Committee to investigate MUNSU spending

The possible abuse of Students’ Union finances to fund seemingly untraceable bar tabs has led to a general call for better record keeping and accountability from Union representatives.

In addition to credit card and bar tab policy changes, a formal investigation into the possible misuse of students’ fees has also been called.

It all started when members of the Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Students’ Union (MUNSU) received an anonymous letter describing the possible abuse of Union finances by some executive members.

“I am a concerned student here at MUN and I have recently found out some interesting information that I felt the student body should know about their elected students,” read the opening paragraph of the letter, continuing,

“[A]s a student, I am concerned that the fees I pay are being used to finance the social lives of a few elected officials who feel they have the right to abuse their position to drink for free for the years they are part of MUNSU”.

The letter specifically names four out of the five current MUNSU executive directors, accusing them of making use of individual bar tabs at the Breezeway in excessive amounts, charging the cost to the Union itself.

The letter also states that many students would be able to attest to seeing drinks charged for executive directors, their friends, or luckily receiving a drink themselves on tab simply by “being in the right place at the right time.”

In the order as listed in the letter, the four executive directors accused of abusing their bar tab privilege were Cameron Campbell, executive director of external, Travis Collins, executive director of finance and services, Ryan Marshall, executive director of advocacy, and Bradley Russell, executive director of student life.

Campbell has since confirmed that bar tabs for executive had indeed existed, but simply for promotional reasons.

As he indicated, executive directors with MUNSU had the ability to charge drinks to a specific account. The account fell under the same category as wrongly made drinks, broken beer bottles, and foam from within the keg lines – all of which was deemed “spillage.”

According to Campbell, the drinks charged were written down on a piece of paper by Breezeway bartenders and then tallied at the end of the night, at which point the Breezeway manager, Paul Butt, would let each executive director know how much they needed to repay.

Some members of the Board of Directors have been worried about the lack of record-keeping regarding the number of drinks that are actually charged, combined with the lack of proof and records that any of these tabs are actually repaid, either in partial or in full.

It’s been confirmed that often these tally sheets are thrown away at the end of each shift.

The Breezeway ran a deficit in 2008 of more than $100,000.

During his interview on Nov. 10, Campbell said he would be open for discussion about policy change regarding the use of bar tabs, should there be enough concern,

“I was also looking at our policies and procedures, and if people disagree with the way we’re currently doing things, or have suggestions as to how we can do it better, then that’s what we should do,” said Campbell.

Despite the Muse’s numerous attempts to contact those executive directors mentioned in the letter, Campbell is the only, of the four accused, to come forward and say that he has always repaid his bar tab in full.

The fifth MUNSU executive is Director of Campaigns, Becky Winsor. She too was mentioned in the anonymous letter, but only to say that hers was the only name not heard amidst the accusations.

“I hope my sources are correct about her. I heard from many people and no one had any information about her misusing any of the above,” read the anonymous letter.

Winsor has since went on record to confirm that she has never used the bar tab herself, nor had she ever agreed with it.

“I have never made a purchase on a bar tab or anything,” said Winsor, “I don’t like the idea of a bar tab at all. So to me, if [union members] are using them then [union members] are abusing them.”

While the anonymous letter focuses mainly on the possible excessive abuse without repayment of executive director bar tabs, it notes the possibility of two other issues involving MUNSU executive members.

The first alleges that Campbell possibly used the MUNSU Safe Drive van for a personal trip to Corner Brook. The second involves the fact that there was no approved bylaw forbidding that personal purchases be made using the credit cards each MUNSU executive director receives as part of their term in office. The letter suggested that there was reason for concern in these two areas in addition to the once existing bar tabs.

At the Nov. 18 MUNSU general Board of Directors meeting, policies were put in place that would ensure accountable credit card spending by MUNSU executive directors and also see the elimination of any and all bar tabs for MUNSU members at the Breezeway.

Also, a committee was established to fully investigate the allegations and accusations stated in the anonymous letter.

So what has been implemented and finalized by Board members in the last two weeks?

Concerning MUNSU executive directors' Breezeway bar tabs:

While the new policy concerning bar tabs for executive directors is still under revision, due to potential conflicts with alcohol suppliers, as of the meeting on Nov. 18, no MUNSU member shall be allowed to charge any beverage to any account at the Breezeway.

Becky Winsor informed the Muse that every MUNSU member has received memos stating this new regulation.

“The policy that no board member can have a bar tab at the Breezeway – executive, staff, or anyone else – is in effect, and everyone has been notified,” said Winsor.

Concerning credit card spending by MUNSU executive directors:

Regarding credit card spending, the newly created, passed, and fully finalized policy leaves zero room for financial discretion when it comes to the purchases they make on the credit cards they are given. The credit card policy states 11 amendments, which among them include,

1) When not in use, all credit cards shall be held by the MUNSU accounting clerk. 2) All purchases not accompanied by receipts and completed Expense Reports shall be billed to the card holder. 3) The Finance and Services Committee shall review credit card statements and expense reports on a monthly basis. 4) Under no circumstances shall the credit cards be used for personal purchases. 5) All credit card statements and expense claims will be posted on the MUNSU website.

Three weeks ago, before any policy was put in place regarding credit card spending, several MUNSU Board of Directors members commented on whether or not there should exist more accountability when it comes to spending, therefore adding and increasing the Union’s overall transparency.

Stephanie Lawlor, social work representative, said, “I do not see the harm with the executive having to provide credit card statements. It provides accountability and ensures that nothing is accidently overlooked.”

While credit card statements have always been available for public viewing upon request at the MUNSU office, Winsor says for those students who actually wish to view the statements, coming into the MUNSU office can be a little overwhelming,

“MUNSU is an intimidating place, I feel, and this is just me talking, and sometimes it can be hard for people to come in,” said Winsor. She added, “I think that if these [credit card statements] were online it would mean more accountability and transparency, and hopefully make people more interested [in MUNSU] because we will be telling them exactly where their money is going.”

The Investigation

At the same meeting, it was also established that a committee would be created to either prove or disprove the allegations stated in the anonymous letter. There are five MUNSU Board representatives on the committee, Chris Wass, arts representative, Stephanie Reid, medicine representative, Aaron Aikens, human kinetics and recreation representative, Brad Vincent, arts representative, and Gerald Coleman, business representative.

In addition to being a MUNSU arts representative, Chris Wass has also been appointed as chair of the committee investigating any and all accusations made in the anonymous letter.

Wass believes that information pertaining to the topic could potentially and easily become misconstrued, thus says it is important for nobody to make assumptions until the investigation is complete.

“First, to speak to the committee, it is a very heated issue which could be very quickly derailed and be taken in a direction that is does not need to go, hopefully [this investigation] will get us there much more objectively and quickly.”

Wass adds that the newly formed committee, formed last week, is making rapid progress in its investigation, and that addressing this issue is extremely important for the Union’s credibility.

“It is important to address these allegations because there has been a perceived breach of trust, and these speak to a systematic problem.”

Wass says the findings of the investigative report into Union finances could be available as early as the end of this term, but are most likely expected early in the New Year.

While the possible issue of Students’ Union finances in this case has created a lot of stir on campus, between both students and Board members, the recent accusations have also reached the Internet.

Chris Bruce, director-at-large, posted a note on the social networking site, Facebook, last week, calling out those mentioned in the anonymous letter and demanding answers.

In an interview, Bruce told the Muse that the reasoning for his note on Facebook stemmed from anger, and from the fact that he thought that the MUNSU executive simply wasn’t doing the “best job it could be doing.” At the same time, he is pleased with the amount of interest into Union accountability and credibility that he has seen since these allegations surfaced.

“As a Board member I found that a lot of people were as committed to openness and accountability to the students as I was, both on the executive and off,” said Bruce.

Back at campaigns, Winsor too reiterates the idea that no one should make any assumptions until the findings from the report on the allegations concerning the possible abuse of union finances is released.

She also urges students to not forget about all the good work MUNSU has done for them over the last few years and urges the student voice to stay as involved as possible.

“We have had some pretty big victories over the last couple of years that have led to the most accessible post-secondary education in the country, which is, no doubt, by the work of people who have been involved in the student movement for years,” said Winsor.

She says input from students on this issue, or any issue pertaining to MUNSU and their operations is welcome.

“Please continue to ask questions, write e-mails, and letters, and try to find out what is happening to your money, until you are happy with what is being portrayed to you.”