Hello,

During this election, I have been working to include referenda supporting the renewal and increase of the bike fee on the ballot for Facilities and Services. F&S has administered this fee since the student who initiated it graduated, so I haven't been directly involved with the fee itself outside of my interactions with SSC. I understand that Brian Farber has submitted the renewal referendum, but I'm still unsure about what's required to include the increase. Alex Sune suggested that I could get it added directly to the ballot by emailing you all because of the nature of the referendum question and that it might not be necessary to pass a resolution or collect signatures. I wasn't able to attend the ISG meeting where the resolution was supposed to be passed, and there may have been more contention than expected. I'm unsure whether the resolution passed, but we're in a difficult situation with the deadline approaching. Please let me know if we can do anything to make this happen or if you need more information.

Best regards,
Jack Reicherts

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Hi Jack,

Thank you for looping me into this communication.

Ben, for context, Jack approached ISG to submit a referendum question relative to the current Bike Fee renewal question. I shared with him that it might be helpful to reach out and ask if it is possible to add a second question about increasing the fee, given the primary renewal question is already on the ballot. If this were a non-renewal year, I would suggest he follow the process of collecting signatures or soliciting ISG to place the question on the referendum.

With Illini Pride,

Alex

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Hi all!

Thank you for reaching out! Based on the Election Code and the procedures we followed last year for the renewal and increase of the SSC Fees, only renewals are eligible for automatic placement on the ballot. Last year, the CET and SCEF fees were up for renewal, at that time, SSC also wanted to increase those fees. While the renewal questions were automatically placed on the ballot, the questions regarding increasing the fees were passed by ISG and then placed on the ballot. Since this is the same renewal year scenario with the Bike Fee, I would say that in order for an increase to be placed on the ballot, it does need to be petitioned for or passed by ISG. I know this is unfortunate given the slim timeline, but given the similarity to the increases and renewals last year, the same rules apply.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Benjamin Sell

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Hi there,

This might be a better question for SFAC, but do you know if it will be possible to pursue an increase during a non-renewal year? Unfortunately, it sounds like ISG had some concerns about putting the fee increase on the ballot, but I think it’s worth pursuing in the long run even if it’s not possible this year. I recognize that we probably can’t get the petition going this semester, but I do think we’ll have more success next year if we start now!  If you don’t know, I’ll reach out to folks at SFAC and see what they say! In any case, I appreciate you clarifying!

Thanks,

Jack

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Hi Jack,

I believe a fee increase can be pursued any year, including non-renewal years. However, Alex or Gina may have a better idea than me on that.

Best,

Benjamin Sell

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