Jason Smith has held the position of student body treasurer twice in the past two terms, but has never held the position for longer than a few months. Smith has never been elected. He’s been the student body treasurer back-up guy — twice.

Smith, a sophomore in management, took over the position in January of 2008 when David Foxx resigned and also in February 2009 when Scott Lassiter resigned. This isn’t one of those cases where scandal surrounded an incumbent’s decision to step down. Both Lassiter, a junior in political science, and Foxx, a senior in political science, said they were unable to do their jobs because of problems with the administration and one of Student Government’s advisers.

“The biggest problem is having to work with the administration,” Foxx said about the difficulties of the position.

The job of the student body treasurer is to manage the students’ money effectively. That responsibility includes spending money when it needs to be spent, helping with appropriations and being the financial voice of the students to the administration.

Both Lassiter and Foxx said they were unable to perform the duties of their positions because of the administration’s micromanagement of student funds.

“They took away the checkbook,” Foxx said. “They scaled back the responsibilities of the treasury.”

This past year, as Lassiter served in the role, the University fell into a bad budget situation, which Lassiter said shrunk the role of the treasurer.

“For some reason they used this budget crisis as a way to usurp power,” he said. “I felt like my role was no longer necessary. I lost all power and oversight.”

According to Lassiter, the administration placed holds on much of Student Government’s spending, including that which was already promised in the budget.

This power shift eroded the role of the treasurer, he said, turning him into the administration’s puppet.

“The treasurer still does [the work], but somebody else actually is the one whose signature matters,” Lassiter said. “Everything that’s done has to be approved. We just do the b**** work.”

This loss of power, Foxx and Lassiter said, is what caused the two to resign their positions early.

Foxx said he, Lassiter and Adam Compton, who preceded the two, were “outspoken critics,” of the administration’s decisions which “lead to a lot of issues.” But Foxx said the treasurer should challenge the administration for the good of the students.

In addition to the administration as a whole, Foxx and Lassiter said they especially had issues with Mike Giancola, the director of CSLEPS.

Foxx said his relationship with Giancola, who until recently acted as the treasurer’s advisor, was less than perfect.

“Any time you have an adviser who wants to be combative with you, you’re going to have a problem,” he said. “I had issues with Mike Giancola.”

Giancola could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.

On top of the administrative and budgetary issues, Foxx and Lassiter described the job as “thankless.”

Smith, who is acting treasurer, admitted the job is “exhausting” and “thankless” but said he doesn’t have a problem with the administration.

“The administration provides a different perspective,” he said. “They are going to bring up concerns.”

Giancola has not caused Smith any grief either, he said.

“My work with Mike has always been nothing but very cordial. He’s never put me at odds with anything,” Smith said. “I have nothing but good things to say about him.”

However, Compton, who held the position during the 2006-2007 school year, said he understands why Lassiter and Foxx had problems with the position.

Once they got into the job, Compton said, they thought, “This is not what I signed up for. I can’t serve the students because I have to go through so much red tape.”

On top of that, Compton said, the treasurer is constantly questioned and being blamed for things not under his control. Compton said the administration has used the treasurer as sort of a scapegoat.

“It’s easier to blame students for things,” he said.

Compton wouldn’t comment about his working relationship with Giancola.

“Mike Giancola is a great leadership adviser, but as a financial adviser he isn’t the best person for the job,” Compton said, adding that the issues both Foxx and Lassiter had while in office may have been avoided if another financial adviser had been used.

Despite the power struggles the past treasurers have battled, Compton said the real problem with the treasurer’s position stems from the fact Student Government’s budget is being taken away — meaning the treasurer’s position is fading.

But for now, it’s still in place. Smith will stay in the position until April 1, when Thomas “Elmo” Lamm will take the position. Lamm, a freshman in management, is running uncontested and said he doesn’t expect to have any issues with the Giancola or the administration as a whole.

“I don’t sense any kind of power struggle,” he said. “I get along very well with the advisers. I don’t see any problems whatsoever.”

He even said he would focus on reforming relationships with the administration to re-establish trust so “they give us some of that power back over our finances.”

Lamm also said he understood the budget cuts and said he had no complaints about them as long as Student Government is “treated fairly.”

“I pledge to stay throughout the entire term,” Lamm said.

Whether Lamm will have any problems with the administration is yet to be seen. Lassiter said he doesn’t see much possibility for improvement.

“At the end of the day, our student affairs professionals think we are all incompetent boobs,” he said.