Student government has made its annual budget available for public scrutiny for the first time in its history.

The entire $100,000-plus Vanderbilt Student Government budget will be posted on the VSG Web site and InsideVandy.com for all students to access, and a unanimously approved resolution passed recently will require this disclosure in future.

Both houses approved the budget unanimously Wednesday after the VSG Executive Board discussed budget requests from the chairs of each committee, council and House area.

VSG Chief of Staff Joseph Williams said he hopes the decision stimulates discussion and constructive criticism.

“We might get some flak for it; there could be editorials written that don’t like it very much,” he said. “But it’s (the students’) money,(and) … criticism makes the student government stronger for the future.“

Since VSG President Cara Bilotta campaigned on an increased transparency platform, the release of the budget should be seen as a step toward more open government, Williams said.

“I think that a $100,000-plus budget composed entirely of student monies should be released to them,” he said.

A large chunk of the VSG budget — 26 percent — will return directly to the student body in the form of event co-sponsorships, capped at $20,000 for the rest of the year.

Events will receive a maximum co-sponsorship of $1,000 “in order to prevent overspending or a bias toward events earlier in the year,” Williams said.

But the largest percentage of the budget — 29 percent — went to VSG committees, with the most money going toward the athletics and special events committees, $6,000 and $5,800, respectively, and the smallest going to the publicity committee.

The $650 allocated to the publicity committee may seem small, but it can be used only for general VSG publicity, he said.

The security committee received just $1,500 despite the importance of security issues on campus because Vanderbilt University Police Department directly funds many security initiatives, Williams said.

Though the College of Arts and Science boasts the highest enrollment, it received the second-lowest allocation — $2,000.

The School of Engineering received the most money, partly because Engineering Week, an event unique to that school, costs about $1,000, Williams said.

House area allocations were easier. The number of occupants in each area was multiplied by $2, Williams said, and the budgets were then scaled back “in order to motivate responsible, efficient, effective spending.”

Williams also said all committees, councils and House areas will receive monthly budget reports that detail their expenditures and note whether scheduled events come in over budget.

“My goal is to ensure that there’s responsible spending,” he said.