ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA’s mid-year budget review shows agency expenditures are projected to decline by approximately $2.7 million for 2016, but NCUA Thursday did not say if any adjustments to the operating fee would be made.
In another of the agency’s new board briefings, during Thursday’s NCUA open board meeting CFO Rendell Jones’s presented on budget estimates, stating that rather than making an adjustment to the future operating fee at this time, staff will review cash needs and make a determination later in the year.
During the briefing, the board emphasized its efforts around budget transparency, and also urged credit unions to review the extensive budget materials NCUA is posting on its website.
NCUA’s mid-year data (click here and here) shows a 2016 operating budget of $290.9 million and 1,247 FTEs; a capital acquisition budget of $10.1 million; and the 2016 Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund budget of $4.0 million.
NCUA’s revised estimate for its 2016 operating budget will be $288.2 million, including decreases in every major budget category.
Jones outlined estimated reductions in several areas:
- $1.9 million reduction: Pay and benefits—re-estimated to project 1,214 FTE or 33 unused FTE.
- $234,00 reduction: Administrative costs for Federal Financial Institution Examination Council assessments lower than planned ($85,000). Meeting costs for the National Examination Program Training event were lower than planned ($139,000).
- $30,000 reduction: Rent costs lower with fewer offsite training events than originally planned.
- $19,000 Reduction: Contracted services.
“We can all be proud that NCUA provides best-in-class transparency and we continue to improve on that,” said NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger a. “Mid-year we are at a $1.9-million reduction in pay and benefits, with 33 fewer staff members (than projections), which is a good place to be. Bottom line is the agency continues to be good stewards of its funds, and we want to be a leader in budget transparency.”
Metsger announced last month at NAFCU’s Annual Conference that the agency will hold a public budget briefing this October and release details of the agency’s 2017-2018 budget plans in advance.
Board Member Mark McWatters, taking a somewhat a different tone than when he discussed the budget with former NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz, largely concurred with Metsger.
“The last two budgets I participated in I dissented from those for two reasons, one being what I considered to be less that robust transparency,” said McWatters. “We have made a lot of progress on transparency, and anyone who doubts this should click on all the links on our website.”
McWatters showed some concern for the movement’s attention to NCUA’s budget transparency.
“We get data on the clicks to our website information,” said McWatters. “People ask for this this budget information all day long, however there are precious few people clicking on these links. Take a look at our website before you say NCUA is not transparent. See what NCUA is doing . . . If you have a question, ask Rendell (Jones) or let the Chairman know.”
The NCUA board approved a rolling two-year budget at their November 2015 open meeting, a return to former agency practice. The 2017 budget is scheduled to be reviewed at the board’s open meeting in November. Before the board votes on the 2017–2018 budget in November, the agency said it will host a budget briefing for stakeholders in October.