On Apr 1, 2023 Jack Reicherts sent the following email and attachment to Sarthak Prasad:
Hi Sarthak,
I found out that referenda results came out, so I thought I’d share them in case you hadn’t seen! Overall, pretty good! The next group of folks can certainly make a case for increase and renewal with this!
Jack
Sarthak Prasad, Morgan White, and Stacey DeLorenzo met with Jack Reicherts and Lucy Nifong from Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) to discuss a possible increase in the Bike Fee from $1 per semester per student to $3 per semester per student.
SSC will lead the referenda and seek approval for this increase from the Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC). Sarthak Prasad has shared the Bike Fee proposals from FY17 to FY24 that were approved by the SFAC as supporting document. Sarthak will also share a possible proposal for FY25 and FY26 with the budget of nearly $250,000 per year.
Brian Farber requested a review of the Bike Fee renewal referendum question which will be brought to the CSEC for ballot. This renewal referendum question was approved by Morgan White on January 12, 2023.
Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC) approved the FY24 allocation proposal of Bike Fee. See attached
Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC) approved the FY23 allocation proposal of Bike Fee. See attached
The students affirmed renewing the fee by ballot measure in March of 2019 (see results below) and SFAC has already finalized their recommendation that the fee continue at the same level. That recommendation will officially go to the VCSA this fall (October) with all other FY21 fee recommendations.
Do you recommend the renewal of the Bicycle Programs and Infrastructure Fee, collected each fall, spring, and summer semester, for up to four years beginning July 1, 2020 and ending no later than June 30, 2024?
Yes 4217 69.2%
No 1874 30.8%
(This is of a total of 6,091 votes)
Explanatory Statement
The Bicycle Programs and Infrastructure Fee is used to fund bike-related projects at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Use of the funds includes but is not limited to improving bike infrastructure, expanding bike parking, creating safety courses and materials for bike encouragement and education, and creating a bike storage program. The funds are managed by Facilities & Services, whose annual budget for the fee is approved by the Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC). The amount of the fee, currently $1.00 each fall, spring, and summer semester, is subject to review by SFAC and approval by the University administration and Board of Trustees. As a student-initiated fee, this fee is subject to a review by student referendum at least once every four years. The next referendum on this fee will be in spring 2023.
The final version for the student ballot about the renewal of the Bicycle Programs and Infrastructure Fee is attached. CSEC accepted all of the recommended changes. The goals for this revision are to clearly inform the voter about how the fee will be assessed and spent, to appropriately frame the result of the vote as advisory, and to introduce consistency across other referenda questions on fee renewal.
The proposed use of FY17 bike fee funds was approved by the Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC). See attached proposal.
The Board of Trustees approved the Bicycle Programs and Infrastructure Fee (aka Bike Fee) of $1.00 per semester.
