The UNLV Graduate & Professional Student Association
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE MEETING 44-05
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
HYBRID PUBLIC MEETING:
IN PERSON: Graduate Commons, LLB 2141
4505 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA
VIRTUAL: https://unlv.zoom.us/j/7028952261
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE AGENDA AND PUBLIC MEETING NOTE:
PERTAINING TO VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
Public Comment may be submitted via email to gpsa@unlv.edu.
Messages received by 9:00 AM on the day prior to the meeting, may be entered into the record during the meeting. Any other public comment form submissions and/or voicemails received prior to the adjournment of the meeting will be transcribed and included in the permanent record.
Members of the public wishing to listen to the meeting may do so via: https://unlv.zoom.us/j/7028952261
CONTINUED:
Below is an agenda of all items scheduled to be presented and considered at the meeting. Notification is hereby provided that items on the agenda may be taken out of the order and presented, two or more agenda items may be combined for consideration, and an agenda item may be removed from the agenda or discussion relating to an item on the agenda may be delayed at any time.
Some agenda items are noted as having accompanying reference material. Copies of the reference materials that are distributed at the meeting may be requested by emailing the Chair at gpsa@unlv.edu. Copies of any such materials will also be made available at unlv.edu/gpsa on the “Agendas and Minutes” folder of the appropriate meeting. Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate persons with a disability attending the meeting. Please email the GPSA Manager at gpsa@unlv.edu in advance so that arrangements may be made.
This meeting’s agenda has been posted in accordance with NRS 241.020. Agendas may also be also be available online at unlv.edu/gpsa/agenda in the appropriate session and meeting number folder.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public comment will be taken during this agenda item. No action may be taken on a matter raised under this item until the matter is included on an agenda as an item on which action may be taken. Comments will be limited to three minutes per person. Persons making comment will be asked to begin by stating their name for the record and to spell their last name. The Board Chair may elect to allow additional public comment on a specific agenda item when that agenda item is being considered. In accordance with Attorney General Opinion No. 00-047, as restated in the Attorney General’s Open Meeting Law Manual, the Chair may prohibit comment if the content of that comment is a topic that is not relevant to, or within the authority of, the Body, or if the content is willfully disruptive of the meeting by being irrelevant, repetitious, slanderous, offensive, inflammatory, irrational or amounting to personal attacks or interfering with the rights of other speakers.
☒ Blanca Peña, Chair, William S. Boyd School of Law
☒ Lila Hearn, Vice Chair, College of Liberal Arts
☒ Devin Lopez, GPSA Treasurer, College of Liberal Arts
☒ Hoor Ain, Committee Member, College of Liberal Arts
☒ Daniella Nikoloska, Committee Member, College of Engineering
☐ Amruta Godbole, Committee Member, School of Public Health EXCUSED
All other members present will be available in the meeting minutes and listed below.
Members of the Public Present:
None
Members at Large Present:
Virginia Smercina, GPSA business manager
Teresa Marie, GPSA president
Alyciah Carr, GPSA Vice President
AGENDA
Meeting was called to order by Chair Peña at 6:05pm.
- PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION ONLY
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
No public comment.
- APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Request is made for approval of minutes of previous meetings.
3a) CONSENT AGENDA:
-
- Minutes for the July 23, 2024 (44-04) Ways & Means Committee Meeting as posted to the public GPSA Drive.
Approval of minutes motioned by Hearn.
Seconded byAin.
Minutes approved unanimously 3-0-0.
4a) GPSA Treasurer Report
Treasurer Lopez skips his report.
4b) Ways & Means Committee Chair Report
Chair Peña let the committee know to speak up about any questions or concerns they might have.
4b) GPSA Manager & Advisor
- UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Unfinished Business is any motion or action item that was under discussion and was postponed or moved to this meeting at the discretion of the public body as approved by the chair.
5a) No Unfinished Business as of the posting of this Agenda.
No unfinished business was discussed.
- NEW BUSINESS FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
New business is any motion that is new to this meeting. All items will be for possible action unless otherwise stated.
6a) Review and Approval of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 GPSA Budget
GPSA Treasurer Devin Lopez requests the Ways & Means Committee to review and approve the proposed Fiscal Year 2025 GPSA Budget.
Motion to open new business by Ain.
Seconded by Hearn.
Motion passed unanimously 3-0-0.
(At this point, member Daniela Nikoloska joined the meeting and serves as a voting member for the remainder of the meeting.)
Chair Peña directed Lopez or Smercina to share their screen to go over the budget with the committee. Smercina shares her screen and explains what is called a “revenue schedule” and how this gives us, broadly speaking, the idea of how much money there is to spend. The summer is when Smercina meets with members of the GPSA executive council to go over the budget more concretely, and then the budget moves to the Ways and Means committee, and then to the general council.
Smercina went on to explained what the enrollment predictions dictated with respect to our new budget. She moved on to explaining the budget line items to the rest of the committee for clarity.
The budget was discussed by the committee, the GPSA business manager, the GPSA treasurer, the GPSA president, and the GPSA vice president. General clarifying questions were asked in regard to how money can be moved throughout the budget, funds that are left available, and how certain programs function.
Hearn felt that the Care Advocates should be funded with money that is available as she felt it was an important program for graduate students.
Hearn motioned to fund Care Advocates using available budget funds.
Seconded by Ain.
Giving Care Advocates $5,000 from the available $14,133.46 in the budget.
Passed unanimously 4-0-0.
Ain expressed that free poster printing for the annual GPSA research forum was important for us to be fund, and she said she would be willing to create an operating policy for choosing posters to print on the basis of need.
Ain motioned to allot 1000 for need-based poster printing for the GPSA research forum out of the available funds left in the budget (Cell D24 on the budget spreadsheet).
Hearn seconded.
Passed unanimously 4-0-0.
With no further comments or questions about the budget, Chair Peña suggested we move to a vote.
Ain motioned to approve the FY25 fiscal year budget.
Hearn seconded.
Passed unanimously 4-0-0.
6b) Call for New Business Agenda Items
Chair Peña requests a call for New Business agenda items. Agenda items not previously posted to this agenda may be raised for discussion for either the present or subsequent meeting.
There were no new business agenda items.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS INFORMATION ONLY
Chair Peña wished us all luck on the new semester.
(See foregoing notation regarding public comment)
President Marie made a public comment about the special meeting with the NSHE board of regents. She said that if any of us are upset about the increase in parking fees without notice, this could be brought up at the board of regents meeting on Friday at the NSHE building on Maryland Pkwy. There is also an option for a write-in comment.
- ADJOURNMENT FOR POSSIBLE ACTION
Meeting adjourned by Chair Peña at 7:41pm.