OPA: FY07 surplus is $15K, not $1.5M

The Office of the Public Auditor says the $1.5-million “surplus” that lawmakers are hoping to tap does not exist.

Public Auditor Michael S. Sablan said that his agency did spend approximately $1.5 million below its appropriation for fiscal year 2007. But he added that OPA did not get its $3.13-million budget. OPA’s FY2007 actual allotments totaled only $1.65 million, of which OPA spent $1.63 million.

“Based on the variance between the appropriation and actual expenditures, there was a budgetary ‘surplus’ of roughly $1.5 million. However, based on the variance between OPA’s actual allotments and actual expenditures, there was a surplus of only $15,000,” Sablan said.

The public auditor made the clarification in view of a bill seeking to re-appropriate OPA’s $1.5-million “surplus” to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.

Sablan said that even if the funds were available, the bill as currently written is deficient to effect the re-appropriation.

He explained that, based on the Planning and Budgeting Act and its applicability to OPA’s FY2007 budget, OPA was allowed to spend only the $1.65 million that it was alloted, as opposed to the $3.13 million that it was given in the FY2007 budget law.

Absent a legal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General to the contrary, OPA does not believe there is authority in the Planning and Budgeting Act to re-appropriate the difference between an appropriate amount and actual allotments,” Sablan said.

He also raised concern about the Planning and Budgeting Act provisions regarding the expiration of appropriations. He cited a provision which state that “any unobligated balances of expired appropriations lapse to the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year.” In this case, he noted, the expiration was on Sept. 30, 2007. In effect, any surplus funds from FY2007 lapsed and, therefore, are not available for re-appropriation.

House Bill 16-27, sponsored by Representatives David M. Apatang and Justo S. Quitugua, proposes to re-appropriate $1.5 million from OPA’s “surplus” funds for CUC’s non-fuel costs such as personnel and operations

The bill is seen to make up for the revenue that CUC lost when the 15th Legislature passed a law scrapping the non-fuel component of electric rates.