Many errors cited in proposed 2009 budget

A legislative committee wants the governor’s budget proposal to be returned to the administration for correction and resubmission.

The Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs, led by Sen. Maria Frica T. Pangelinan, said the budget package for the 2009 fiscal year is unacceptable because it has too many mathematical errors.

“We have come to the conclusion that the governor’s budget proposal contains enough math errors and data inaccuracies to justify no further consideration until such errors and inaccuracies are corrected or clarified and resubmitted,” the committee said in a report.

The committee said it found questionable entries totaling nearly $730,000 listed under personnel costs, the largest component of the budget.

The panel’s review also revealed hundreds of inaccuracies regarding civil service positions. Some examples are salary grades that do not match the listed civil service titles, position codes that do not match the titles listed, and position codes or titles that do not appear on the list of civil service positions.

According to the committee, the inaccuracies in the personnel data seem to point to a pattern of circumventing the civil services system so certain employees can be paid either higher or lower than the salary grade approved by the civil service system.

The committee also said that a look at “ungraded” positions—which have pay rates established on an individual basis—revealed potential savings of over $3 million. This amount is sourced from posting errors, erroneous calculations, and failure to prorate costs where appropriate.

“The bottom line is that the Senate cannot rely on the information currently submitted as documentation for the budget proposal,” the committee said. “We suspect that the problems have gone unnoticed for many years. The discrepancies completely undermine the ability to make an informed decision regarding projected funding needs for FY2009. It is not possible to know what we are being asked to approve, particularly in the area of personnel.”

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has requested a budget of $158.4 million for fiscal year 2009, a slight decrease from the spending limit for the past two years.

The budget called for cost-cutting measures, including a substantially reduced retirement contribution rate, unpaid holidays, “austerity Fridays”, and continued reprogramming of lapsed funds and fund balances from various non-General Fund accounts. The governor’s submission also required an increase in several fees.