C
OMMISSIONERS
Colleen Coyle Mathis,
Chair
Raymond F. Bladine Scott Day Freeman,
Vice Chair
E
XECUTIVE
D
IRECTOR
Cid R. Kallen Linda C. McNulty
I
NDEPENDENT
R
EDISTRICTING
C
OMMISSION
Kristina C. Gomez
Richard P. Stertz 4000 North Central Avenue Suite #1150
D
EPUTY
E
XECUTIVE
D
IRECTOR
Phoenix, Arizona 85012 (602)
542-5221
FAX
(602)
542-5236
WWW
.
AZREDISTRICTING
.
ORG
DATE: March 30, 2016 TO: Madam Chair and Commissioners FROM: Raymond F. Bladine, Executive Director Kristina C. Gomez, Deputy Executive Director SUBJECT: FY 17 FUNDING IS INADEQUATE FOR
LEACH V. AIRC
After reviewing current legal costs, it is now clear that the FY 17 appropriation of $1,115,300 will be insufficient to cover
Leach v. AIRC
legal costs, operational costs, and any additional costs that might be generated by the
Harris v. AIRC
case. Expenditures for the
Leach
case have not progressed as rapidly as was estimated in preparing the FY 16 budget. Therefore, FY 17 costs will be significantly higher. To date, we have spent $1,374,184 on
Leach
, of this amount, $500,000 has been spent so far this fiscal year. Based on the rate of current expenditures an additional cost of $473,000 is estimated to be spent during the remaining part of the fiscal year. We are still in the discovery phase of the case. We will seek permission from Legislative leadership and the Governor’s Office to carry over unspent funds to the next fiscal year. This would avoid requiring a supplemental appropriation when the Legislature is not in session. Alternatively, a request to the court to delay trial activities because of a lack of an appropriation might be required. Carrying over the unspent funds seems like the easiest solution. The following table summarizes appropriations for Commission activity, actual expenditures to date, and potential estimated remaining balances.
Appropriation Year
Actuals
Est.
Remaining Balance
FY 2014 $1,462,701 $ 745,153 $717,548
(supplemental appro. only)
FY 2015 $1,115,300 $ 953,387 $161,913 FY 2016 $1,115,300 $ 684,370 $ 0 Total Estimated Carryover $879,461 If the Commission is allowed to carry over estimated appropriation balances of about $879,461 the total appropriation available at the start of FY 17 would be $1.9 million. The $1.9 million is likely to provide sufficient resources for legal and operating costs in FY 17. For the current fiscal year the Commissions appropriation is $2,276,455.
I
NDEPENDENT
R
EDISTRICTING
C
OMMISSION
4000 North Central Avenue Suite #1150
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Costs involved in Harris are currently not programed in our expenditure estimates for FY 17, due to a lack of information from the U.S. Supreme Court. Thus, additional funding could be needed depending on the court decision. As we all know, we want to avoid the problem of insufficient funds for the Commission to carry out its constitutional responsibilities. A supplemental appropriation request in the middle of a trial, and/or when the Legislature is out of session is clearly not desirable. Attached is Exhibit 3 a spreadsheet, which shows in detail all expenditures from year to date. Kristina and I will begin requesting meetings with Legislative leadership and the Governor’s Office to alert them to this financing problem, and seek their help in solving it. We will of course keep you informed as our activity progresses. If you have any questions or comments please let us know. Attachments: Exhibit 3 Cc: Legal Counsel (2) Lorenzo Romero President Biggs Michael Williams Speaker Gowan Wendy Baldo Senator Shooter Greg Jernigan Representative Olson Mike Liburdi Senator Kavanagh Robert Ellman Representative Leach Clark Partridge Richard Stavneak Mike McGee Krista MacGahan Susie Myers