BOARD01677

• Board Meeting Date: 7/26/1999
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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FY 2000-01 Budget Planning: The state's FY-99 ended on June 30. To plan
expenditures for the current fiscal year (FY-2000),and to draft a budget request for FY-2001,
CWCB senior staff met at the Denver Botanic Gardens in late June. We also discussed employee
performance planning because FY-2000 workload objectives for each employee must be
completed according to new "pay-for-performance" guidelines. We also discussed how our long-
range panning efforts would dovetail with the DNR planning effort (designed to result in each
agency having a "zero-based-budget" within the next few years). These new budget planning
and performance evaluation systems will require lots of patience (and aspirin), but we have a
great team working on it!

On June 21 we delivered our preliminary budget objectives and "decision items" to the
DNR Executive Director's Office. The objectives are linked to our program areas and we have
been discussing a revision to our organizational chart to replace the existing names with these
program headings: Water Supply Protection, Flood Protection, Water Supply Planning and
Finance, Stream and Lake Protection, Conservation Planning, Water Information, and
Management and Policy Development. The FY-Ol "decision items" (requests for additional
funding) that we submitted include:

1. Office Space ($37,869 more than the $46,559 we already receive). We are leasing 5231
square feet of office space now (at $8.90 per square foot). We have determined that we need
4255 square feet of additional space because the CWCB has more FTEs than can be
accommodated in its office space. We have made progressively tighter offices and conference
facilities for over a decade without getting any additional office space while the General
Assembly has increased our staff from 25 to 37 people. We keep most of our central files in a
300 square foot room onthe second floor and have just given up our conference room to provide
better useable space for our budget and accounting staff. We are not the only DNR agency in
this predicament and, while the DNR searches for another office location big enough for
everyone, the Executive Director's Office is very supportive of this temporary solution.

2. Dues for Interstate Organizations and Activities. The CWCB..pays $213,605 each year in
dues to belong to interstate organizations. The Upper Colorado River Coinmission is increasing
its dues from $143,660 to $158,872. The Governor may also soon appoint a new representative
to attend commission meetings and participate in interstate discussions. If this individual is not a
state employee, the CWCB may need an increase to cover personal services as well as operatilJg
and travel expenses.

3. Water Planning and Grants. We are seeking an additional $85,000 in severance tax funds
from the Operational Account to support local water planning efforts. Given recent growth,
Colorado is approaching the full utilization of its water supplies. Therefore, we should continue
expanding our efforts to support local water planning. Last year the General Assembly
appropriated $225,000 of the $500,000 in severance tax funds we received through the annual
projects bill rather than the Long Bill. As a result, the amount of increase over last year's
appropriation is only $85,000, but the amount of the decision item will be $310,000 (i.e.,.
$225,000 +$85,000).

4. Flood and Drought Emergency Response Account ($100,000). The CWCB has the
responsibility for promoting water supply development and flood protection. Colorado has not
experienced a real drought for many years, but the risk should not be ignored. On the other
hand, Colorado suffers approximately $37 million each year in flood damage. Response funding

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