THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

Introduction

During its 1996 Session, the Legislature authorized and funded twenty-nine new staff positions in the Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ's) Surface Water Program for FY 1997 and increased DEQ's appropriation by $2.7 million in general and special funds. The bill authorizing these positions (HB 1621) also directed the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and PEER to review DEQ's air and water programs and to report their findings to the chairs of the appropriations and environmental committees by January 1, 1997.

In concurrence with Legislative Budget Office staff, PEER focused this review on DEQ's use of additional staff and funds appropriated during the 1996 Session and on DEQ's method for determining the staffing needs of its air and water programs.

PEER limited the scope of this review of DEQ's use of an FY 1997 funding increase to include an examination of DEQ's actual and anticipated use of the increase the Legislature intended for DEQ's Surface Water Program. PEER did not include DEQ's entire $2.7 million budget increase in the scope of this review because PEER concluded that the Legislature intended DEQ to use $700,000 of that amount to restore its cash reserve, rather than using that portion of the increase on the Surface Water Program.

Overview

PEER's review focused on two legislative oversight questions that often accompany an increase in an agency's appropriation and position authorization, especially if the Legislature anticipates future requests for increases in the agency's positions and funding: Did the agency use the money and positions as intended, and does the agency have a firm basis for arriving at the staffing needs that it presents to the Legislature?

DEQ placed the FY 1997 funding increase in the Surface Water Program's budget, as the Legislature intended. DEQ also began establishing the positions the Legislature had authorized to address the program's backlog, but the department has moved slowly in establishing and filling the new positions. PEER concluded that DEQ had requested, and the Legislature had appropriated, a level of funding beyond the level needed specifically for the approved positions. To support the new positions adequately, the Legislature included in its appropriation sufficient funding not only for salaries and fringe benefits, but also for equipment (e.g., furniture and personal computers), contractual expenses (e.g., training), travel costs, and other expenses. However, the $2,000,000 appropriated to support the twenty-nine new positions is approximately $500,000 more than needed to provide adequate support for the positions. DEQ has placed this amount in its FY 1997 operating budget for the Surface Water Program, but has not yet communicated to the Legislature how it intends to spend the portion of the newly appropriated funds that are not needed specifically to support the new positions in FY 1998 and in future years.

DEQ's documentation and methods for arriving at staffing requests for the Surface Water and Air programs contain no evidence of any attempt to inflate work load figures (e.g., number of permits to be issued) or number of positions needed. However, PEER could not fully endorse DEQ's estimate of staffing needs for the air or water programs because DEQ based its needs assessment on estimates of staff members' time spent in major work activities (permitting; compliance; and monitoring and planning) rather than collecting and using actual work activities data. Accurate data on use of time is necessary for determining how many units of each type of work one full-time employee can be expected to produce. Without data on the time employees have actually spent on each type of work, DEQ managers cannot precisely determine staffing needs nor can they systematically monitor existing staff members' efficiency.

Recommendations

1. To obtain additional information for the Legislature and to hold agencies to a higher level of accountability, the Legislative Budget Committee should develop instructions for the FY 1999 budget cycle which will require agencies to provide detailed staffing plans when they request new positions. The plan should include a detailed timetable for hiring new employees, the estimated salaries of the positions, the prorated salary costs for the positions over the next fiscal year, a detailed listing of additional equipment required for the new positions, and any other expenses related to the positions, such as training, utilities, travel, commodities, or rent. The plan also should show the anticipated quantifiable increases in productivity for the agency. (See sample plan, Appendix E of the report, page 50.) The Legislative Budget Committee also should consider requiring agencies to inform the Legislature of actual staffing actions following authorization of new positions and the new positions' actual impact on agency output.

If the Legislature approves a request for additional staff and funding for an agency, the Legislature should base the increased funding on the associated expenses prorated for the next fiscal year. After the agency completes the first fiscal year with the increased staffing and funding, the Legislative Budget Committee should require the agency to submit a report detailing how actual expenditures for the new positions compared to the detailed plan.

2. The House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees handling DEQ's appropriation should require DEQ to submit a written report by February 1, 1997, to the Appropriations committees which explains how DEQ will use the portion of the funding increase that is not needed specifically for direct support of the newly authorized positions in FY 1998 and thereafter to reduce water program backlogs or address backlogs in other regulatory programs.

3. DEQ's Water and Air programs should develop an automated timekeeping system to track staff time by the major program activities such as permits, compliance and enforcement, and ambient monitoring and planning. Such a system would provide objective information which DEQ management could use to determine future staffing requirements accurately. An accurate timekeeping system would also enhance management's ability to conduct performance reviews of employees because management would have an accurate record of how employees spend their time. Additional detail in the timekeeping system, such as time spent issuing the different types of permits, would enhance DEQ management's accuracy in determining staffing requirements and conducting employee performance reviews.

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