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State falling short in revenue collections for FY 2014

Newly appointed Secretary of Revenue Bob Kiss and members of his department presented an overview of last year’s budget to lawmakers. Legislators…

Newly appointed Secretary of Revenue Bob Kiss and members of his department presented an overview of last year’s budget to lawmakers. Legislators scrutinized the governor’s last minute decision to cut almost $18 million from Medicaid to balance the budget at the end of the last fiscal year, but they were also given some crucial insight into the revenue numbers for this year.
To fulfill his Constitutional duties in balancing the state budget, Governor Tomblin cut the state’s Medicaid program by nearly $18 million at the end of the Fiscal Year 2013.

But where that money went is still in question by some lawmakers, including House Minority Whip Daryl Cowles. He questioned Secretary Kiss during a Joint Committee on Finance.

“What was that money spent on? If we appropriated it to Medicaid, what was that money spent on?” Cowles asked.

“It wasn’t spent on anything. It didn’t exist so to speak. So, the budget had to be cut to make sure you finished the year with a balanced budget,” Kiss responded. “That $17 million didn’t go any place.”

So, it wasn’t spent. Kiss explained the governor made the total Medicaid budget smaller than what the legislature had appropriated for that year in order to keep West Virginia out of the red.

But that last minute cut wasn’t the only time Medicaid had been shorted in Fiscal Year 2013.

The fiscal year ended before a funding bill passed by the legislature for the program could take effect. That bill would have taken $67 million out of excess lottery funds and put them toward Medicaid.

Regular lottery funds were down last year as well. Of the $50 million dollars from that fund that is dedicated to Medicaid, only $29 million actually came in, adding another $21 million to the program’s deficit.

In total, Medicaid was shorted about $109 million in Fiscal Year 2013.

Director of the State Budget Office Mike McKown said for now, the program is financially stable.

“Medicaid’s cash flow is pretty good right now, but by the middle of probably March if we don’t appropriate some money to Medicaid, there’s going to be some cash flow problems,” McKowan said.

“On the last day of the fiscal year we didn’t really have many options to balance the budget. If we had not cut them the last day, nothing would have gotten re-appropriated which would have caused some major problems for some of the agencies and we felt that the cash flow was strong in the Medicaid program for a few months so that was the reasoning behind that.”

Secretary Kiss reassured the committee the emergency $18 million cut to the program’s funding is not a permanent one. The legislature will be able to restore those funds and the $67 million dollars appropriated from lottery funds is still in the state accounts to be put toward the program.

But Medicaid isn’t the only state funded program feeling financial woes. A letter in early August from Kiss and Tomblin asked state agencies to prepare its budgets as if it were taking a 7.5 percent cut. For the second year in a row.

Tomblin stressed this was a precautionary measure, but three months into the Fiscal Year, McKown said revenues are already below estimates.

“At the end of August, after two months into this fiscal year, we were down $32 million for estimate,” he told the committee. “So, this year started off not strong, but we’re keeping a close eye on that.”

McKown did bring some good news to the committee. He said budget cuts have been made without having to furlough or lay off any workers, the state has kept up with retirement contributions and the bond rating is still very good because of a strong Rainy Day Fund, ranked one of the top five in the nation.

Currently holding about $907 million, McKown added that fund, however, is not enough to fall back on. If the state lost all sources of revenue, the Rainy Day Fund could only sustain state spending for an additional two and a half months.

Legislative audit shows state purchasing laws not followed

Legislative auditors told an interim legislative committee the state's $38 million expansion of a statewide microwave communications network ignored West…

Legislative auditors told an interim legislative committee the state’s $38 million expansion of a statewide microwave communications network ignored West Virginia purchasing laws. Legislative leaders say they’re committed to reviewing the purchase process to prevent future misconduct.

The audit says the state grant implementation team didn’t seek competitive bids for the tower project. Instead, they used a Lewis County Commission contract to authorize Premier Construction to build the new towers.

The statewide plan includes building 12 towers and refurbishing five others to fill a gap in the microwave communication system for law enforcement and other first responders.

Lewis County had hired Premier in 2009 to build one microwave tower as a part of that plan in Roanoke.
State rules allow purchases from contracts issued by other public bodies, but the audit says state Purchasing Director David Tincher wasn’t asked to approve using Lewis County’s contract for the state project.

According to the audit, Tincher advised state officials to stop the towers’ construction, but his request wasn’t followed.

Senate President Jeff Kessler and House Speaker Tim Miley said in a release they have already begun a thorough review of the state’s purchasing laws and will to determine if there is the need for new legislation.

A representative of the governor’s office said Governor Tomlin will embrace the audit’s suggestions and plans to ask lawmakers to consider implementing legislation based on the report’s findings.

DHHR Secretary stays focused on filling 600+ vacancies

In her first appearance before legislators, Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Karen Bowling said the department is not yet prepared to release a detailed response to a performance review completed earlier this year. Instead, she shared some generalizations about major issues the department is trying to address. The biggest of those issues is hiring and retaining the necessary personnel to run the state’s largest agency.

Called a fragmented department with duplicative programs seeing little results and a lack of a strategic goal-setting vision, the performance review released in April of the Department of Health and Human Resources was less than positive.

Completed by Pennsylvania-based consulting firm Public Works, the report is still in review by the DHHR and its new secretary, Karen Bowling.

On the job since July 1, Bowling admitted she’s still trying to digest the 116 pages, but was called on by the Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability for an update during interim meetings at the Capitol.

“I’m not sure that we would ever have enough hours to present 78 recommendations, but I think just the idea of just some of the most important points in that Public Works report,” Bowling said Monday, “I wanted to make sure I emphasized those and talked about those so everyone could understand the direction in which we were going.”

But moving any direction is proving to be a slow process for the state’s largest agency.

With more than 630 vacancies, Bowling said one of the department’s top priorities is trying to fill those positions. Public Works accounted those vacancies to an “unstable work environment,” which lead to a turnover rate of 30 percent and an additional $7 million in mandatory overtime pay last year.

“Part of the turnover rate and part of the vacancy rate and part of the overtime issues are not being able to fill the jobs quick enough. Part of it is getting qualified people into the jobs fast enough and getting them oriented and ready to go,” Bowling said.

“We, the DHHR, will have to work with other areas to make sure that we change the process to the extent that we can so we can move quicker on filling vacancies.”

So to address the problem, Bowling said the DHHR is beginning to work with the Department of Personnel and the Department of Administration to try to streamline the hiring process.

Senator Ron Stollings, the committee co-chair, said that high turnover rate comes down to those on the front lines—social workers in child protective services or other areas—being overworked and under paid.

“Unfortunately, we probably don’t pay these front line workers competitive salaries and we haven’t hired,” Stollings said. “There are so many vacancies so the ones that are working are working so hard and I’d say there’s a very early burn out. So when there’s something better that comes along in a private arena they leave.”

Aside from streamlining the hiring process, Bowling said they’re looking at other factors like mentor systems and managerial training to create a better work environment and reduce the turnover rate.

On other issues, however, Bowling responded with broader answers. She said the department isn’t prepared to talk specifics for many of the areas of the complex review until they complete an internal self-study.

That answer seemed to be acceptable for the committee and Bowling will return in December to present more concrete, specific examples of how the department is making changes.

There was one question, however, Bowling was prepared to take a stance on. A position brought up by Delegate Don Perdue, who serves as co-chair of the committee, to break the DHHR into separate entities, one dealing with human services, the other with Medicaid.

“That was one of two suggestions that have been made periodically over the last 16 years that I know of. Each time, each time the Department has said, no, we don’t want to cut it a part into health and human resources, we don’t want to take out Medicaid, we don’t want to do anything like that,” Perdue said during the meeting, “and yet, Madame Secretary, our statistics are not changing. They’re getting worse.”

“I am really concerned that if we continue to gather all these chicks into one nest, they are going to be some that suffer and that’s what’s happening now in my belief. I hope you can prove me wrong.”

Bowling said she believes she can. She stood behind her predecessors, but said the DHHR can be more successful than it is today under her leadership in the future. The Secretary said she can help the department achieve the outcomes Perdue wants to see.

“My belief is that actually further integration and breaking down silos. You know, bureaus can get stuck in silos and I think breaking those down will actually improve efficiencies and will give us a greater opportunity to make positive change in the state,” she said.

“My job will be to show statistically that I can make that happen through leadership and maybe through some changes in organizational structure and management and then maybe Chairman Perdue will see that change in years to come and agree with me.”

Most of those changes Bowling believes can be made internally without much legislative action needed, but Stollings said he stands firmly behind the department and is prepared to support any legislative action that may be necessary to help turn the DHHR around.

Tabled report: How many high school seniors feel college bound?

Lawmakers delayed hearing a report from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Monday that showed only half of the state’s graduating seniors felt academically prepared to go on to college.

Chancellor Paul Hill was scheduled to present the report to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Education Accountability Monday, but the item was pushed until next month’s legislative interims because of time.

Legislators, however, were still provided with a copy of the report compiled from a survey of more than four thousand graduating seniors at 51 high schools across the state. It is intended to give lawmakers more insight as to why more students aren’t getting a college education.

According to the opinion survey, only 50 percent of graduating seniors in 2012 felt “very prepared” or “prepared” to go on to a 2- or 4-year degree program. The report also says 57 percent of students overestimated the cost of tuition at a four-year, in-state, public college or university. Those students also said the cost of attending was an obstacle. Socio-economic status and being a first-generation college student were also hindrances listed in the report.

More federal charges in Mingo

The U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia is again charging Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury with conspiring to deprive a resident of his constitutional rights.

Here is the news release from U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin’s office:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 19, 2013

GOODWIN CHARGES MINGO JUDGE IN SECOND CONSPIRACY

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today charged Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury in a second conspiracy to deprive a Mingo County resident of his constitutional rights. In a court filing this morning, Goodwin alleged that Thornsbury conspired with other Mingo County elected officials to cover up evidence of illegal drug use and other misconduct by late Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum.

Earlier this year, according to Goodwin, a Mingo County drug defendant began to provide the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with information about misconduct by then Sheriff Crum, including illegal drug use and election law violations. The drug defendant is identified in today’s charging document as “G.W.” Crum learned that G.W., along with G.W.’s attorney, were providing information about Crum to the FBI. Crum and other Mingo elected officials, including Thornsbury, conspired to protect Crum and to stop G.W. from informing to the FBI. They arranged to offer G.W. a favorable plea deal if he would fire his attorney, who was assisting G.W.’s communication with federal authorities, and replace him with an attorney chosen by Crum and the other elected officials.

In the face of this coercion, today’s charging document alleges, G.W. fired his attorney, which the officials involved believed would protect Crum from federal investigation and public embarrassment.

Today’s charge was filed in a court document known as an “information.” A defendant may be charged through an information only with the defendant’s consent, so the filing of an information often indicates that a defendant has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the West Virginia State Police. Counsel to the United States Attorney Steven Ruby and Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn are handling the prosecution.

Note: An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Gov. Tomblin Marks 9/11 with Wreath Ceremony, Meets with First Responders

This morning Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin laid a wreath near the Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial on the State Capitol grounds to mark the twelfth anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001.

On this day 12 years ago, Governor Tomblin was serving as Senate President in the State Legislature. He said he first heard reports of the planes striking the World Trade Center as he was getting ready for the day while the legislature was in special session. Tomblin said he rushed to the Capitol and watched the rest of the day’s events unfold.

“It was one of those times when we had a quick session. Everyone was very concerned. We had never really experienced anything like this before. Shortly thereafter, I sent the members of the Senate home, our staff home. People were just stunned and didn’t know what was going to happen next,” said Tomblin.

Tomblin also met briefly with first responders and officials from the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at the ceremony, including Frank Kennedy.

Now a training officer with the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Kennedy responded to the September 11 attacks as a marine patrol officer with the East Hampton, N.Y. Police Department. Having patrolled the perimeter of the World Trade Center for 36 hours until the National Guard could be deployed, Kennedy said it took a while to learn about those he knew who perished in the attack.

“It’s an exceedingly tough day. It’s a day I probably don’t watch the news at all,” said Kennedy. “I lost six friends that were NYPD officers and five friends that were FDNY officers–people I grew up with and had known my whole life.”

At the Sept. 11 wreath ceremony Gov. Tomblin shakes hands with Frank Kennedy, Training Officer for the State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Kennedy was a first responder in with the East Hampton, N.Y. Police Department New York City 12 years ago.

Upon retirement, Kennedy moved to West Virginia to be close to his son and decided to go back to work with the Department of Homeland Security, a move he said somewhat helps him cope with the experience of being on the scene in New York City 12 years ago. He said it’s also helped him see the importance of the work of first responders.

“It’s not just New York that was affected. Obviously, D.C. was affected, Pennsylvania and very well West Virginia could have been affected if that plane had flown a little longer,” said Kennedy.

“I think it is something every American should be concerned about and remember because there was people running in while other people were running out. That’s the nature of first responders.”