LITTLE ROCK — Some legislators balked Wednesday at Gov. Mike Beebe’s request for supplemental funding for the state Forestry Commission, saying they want more questions answered about management of the cash-strapped agency that has announced layoffs.
Forestry Commission Director John Shannon and Tim Leathers, deputy director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, told a legislative panel that the governor plans to ask for about $2.7 million in supplemental aide for the commission.
The request will include about $1.2 million to repay the federal government for grant money the agency improperly spent on ongoing expenses and about $1.5 million to keep the agency going through the end of the fiscal year.
Shannon said last month he told 36 employees of the 298-person agency they will be laid off Jan. 13 because of a $4 million shortfall. The supplement funds Beebe is requesting will not save those jobs, but Leathers said it would prevent dramatic additional cuts at the agency that could have a negative effect on its ability to fight fires.
The Forestry Commission is responsible for conservation and protection of the state’s forests, which includes fighting forest fires.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Leathers told the House and Senate committees on agriculture, forestry and economic development that as revenues tied to the timber industry declined over recent years, the agency began making up for that decline by certifying federal grant money for ongoing expenses.
State officials have said they recently learned that the federal money was over certified, or counted twice, and was not authorized for ongoing expenses.
“You had overspending as a result of that,” Leathers told legislators Wednesday.
Some lawmakers said they believe the problem went beyond the use of federal funds, which Shannon has blamed on his former chief financial officer.
Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, questioned the agency’s expenditure of nearly $1 million to buy land — which the agency uses to grow and sell seedlings and timber — during an economic downturn.
“It’s going to make it difficult for me to feel like giving the agency any additional funding given the management techniques which ultimately stop on your desk,” Hammer told Shannon.
Rep. Nate Steel, D-Nashville, asked Shannon why he hired an employee in August 2010 after instituting a hiring freeze in June 2010.
Shannon said he made the decision to hire a firefighter after a district forester told him it was essential to fill the position.
Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain Home, said after the hearing, “Unless there is some sort of assurance that there is going to be completely different spending habits moving forward, and that we actually are going to take these steps … to live within our means, then I don’t feel confident throwing more money at a problem.”
House Majority Leader John Burris, R-Harrison, said it was “putting the cart before the horse” to ask legislators to support a supplemental appropriation before showing them a plan for keeping the agency solvent in the long run.
“I don’t think people are going to be willing to vote for a Band-Aid not knowing what the long-term solution is,” he said after the hearing.
But Burris added that he expects the governor to provide a plan for the agency with the fiscal 2012-13 budget proposal he is scheduled to unveil Jan. 17, and “if we know what that is and we support the long-term solution, I don’t think the supplemental appropriation will have a problem being approved.”
Some legislators questioned whether Shannon had been forthcoming about all of the problems at the agency. On Dec. 5, Shannon told the Arkansas News Bureau the layoffs were necessary because of declining revenue from the timber severance tax, timber and seedling sales and other factors that he said he could not recall at the moment.
Shannon was asked after Wednesday’s hearing why he did not mention the improper use of federal funds in the interview.
“I didn’t know about the certifications being incorrect until Nov. 17,” he said. Shannon was reminded that the interview took place weeks later. “I think I just gave the best, most honest answer I could at the time you asked it,” he said.