Over the past eight years, the Council has worked with Bonneville to adopt budget agreements resulting in approximately $6.1 million of savings between Fiscal Year 1998 and Fiscal Year 2006. Actions taken to accomplish these savings included reductions in force, elimination of vacant FTEs, reducing travel costs, slashing contract funding, cutting administrative costs and curtailing lower-priority activities.
In the next Bonneville Power Administration rate period (Fiscal Year 2007 - Fiscal Year 2008), the Council again made a commitment to exercise fiscal restraint in developing its budget. The Council agreed to submit budgets that project a 3% increase, on average, over the three-year rate case period. In order to achieve this goal, we are freezing the number of FTEs in the Council budget while continuing to undertake additional work and responsibilities in the region, particularly in fish and wildlife recovery efforts.
The Council’s Fiscal Year 2007 revised budget of $9,085,000 is $385,000 (4.4%) higher than the current year 2006 budget of $8,700,000. This represents increased costs for updating power division analytical models, restoration of a portion of the IT support budget that was reduced in FY2006, and inflationary increases in the cost of personal services and benefits. The proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget of $9,276,000 is $191,000 (2.1%) higher than the revised Fiscal Year 2007 budget. This increase reflects the anticipated increase in personal services and benefits costs.
The Council adopted the budget at its July meeting then submitted it to Bonneville. Any questions on this budget should be directed to Sharon Ossmann, Director, Administrative Division, at the Council’s Central Office.
Sincerely,
Stephen L. Crow, Executive Director
