Committee Meeting Memos

19232	Prepared by the North Dakota Legislative Council staff for the Budget Committee on Government Services
	March 2000

COMPARISON OF ESTIMATED AND ACTUAL FTE POSITIONS, EXPENDITURES, REVENUES, AND POPULATIONS AT CHARITABLE AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PERIOD JULY 1, 1999, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1999

This memorandum provides information on estimated and actual full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, expenditures, revenues, and populations at the state's charitable and penal institutions for the period July 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999. Charitable and penal institutions included in this memorandum are:

School for the Deaf.
School for the Blind.
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - Youth Correctional Center.
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation - Prisons Division, which includes the State Penitentiary, Missouri River Correctional Center (MRCC), and James River Correctional Center (JRCC).
Veterans Home.
State Hospital.
Developmental Center.

The significant variances for each institution are explained below.

SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

Revenues

The School for the Deaf reported total income of $108,533, $50,039, or 85.5 percent, more than estimated. The additional income is primarily attributable to other funds carried over from the 1997-99 biennium. The carryover funds relate primarily to salary savings realized during the 1997-99 biennium due to vacant positions, the retirement of long-term employees and the positions subsequently being filled at a lower salary level, and the consolidation of the superintendent and principal positions.

Population

The average monthly student population at the School for the Deaf was 42, eight students, or 16 percent, fewer than estimated. The number of students was less than estimated due to the enrollment of fewer students than anticipated.

FTE Positions

The average monthly FTE positions at the School for the Deaf were 51.18, 2.75 FTE, or 5.1 percent, fewer than authorized. The school is recruiting for the vacant positions but continues to have difficulty finding qualified applicants.

SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

Expenditures

The School for the Blind reported total expenditures of $697,620, $82,823, or 10.6 percent, less than estimated. Actual expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

Salaries - Expenditures for salaries were $56,528, or 10.1 percent, less than anticipated due to vacant positions and the resignation of a long-term employee which resulted in the position being filled at a lower salary level.
Travel - Expenditures for travel were $5,715, or 15.8 percent, less than anticipated due primarily to the relocation of a staff person, resulting in less travel, and the hiring of a part-time staff person to be located in Minot, reducing travel for other employees previously providing outreach services in that region.
Supplies - Expenditures for supplies were $16,971, or 42 percent, less than anticipated due to the timing of supplies purchases and the need to purchase less supplies due to fewer students than anticipated attending training sessions. The agency anticipated that during the first six months of the biennium, an outreach office would be opened in Jamestown. However, the Jamestown office has not been established, resulting in the postponement of supplies purchases relating to that office.
Equipment - Expenditures for equipment were $5,324, or 30 percent, less than anticipated due to the timing of purchases. Items anticipated to be purchased during the first six months of the biennium will be purchased in a subsequent period.

Revenues

The School for the Blind reported total income of $94,441, $16,567, or 14.9 percent, less than estimated. The reduction in revenue is primarily attributable to:

Federal funds - Federal fund collections were $9,966, or 55.3 percent, less than estimated.
Resident/patient collections - Resident/ patient collections were $2,394, or 44.1 percent, less than estimated.

The variances are due to the timing of revenue collections. The amounts budgeted but not received during the first six months of the biennium are anticipated to be received in a subsequent period.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION - YOUTH CORRECTIONAL CENTER

Expenditures

The Youth Correctional Center reported total expenditures of $2,213,494, $67,351, or three percent, less than estimated. Actual expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

Food supplies - Expenditures for food supplies were $16,710, or 24.5 percent, less than anticipated due to the timing of certain quarterly purchases.
Professional services - Expenditures for professional services were $20,668, or 20.7 percent, less than anticipated due to the favorable renegotiation of medical services contracts.

Revenues

The Youth Correctional Center reported total income of $398,398, $70,929, or 15.1 percent, less than estimated. Actual income was less than estimated due in part to:

Federal grants - Federal grant collections were $18,133, or 37.4 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of grant collections. Actual collections for fiscal year 2000 are anticipated to be slightly above previous estimates.
Bureau of Indian Affairs/Bureau of Prisons collections - Revenues from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for tribally placed students and from the Bureau of Prisons for federally placed students were $77,034, or 43 percent, less than anticipated due to fewer students than estimated.
Detention fees - Fees for detention services were $25,639, or 49.9 percent, more than estimated due to a larger than anticipated detention population.

Population

The average monthly student population at the Youth Correctional Center was 91.77, 8.23 students, or 8.2 percent, fewer than estimated. The institution has indicated that the actual population reflects normal fluctuations in the range of 83 to 102 students.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION - PRISONS DIVISION

Expenditures

The Prisons Division reported total expenditures of $8,751,576, $942,400, or 9.7 percent, less than estimated. Actual expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

Utilities - Expenditures for utilities were $75,834, or 18.7 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of some payments and the mild winter.
Professional services - Expenditures for professional services were $62,335, or 54 percent, less than estimated due primarily to the timing of payments for architect and engineering fees.
Doctor and hospital services - Expenditures for doctor and hospital services were $193,258, or 36.9 percent, less than estimated due to a decrease in the need for institutional medical services and the timing of some payments. The department indicated difficulty in estimating costs related to the medical needs of inmates.
Medical/dental/optical supplies - Expenditures for medical, dental, and optical supplies were $45,238, or 29.4 percent, more than estimated due primarily to an increase in the number of chronically ill inmates who require medication.
Other expenses - Other expenses, which include items such as inmate housing at county jails, food, and clothing, were $514,136, or 35.2 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of some payments and the inmate population being less than estimated.

Revenues

The Prisons Division reported actual income of $283,878, $29,762, or 9.5 percent, less than estimated. The reduction in revenues is primarily due to the timing of federal funds collections.

Population

The average monthly inmate population at the institutions included in the Prisons Division was 939, 43 inmates, or 4.4 percent, fewer than estimated. The population was less than estimated primarily due to fewer admissions than anticipated. However, admissions have increased and as of mid-February, the population was 965, 26 inmates more than the average during the first six months of the biennium.

FTE Positions

The average monthly FTE positions at the institutions included in the Prisons Division were 316.5, eight FTE, or 2.5 percent, fewer than authorized. Four of the eight positions are addiction counselors, two at the Penitentiary and MRCC and two at JRCC. The department has had difficulty filling these positions. The remaining vacant positions are due to normal staff turnover.

VETERANS HOME

Expenditures

The Veterans Home reported total expenditures of $1,807,968, $274,994, or 13.2 percent, less than estimated. Actual expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

State employee travel - Expenditures for state employee travel were $8,894, or 35.1 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of certain expenditures for staff professional development.
Utilities - Expenditures for utilities were $37,267, or 35.4 percent, less than estimated due to the mild winter.
Professional services - Expenditures for professional services were $13,611, or 28.6 percent, less than estimated due in part to the negotiation of a new contract for medical services.
Other supplies - Expenditures for other supplies, which include medical supplies, were $73,737, or 31.2 percent, less than estimated due primarily to the timing of certain purchases.
Major improvements - Expenditures for major improvements were $98,568, or 77.5 percent, less than estimated due primarily to the timing of payments for major improvement projects.

Revenues

The Veterans Home reported total income of $1,099,989, $216,511, or 16.4 percent, less than estimated. Actual income was less than estimated due to the timing of the receipt of federal funds, resident collections, and Land Department distributions which were budgeted but not received during the first six months of the biennium.

STATE HOSPITAL

Expenditures

The State Hospital reported total expenditures of $11,781,520, $741,785, or 5.9 percent, less than estimated. Actual expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

Major improvements - Expenditures for major improvements were $130,844, or 26.2 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of payments for construction projects.
Salaries - Expenditures for salaries were $125,022, or 1.2 percent, less than estimated due to vacant positions.
Utilities - Expenditures for utilities were $115,326, or 34 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of the payment of December utility bills and the mild winter.
Professional services - Expenditures for professional services were $74,415, or 41.5 percent, less than estimated due to a delay in receiving bills from the Jamestown Hospital for contracted medical services. The bills will be paid during the subsequent period, eliminating the variance.
Food and clothing - Expenditures for food and clothing were $62,495, or 23.2 percent, less than estimated due to fewer than anticipated patients.

Population

The average monthly patient population at the institution was 156, nine patients, or 5.5 percent, fewer than estimated. The institution indicated that admissions were less than estimated as a result of additional screening of admissions by human service centers and the expansion of community-based programs to serve the mentally ill.

FTE Positions

The average monthly FTE positions at the State Hospital were 509, 28 FTE, or 5.2 percent, fewer than the authorized FTE positions of 537, and 11 FTE, or 2.1 percent, fewer than the 520 FTE positions the State Hospital had anticipated filling. The State Hospital anticipates filling the 11 vacant FTE positions. The other vacant positions will remain vacant due to administrative efforts to reduce the number of FTE positions at the institution.

DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER

Expenditures

The Developmental Center reported total expenditures of $9,727,896, $202,108, or two percent, less than estimated. Expenditures were less than estimated due in part to:

Utilities - Expenditures for utilities were $31,290, or 9.5 percent, less than estimated due to the mild winter.
Professional services - Expenditures for professional services were $89,117, or 51.3 percent, less than estimated due primarily to a reduced need for contracted medical services for the Veterans Administration clinic operated on the Developmental Center campus.
Food, clothing, and miscellaneous supplies - Expenditures for food, clothing, and miscellaneous supplies were $100,438, or 20.3 percent, less than estimated due to the resident population being less than estimated.
Major improvements - Expenditures for major improvements were $92,784, or 46.4 percent, less than estimated due to the timing of payments for major improvement projects.

Revenues

The Developmental Center reported total income of $6,267,819, $1,292,646, or 17.1 percent, less than estimated. Actual income was less than estimated due in part to:

Other funds - Other funds revenue was $536,234, or 47.9 percent, less than estimated due primarily to the overestimation of revenue to be received from other states for the treatment of developmentally disabled sexual offenders. The Developmental Center had anticipated receiving revenue from other states contracting with the center to provide care for these patients. However, no out-of-state sexual offender patients have been received.
Federal funds - Federal fund receipts were $756,412, or 11.7 percent, less than estimated due primarily to federal reimbursements being reduced to adjust for certain questioned costs for which reimbursement was received during the 1997-99 biennium. The Developmental Center has provided additional documentation to the federal agency and anticipates that future reimbursements will include reimbursements for the questioned costs, eliminating the variance. In addition, the Developmental Center has received reduced reimbursements from the Veterans Administration due to the Developmental Center no longer needing to contract for certain medical services relating to the Veterans Administration clinic operated on the Developmental Center campus.

Population

The average monthly patient population at the institution was 140, 10 patients, or 6.7 percent, fewer than estimated. The population was less than estimated due to fewer admissions than estimated.

FTE Positions

The average monthly FTE positions at the Developmental Center were 460, 22 FTE, or 4.6 percent, fewer than authorized. The center is currently recruiting for all vacant FTE positions.

SUMMARY

Total expenditures at the charitable and penal institutions for the period July 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999, were $36,214,921, $2,333,926, or 6.1 percent, less than estimated. Total revenues for the same period were $12,388,124, $1,559,849, or 11.2 percent, less than estimated.

At the state's charitable and penal institutions for the first six months of the 1999-2001 biennium, the total average monthly population, including students, residents, and inmates, was 1,499.77, 82.23 individuals, or 5.2 percent, fewer than estimated. The average monthly FTE positions for these institutions totaled 1,532.25, 65.72 FTE, or 4.1 percent, fewer than authorized.

The attached appendix shows estimated and actual FTE positions, expenditures, revenues, and populations at each institution for the period July 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999.

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