Last week I reported that, as of the end of February, the state was spending money more slowly than it had at that point in the two previous fiscal years. Well, March changed that situation:
Where the February report showed state agencies spending 1.69 percentage points less of their budgets than they had on average during the past two years, the March report showed state agencies spending 1.32 percentage points more than they had on average by the end of March in the two previous years. They still aren’t overshooting their budgets, but they are picking up the pace: they moved from 3.15 percentage points behind the amount of spending the calendar suggests they should have done to just 0.70 percentage points behind (75% of the year elapsed, 74.30% of budget spent).
No, state agencies didn’t hold their breath until the Legislature passed the budget and then go on a spending spree. The difference is largely due to Senate Bill 32, the annual budget adjustment. The Legislature knocked $53.6 million out of the budget, meaning that even if spending stayed steady, percent of those smaller budget lines spent would jump up.
Also bumping the spending rate up last month was a calendar quirk: an extra payday fell within March’s 31 days.
How much does each member of the Board of Regents get? I have been looking and can’t find out how much their salary is.
The Executive Director of the Board of Regents receives $378,813.34 per year. I don’t think the Regents themselves get a salary; they just get per diem reimbursements when they meet. But I could be wrong….