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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesFinance Making Do With Less, Dawson Tells Senators

Finance Making Do With Less, Dawson Tells Senators

The Finance Department has lost almost half its payroll division and 15 percent of all its employees due to retirement incentives in the Economic Stability Act of 2011, leaving it struggling to meet performance goals, Commissioner Angel Dawson said during budget hearings Tuesday.

Five "seasoned employees" out of 11 total in the payroll division resigned, Dawson told the Finance Committee.

"If there is one division that I believe every Virgin Islands government employee has a vested interest in, it is the Department of Finance’s payroll division," Dawson said.

Sen. Sammuel Sanes asked whether other employees had shadowed and learned the jobs of those heading out the door.

"Senator, the Department of Finance is so thin right now it cannot generate a shadow," Dawson said.

Finance is expanding automated, integrated digital recordkeeping through the Tyler Munis Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) financial management system, he said. The ERP was initially implemented in late 2006 to replace an outdated and ineffective computerized financial management system.

"Over the past year and a half, we have also implemented the human resources, payroll, contract management and bids and quotes modules," Dawson said. About $6.6 million has been spent on the ERP system to date, he said.

Next, Finance plans to implement a standardized automated time and attendance system, he said, using $2.4 million in federal stimulus funds.

Although some departments are using time clocks that feed into the ERP system, most department still use a manual system. Right now, that paper-based information must be manually put into the digital ERP system, wasting labor and introducing mistakes, for a cost that is "too high to continue absorbing," he said.

The Office of Management and Budget has recommended a 2012 budget of $6 million for the department, a drop of eight percent from the previous fiscal year.

“More dramatically, the fiscal year 2012 Finance Budget recommendation represents a decrease of almost 22 percent, or some ($1.6 million) from actual General Fund expenditures in fiscal year 2010,” Dawson said. Most of the reduction is in payroll and benefits, which will be down by 23 percent, or $1.3 million, Dawson said.

Gov. John deJongh Jr.’s proposed 2012 budget also recommends $685,000 from the Government Insurance Fund, and $2.8 million from the Indirect Cost Fund, bringing the department’s total appropriation up to $9.5 million.

The 2012 budget includes $3.8 million to fund salaries and wages for 93 positions, of which seven are vacant. Benefits, Social Security and Medicare contributions account for another $1.4 million.

No votes were taking during the information gathering oversight hearing.

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