For the first time since 1994 Government House ended a fiscal year with a budget surplus.
According to Gov. Charles Turnbull’s Chief of Staff Juel Molloy, the Office of the Governor was $413,455 in the black at the end of FY99, which ended Sept. 30. For FY 99 the Office of the Governor received a $7.2 million appropriation by the Legislature but was actually allotted $6.4 million to operate the office. Final expenditures were just over $6 million.
Alvin Battiste, Government House director of Budget and Financial Management Operations, said the surplus is due to eliminating personal service contracts and a "substantial" reduction in the costs associated with the governor’s personal travel.
Molloy said that when the administration assumed office in January it discovered that former Gov. Roy Schneider overspent the first quarter allotment for Government House by paying lump sum payments to resigning employees. She said that process has been criticized by the Bureau of Audit and Control.
"The governor made clear from the first day in office that he wanted to set an example by having his office live within its means," Molloy said. "And he’s done just that."
She added that for the first time in five years an administration in Government House has completed a fiscal year without having to seek additional resources to cover expenditures that exceeded authorized levels.