PACD REGIONS

April 27, 2006

{sent to Secretary George Wolff, PA Dept. of Agriculture; Secretary Kathleen McGinty, PA Department of Environmental Protection; and Karl Brown, State Conservation Commission}

Dear ____________:

I am writing on behalf of the northwest Pennsylvania region of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD). I am a Conservation District Director in Crawford County and the Regional PACD Director for the northwest region.

At our most recent meeting, we discussed concern among Conservation Districts in our region that state funding for mandated administrative expenses is woefully inadequate and I was asked to send a letter to the State Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture outlining our concerns and requesting your help in finding a solution.

Administrative Assistance funding helps defray documented district administrative expenses relative to actions required by the Conservation District Law (Act 217) and/or the State Conservation Commission. Administrative Assistance funds can be used only for Directors' official travel, bonding, audit, liability and errors and omissions insurance, postage, publishing an annual report, legal fees, and expenses related to keeping full and accurate records. At present these funds are made available through two Conservation District Fund Allocation Program (CDFAP) appropriations, one to the Department of Environmental Protection and one to the Department of Agriculture.

In fiscal year 2005-06, Districts were allocated $8,100 per District for mandated administrative expenses, or a total of $534,600. This is far less than the more than $1.6 million reported in actual expenses in the previous fiscal year (2004-05). Our region's members feel strongly that the amount allocated must be increased substantially in order to close the gap between documented expenses and current allocations. Since these funds are used only to reimburse District expenses relative to actions required by law and/or the State Conservation Commission, we are requesting that the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Agriculture request from the Governor in their 2007-08 budget an increase in the annual funding allocated for mandated administrative expenses to $20,000 per District, or a total of $1.32 million.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to conserve and enhance Pennsylvania's natural resources.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Hoople
NW Regional Director, PACD

To: PACD Executive Board and Executive Council
From: Phyllis Hoople, Northwest Regional Director
Date: April 27, 2006
Re: Resolution for July 2006 Executive Council

At our most recent meeting, the Northwest Regional PACD discussed concern among Conservation Districts in our region that state funding for mandated administrative expenses is woefully inadequate.

Administrative Assistance funding helps defray documented district administrative expenses relative to actions required by the Conservation District Law (Act 217) and/or the State Conservation Commission. Administrative Assistance funds can be used only for Directors' official travel, bonding, audit, liability and errors and omissions insurance, postage, publishing an annual report, legal fees, and expenses related to keeping full and accurate records. At present these funds are made available through two Conservation District Fund Allocation Program (CDFAP) appropriations, one to the Department of Environmental Protection and one to the Department of Agriculture.

In fiscal year 2005-06, Districts were allocated $8,100 per District for mandated administrative expenses, or a total of $534,600. This is far less than the more than $1.6 million reported in actual expenses in the previous fiscal year (2004-05). Our region's members feel strongly that the amount allocated must be increased substantially in order to close the gap between documented expenses and current allocations.

Therefore, it was approved at our April 6, 2006 meeting to forward the following resolution to the July 2006 PACD Executive Council meeting:

RESOLVED

That PACD will base the amount requested in its Annual State Budget Request for administrative assistance on the actual, documented costs reported during the previous fiscal year.