State government officials have told U.S. General Accountability Office investigators that they are concerned about insufficient staff and resources to oversee stimulus spending, according to a new federal report.
Among the challenges: the need to scrape together about $2 million to fund at least 16 additional staffers to manage and monitor stimulus grants.
The state, facing massive shortfalls over the next two years, is short on cash and the federal government typically doesn’t allow states to recover administrative costs before they’re incurred, according to the report.
The governor’s office is awaiting word from federal officials on whether it and the independent state auditor’s office can pull from existing stimulus funds for the expenses, a state official said Friday.
The White House budget office has authorized states to use up to 0.5 percent of their total stimulus disbursement for administrative tasks. In Colorado, which will receive about $3.5 billion, that would amount to a ceiling of about $17.5 million.
“The governor’s office has been working very carefully to strike a balance,” said Myung Oak Kim, spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Ritter. “We’re trying not to spend a lot of taxpayer dollars. At the same time, we’re trying to do an effective job of taking advantage of these funds and making sure they’re spent appropriately.
“We’re confident our plan will work, but . . . we understand there are people who would like to have more resources.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act imposed strict new mandates on states and other recovery-fund recipients to track and audit their money streams. It also established tight deadlines to ensure funds move quickly into the economy.
The state controllers told the GAO that “timing and methodology difficulties” could delay its approval of the funding plan, hindering the state’s ability to oversee programs and funds.
Kim said the concerns were expressed to the GAO earlier this year and that the governor’s office is “confident” it is moving closer to an agreement with the federal government to resolve the issues.
Miles Moffeit: 303-954-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com
