcommittee, fulfilling the basic operating costs of the Department of Public Safety’s contract with Chapel Hill Transit.

The subcommittee also reversed a previous rejected fee decision, approving increased fees for all dental students by $1,240.

The athletic fee debate

All three student representatives on the subcommittee and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Winston Crisp voted against the fee increase.

Student Body President Mary Cooper said student government had trouble understanding the need for the increase, especially in the current economy.

“It might not be the best to do it this year,” she said.

Alex Mills, treasurer of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, said graduate students shared the same opinion.

“The athletic fee is just not a priority for graduate students,” he said.

But Barron Matherly, assistant provost for finance, said the current fee version ­— which has gone through multiple revisions — is one he supports.

“I didn’t approve of this fee the first three times I heard it,” he said.

But most subcommittee members said they do not think the athletic department will suffer greatly without the $1.1 million in extra revenue from the increase.

The student transit debate

The $14.50 student transit fee — which had been postponed for weeks — was partially approved after more information about its usage was provided to the committee.

Last meeting, the subcommittee requested the exact operating cost of meeting the contract increase from Chapel Hill Transit.

DPS reported only $8.23 was needed for next year’s costs.

Mills said $0.51 was added to the fee increase to cover requested funding for the Point-to-Point and Safe Ride buses, making the total increase $8.74.

Jeff McCracken, chief of campus police, said DPS included the fee increase request in their five-year plan, which was approved by the Board of Trustees, to increase revenue.

DPS’s five-year plan intends to increase the student transit fee by $14 each of the next four years.

But several subcommittee members said they only wanted to focus on next year’s funding.

Mills said DPS should consider other sources of revenue to alleviate the burden of cost associated with the five-year plan.

“If they want to add $14 a year for the next four years, that’s going to add up to a lot,” he said.

All fee decisions will be sent to the tuition and fee advisory task force, which will present its final recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.