Budget and Finance to consider 2010 budget

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Still dealing with a projected fiscal year 2009 budget shortfall, the Budget and Finance Committee will meet Monday to begin the fiscal year 2010 budget process with an amount estimated to be significantly less than last year’s.

The revenue projection for FY 2010 is $149 million, according to Controller Mark Grant, who presented information last week to the committee. “But considering the new information from the tax office of a $4 million decrease, the impact to the general fund would probably be around $3.2 million, so we’ll need to revise the revenue projection for next year.

“This would take the decrease from $23 million up to $26 million for next year. So, already a large bite is coming out of the budget for next year, and now it’s going to be a larger bite,” Grant said.

The committee has not yet given the three branch chiefs their budget allocation planning levels, as they have done for the last several years. “If you don’t do that, then you put yourself in the position of just approving the recommendations from the three branch chiefs,” he said.

Meanwhile, the budget shortfall for FY 2009 has been pared down considerably from original projections of more than $30 million earlier this spring.

“The current revenue shortfall has been recalculated and we’re currently projecting $12.5 million,” Grant told the committee.

“If we look at the $2.8 million that’s going to come from the frozen personnel positions and the $8 million from the permanent fund, then we’re looking at about $10.5 million out of that $12.5 million, so we have a $2.5 million amount that we need to work with and that’s not an insurmountable amount.”

Annual budget reversions from tribal programs have been running about $1.8 million to $2.5 million a year, he said, “so we’re very close to that number right now.”

Oil was up $9 a barrel from two weeks ago, which is helping the Nation overcome its budget shortfall, he said.