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Essay / The Responsibilities of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (odnr) SeasonalParks and Recreation Operations - Overnight LodgingParks and Recreation Operations - Lodge PropertiesParks and Recreation Operations - Potential Capital InvestmentWildlife Permits and ParticipationHatchery OperationsWatercraft Registration OperationsRevenue EstimationParks Revenue SourcesSummary The Task of the Department of Natural Resources of Ohio (ODNR) is to oversee the use, preservation, and conservation of the state's natural resources. There are twelve divisions within the ODNR: Forests, Parks and Recreation, Land and Water Resources, Natural Areas and Preserves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Watercraft, Wildlife, Geological Survey, the Office of Coastal Management, Mineral Resources Management, Oil and Gas Resources Management, and Engineering. ODNR is responsible for protecting Ohio's wildlife, forests and other natural areas, state parks, inland lakes and waterways, geologic and mineral resources, and the Lake Erie shoreline.[1] Overall, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is responsible for more than 590,000 acres of land, including 74 state parks, 21 state forests, 136 state nature preserves, and 138 designated wildlife areas. Additionally, the department oversees more than 120,000 acres of inland waters, 7,000 miles of waterways, 481 miles of the Ohio River, and 2.25 million acres of Lake Erie.[2] It serves more than 11.5 million Ohioans as well as more than 200 million tourists each year with approximately 2,000 employees. To meet requests required by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, their appropriations were finalized by the Governor and the Office of Budget and Management to amount to approximately $342.9. million for fiscal year 2016 and $346.5 million for fiscal year 2017, for a total of $689.4 million for the biennium. Proposed appropriations changes increased by 5.4 percent for FY 2016 compared to FY 2015, and currently, FY 2017 funds are 1.0 percent higher than the proposed FY 2016 budget This financial review serves to explore spending patterns within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, highlight budget trends, and analyze the department's spending effectiveness using performance measures. Budget Process, Budget Cycle We could not find any information on the internal procedures of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, but externally the Ohio DNR budget is developed like the budgets we have studied in this course . There is an executive preparation phase, a legislative review phase, an execution phase and an audit phase. In the executive budget phase, ODNR works to prepare a budget that will be reviewed by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management and the Governor of Ohio and submitted in the executive summary by the governor. The Ohio Legislature will review the submitted budget and make any revisions and changes they deem necessary. The governor of Ohio can then veto budget items, in which he can veto any line in the budget before it is finally implemented. Once the budget is adopted, the Ohio DNR has the ability to execute and spend the money. Under review, the auditor's officeof the State may audit the agency and verify whether the agency is using funds as outlined in its budget and whether doing so benefits Ohioans and others it serves. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as a state agency, is part of Ohio's biennial budget. The Ohio state budget is prepared by the governor and Director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management John Kasich and Timothy Keen. The currently adopted budget is part of the 2016-2017 fiscal years. For Ohio, the exercises will run from July 1 to June 30, with the governor submitting his executive budget in early February, within four weeks of its organization in early January of each odd-numbered year. This means agency budgets are built before the fall deadline. The “Operating Budget Guidance” is sent to agencies, by the OBM, in early July so that they can begin the process and prepare to submit their budgets on time. To ensure the budget can be approved in time for consideration and adoption, state agencies must submit their own budgets nearly two years before they are to be adopted. For the fiscal year 2016-2017 budget, state agencies were required to submit their “professional and regulatory consulting budget and language requests[-] on September 17, 2014, other non-cabinet agency budgets and requests language[-]on October 10, 2014." and finally, "Cabinet, legislative, and judicial agencies, as well as constitutional office holders, [were] required to submit budget and language requests to OBM[-]on October 31, 2014. “Review Process The internal review process was inaccessible to our group, but once the budget is submitted by the Director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to OBM, the review processes become clear. The process of establishing operating budgets begins in the middle of each even year when the OBM requests each agency's budget.[3] The OBM then “reviews the request and conducts budget meetings and hearings with the agency , if necessary.” [4]Next, the OBM “works with the Governor and his staff to provide preliminary budget recommendations,” which “are shared with and may be appealed by agencies to the Governor.” [5] Finally, the Governor presents the ODNR budget along with the requests of all other agencies as the executive budget to the Ohio General Assembly.[6] When the General Assembly receives the budget, "the staff of the Legislative Service Commission drafts the governor's proposed budget into law", which is then "presented to the House of Representatives by the Chairman of the Committee on Finance" . [7]Hearings before the House Finance Committee on operating appropriations bills are held when changes can be made.[8] After the House passes the budget, the same process takes place in the Senate, then it is approved and sent to the governor for one final review and then signed into law.[9]Budget AdoptionThe internal process of passing the budget is not found for Ohio. DNR, but once finalized, it is sent to the Office of Budget and Management for analysis. They will make recommendations to the governor for consideration, and then he will “direct a review process to determine the contents of his executive budget for submission to the General Assembly.” [10] The budget is then considered and passed by the Ohio legislature. The General Assembly will then send the budget back to the governor for a final review during which he can veto parts of the budget. When the governor signs the budget, ODNR and all other agencies receive their operating budgetshalf-yearly. Audit There was no transparency about whether the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had internal audit procedures, but external ones do exist. Section 117.46 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) requires the Ohio State Auditor to conduct performance audits of at least four state agencies for each fiscal biennium. There are more than 170 state agencies.[11] With these measures in place, it is possible that agencies could remain unchecked for more than 85 years or 42 biennial budgets. Fortunately, ODNR was selected for review in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 biennia. In its audit, the state sought to examine "six distinct areas, including capital planning and budgeting, parks and recreation operations, seasonal workforce strategies, permitting and participation in the wildlife, fleet management, and hatchery operations, but ODNR "requested the addition of a seventh and final scope, watercraft registration operations." [12]To facilitate auditing, “the United States Government Accountability Office develops and promulgates government auditing standards that provide a framework for performing high-quality audit work with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence to ensure accountability and help improve government. Operations and Services", these are commonly referred to as GAGAS, or Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards.[13]These audits are performance-based audits, meaning they examine "business requirements, measures or practices defined” to provide an objective analysis. .[14] The Auditor's Office has worked closely and openly with ODNR to discuss improvements and enhancements. The final report, once completed, was shared with the agency. We found no earmarked revenue when analyzing the budget, but we could not find original ODNR reports before they were sent to the governor and OBM. Capital Budget The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as a state agency, has a separate capital budget. It is simpler and shorter to adopt a biennial investment budget than to adopt an operating budget.[15] The investment budget “is part of the context of another activity: the preparation of the six-year plan to improve state capital assets”. [16] Every two years it is “updated by OBM based on recommendations it receives from relevant state agencies.” [17] This process tends to begin "in the late summer of each odd-numbered year, when the OBM distributes guidelines to agencies for the preparation of the capital budget and capital improvement plan on six years ". [18] The process for capital budgets is the same as for operating budgets. Applications are processed by the OBM, sent to the governor for approval, and then sent to the Legislature, but this process only takes weeks instead of months.[19] In 2014, the governor allocated $88.5 million to ODNR for its capital budget for state park improvements.[20] We found no capital budget requests from the Ohio DNR due to lack of transparency. The internal processes of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources could not be located, but the external process of Ohio state agencies was adopted by the General Assembly and is mandated by the Constitution of the 'Ohio, Article II, Section 22, which states: No money shall be withdrawn from the public treasury except as specifically appropriated by law; and no credit can be given for any periodgreater than two years. This makes it clear that state agencies must submit a budget every two years to the legislature for approval. They cannot submit their budgets directly to the legislature because the ODNR Director is not the head of the executive branch of the State of Ohio...the Governor is. That's why the ODNR director submits his budget to the governor and the Office of Budget and Management, which works for the governor. The OBM will then submit its proposals and revisions to the Governor for final submission to the Ohio Legislature. After their review, the governor receives the revised budget and has the authority to veto specific lines and sign the budget into law. The line-item veto was established in 1912. [21] Although we could not find any original documents from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the documents we analyzed were performance-based styles. ODNR released a 2015 annual report that covered all aspects of its agency. They highlighted new projects and improvements to each division overseen by the agency. For example, discussing improvements from 2014, the report said nature education was “one of the goals of the state's nature reserves.” Department staff increased state programs in fiscal year 2015, impacting hundreds of people across the state. [22] In the Legislative Services Commission's budget analysis, there were also features of performance budgeting like that in the 2015 Legislative Services Commission report.ODNR. When the governor submits his budget, he does so in the form of budget lines. It's no longer in the style of performance. This is important because the governor of Ohio has the privilege of exercising a line item veto, in which, before the budget is passed, he can veto any line item in the budget. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources offers little transparency. When reviewing their budget process, we found that ODNR does not publish a publicly available budget. Upon review of their online site, ohiodnr.gov, there were no links to shed light on their budget process, nor were we able to find past or current budgets. There was an article that discussed the governor's allocation of funds for their capital budget, but it only listed ideas for what those funds could potentially be used for. We tried to contact an agency administrator, Susan Erb, who is the tax specialist for the Ohio DNR, but she did not respond. For information on ODNR's budget, we found an audit conducted by the State Auditor in February 2015, the Legislative Services Commission's Analysis of ODNR's Proposed Budget for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017 , and Governor Kasich's executive budget for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. The lack of transparency made it difficult for us to provide a clear and accurate assessment of their budget process. As noted in most subsections of the budget process review, we were unable to find or locate internal information about Ohio DNR's budget processes. We do not know how decisions are made when developing the budget, nor do we know the internal procedures or internal controls in place. All Ohio Department of Natural Resources budget process answers come from general information that applies to all agencies in the state of Ohio. Background and Recent Tax History The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is comprised of 2,089employees, including 1,555 on fixed-term contracts. staff and 534 project employees. In order to fully understand the scale of the ministry's budget, it is important to examine its evolution over recent years. During the 2011-2012 financial year, the ministry's operating expenditure was approximately $270.96 million; During the 2012-2013 financial year, expenditures totaled 299.91 million; For fiscal year 2013-2014, $326.10 million; and in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, expenditures reached $326.61 million. Over the past four years, spending has increased by 20.5% to a whopping $55.65 million. That being said, there was only a minimal increase of $510,000 between fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15, which seems tedious compared to the sizable increases of $28.95 and $26.19 million. between fiscal years 2011-12/12-13 and 2012-13/13. -14 respectively. During this four-year period, the vast majority of funds (75.2%) went directly to three main areas of the department: the General Revenue Fund, the State Special Revenue Fund, and the State Fund Group for wildlife. During this period, the General Revenue Fund received $94.68 million annually and focuses primarily on parks, while the State Special Revenue Fund received $72.24 million for maintenance and equipment expenses, and the Wildlife Fund received $62.97 million for payroll, primarily for payroll, maintenance and others. operating expenses.Different ODNR Divisions EvaluatedThere are numerous divisions of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources whose budgets are explained and briefly evaluated in this report. They are listed below: Fleet ManagementThe Fleet Management sector of ODNR focuses on providing vehicle credits for each operating unit within the department. The number of vehicles used by each business unit (in 2014) is presented in the table below: The majority of vehicles used by these different divisions were ½ and ¾ ton vans, as well as SUVs. The rate and cost of maintenance for the various vehicles used are provided in the table below, but an accurate analysis of costs and performance is difficult to achieve because there is little or no data regarding other "direct costs and indirect maintenance, repair and fuel for each vehicle” (16). The lack of information on vehicle costs prevents us from establishing an adequate performance measure. So, the recommendation here would be to ensure that all costs and performance measures are recorded in the future so that the efficiency of the vehicles and the department as a whole can be analyzed. This division also does not maximize its use of idle and broken down vehicles. Many vehicles had been sitting idle for a period of “201 to 434 days waiting for new hires” at the time of this performance review (18). If the department were to get rid of vehicles that are inconvenient to repair, it would save $16,601 (18). If unused vehicles were reassigned to other areas instead of purchasing new ones, he could avoid paying up to $156,222, as shown below (18).(19). Finally, if the department got rid of the 34 unnecessary patrol vehicles, it would save $41,719 and “reduce annual expenses by 44,579” (21). This is why the recommendation here would be to sell or dispose of unused vehicles or repurpose them to other areas in order to reduce the costs associated with purchasing new vehicles. The final area where the division can save money isestablishment of a more aggressive fleet. bike plan. Recognizing "a vehicle life cycle of 6 years and/or 90,000 miles", analyzing the most efficient vehicle to use by determining "current cost per mile compared to newer vehicles" and By salvaging end-of-life vehicles “to capture as much residual value as possible,” the department could save $683,565 (38). The auditor's office showed that unemployment expenses, paid by the department, amount to approximately $252,000 (42). This means that by reducing unemployment expenses, there is a great opportunity to save money. By playing with the time requirements for the NRS and NRW according to the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) standards, the Court of Auditors proposed several solutions that could save money in the long term. (51).Any of these solutions would be more sustainable and more efficient than the current seasonal work system. It's also worth mentioning that there were few clear performance measures in place for department heads here, making it difficult to hold administrators accountable. and effectively manage resources within ODNR. Clear performative metrics that link directly to data associated with who accomplished what should be established. Parks and Recreation Operations - Overnight Lodging There are currently a number of rules associated with establishing a fixed price for overnight lodging through the Parks Department. Although these regulations do not necessarily represent a direct, measurable cost to the department, they limit the flexibility needed to establish competitive and efficient pricing. By increasing the parks' flexibility, it leaves the department with two options to increase revenue: increase prices for sold-out nights, or increase prices for nights when accommodations are not full. The analysis conducted by the auditor's office to determine which would be the most lucrative is presented in the table below: (86). Obviously, it would be more beneficial to have the flexibility to increase prices for unsold nights.Parks and Recreation - Lodge PropertiesGross revenues from lodge properties declined significantly from 2001 to 2013, as shown in graphic at the top of the next page: (99). The auditor's office looked at which parks were operating efficiently (generating cash flow) and which were operating inefficiently (those causing losses). "Maumee Bay, Salt Fork and Shawnee" were the most productive, generating $1,218,590 during 2013. Hueston Woods, Mohican and Punderson were also productive, but only produced a total of $66,846 (107). Loupe de Chêneet Deer Creek experienced huge losses equivalent to $426,956 (107). This data is crucial to determining what parks are and are not effective at bringing in money. These lodge properties should be managed and monitored to determine their performance over the years, making cuts where necessary and allocating more funds to lodges that successfully meet their performance measures. Additionally, the concessions-based model currently used by lodges provides long-term cash flow, but there are other options that would maximize “financial performance, including; solicit matching funds from concessionaires, extend the duration of agreements, and implement an alternative agreement structure” (119). Thus, although the current operating system of the Parks Department's Lodge Properties Division is efficient, it couldmore to generate income. Some campground cabins make huge profits, while others are sorely lacking in profitability. Although not directly relevant to the 2013-2014 budget, it is important to examine potential investment opportunities to increase revenue and reduce losses within the Parks Department. By investing in specific cabins that function well, the Parks Department could see “an immediate value gain of $41,244,069” (142). By “getting rid of the 29 cottages that are suffering an operating loss rather than investing in renovations,” we would avoid “one-time costs of $3,830,900” (142). For complete operating and investment profiles of Ohio's individual cabins, refer to the Performance Audit. Wildlife permits and participation. The general qualms associated with the Wildlife Licensing and Participation division relate to the low costs of hunting and fishing licenses, as this constitutes the division's budget. main source of income outside of federal aid. The distribution of sources of income is presented in the circular diagram below: (235). By increasing the price of “annual fishing licenses for residents and nonresidents to $23.00 and $48.00, respectively,” ODNR could see an increase of $1,748,000 per year (253). ). By “increasing the non-resident deer license fee” to $38.00, the department could earn an additional $254,175 per year (260). Fish Hatchery Operations The ODNR fish hatchery is both competitive and efficient, “especially when producing high volumes” (288). They could see an increase in efficiency if the hatchery operations obtained largemouth bass from an outside supplier, and would see a net gain of $54,944 (288). The vast majority of revenue generated by the Division of Watercraft Registration comes from state fuel tax and federal grants. Together, these two items accounted for 80.9% of the division's revenue, with an additional 18.3% from registration and title fees (290). RTS, or Registration and Titling Section, saw revenue increase by $267,995 between CY 2011 and CY 2013 (296). Likewise, “the total cost of operation has decreased over the past three years while registrations have increased,” as shown in the table below: (299). As a result, the Watercraft Registration Division brings in more money than it spends and operates efficiently. Estimating Revenue In attempting to conduct a performance audit, the Ohio State Auditor's Office encountered a number of obstacles. The report proposed that ODNR attempt to eliminate organizational barriers, streamline delivery, and promote clear lines of authority and accountability. (7). The economic effect of these barriers was not directly assessed by the performance budget, but further assessment was proposed for the following areas: prescribed divisions, prescribed positions and ambiguous wording. Having both prescribed divisions and positions could negatively impact efficiency as they could "negatively reinforce organizational silos" and "increase the overall size and cost of the organization due to the presence of multiple and distinct leadership, support and tactical structures” (7). The ambiguous wording poses a potential problem because it appears to grant "significant authority to division heads without oversight," also potentially reinforcing "organizational silos," preventing ODNR from being effective. The departmentcould also benefit from the introduction of an “asset management” approach. similar to that of the National Park Service (NPS). ODNR currently uses the OAKS Asset Management module, but this system is “neither used uniformly across all divisions nor in a manner that is informative for the actual capital asset management needs of the department or divisions” ( 223). [The] goal of asset management is to “focus investments from all sources of maintenance funds on high-priority national park assets to meet critical deferred maintenance and code compliance needs” ( 222). An effective asset management system such as that implemented by the NPS could prove invaluable in evaluating the future allocation of appropriations for the ODNR, and is absolutely a recommendation that could promote success in the future. 'future. As previously noted, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ONDR) has a total of 2,089 employees who support daily operations. This total includes 1,555 full-time and part-time permanent and fixed-term employees and an additional 534 part-time and full-time temporary, intermittent, seasonal, agency and project employees. With a decent sized workforce for a state government department, operating expenses can add up quickly and thus increase revenue demand. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, the total operating expenditure was $270.96 million and in the 2012-13 fiscal year it was $299.91 million. ODNR received $326.10 million and $326.61 million for fiscal years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, respectively (ODNR performance audit, February 2015). This section of our analysis will cover how ODNR collects revenue from a variety of different sources and examine different revenue trends and changes, as well as challenges that ODNR may face in the future. Parks Revenue Sources There are three funds within ODNR that account for an average of 75.2 percent of all department expenditures and appropriations: the General Revenue Fund, the State Funds Group, and Special Revenue and the Wildlife Fund Group. The General Revenue Fund averages $94.68 million per fiscal year, or about 30.9 percent of the total. The Parks Division is the largest user division of this fund, averaging $30.03 million per fiscal year (ODNR Performance Audit, February 2015). Within the State Revenue Special Fund group, “State Parks Operations” accounts for $28.54 million of the $72.24 million per fiscal year. This fund represents 23.6 percent of the department's total expenditures and appropriations. According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC), "these funds are used to cover most of the Division's maintenance and equipment expenses, as well as payroll...this position is supported by the State Park Fund, which receives revenue from various revenue-generating functions of the [Parks]…the largest source of revenue was camping fees (39.3%), followed by cabin rentals (14.6%) and businesses independent retailers (13.9%). , dock permits (9.8 percent), concession agreements (4.4 percent), and golf course green fees (4.4 percent)” (ODNR performance audit, February 2015 ). This fund also includes funding sources such as land leases, getaway rentals, group lodges. sales, private donations, 75 percent of proceeds from the sale of timber from national park lands and other fees and charges. The Wildlife Fund Group averages $62.97 million, or $20.7 millionpercent of the total per fiscal year, with the “Wildlife Conservation Division” averaging $54.74 million per fiscal year. According to the LSC, "this position is the primary source of operational support to the Division's programs and contains the majority of the Division's payroll, maintenance, and other operating costs" (ODNR Performance Audit, February 2015). This division is primarily funded by revenues from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, as well as federal funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act and the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act. (ODNR performance audit, February 2015). The performance audit explains how ODNR manages 74 parks across Ohio, which vary in size and goals. These parks provide a decent portion of the total revenue collected by ODNR. Larger parks attract domestic and international visitors while offering amenities such as lodges and cabins, camping; boating; and access to resources of historical, natural and/or cultural significance. Smaller parks attract local and regional visitors and focus on providing daytime amenities like picnic areas, hiking, and fishing access. Many of these amenities are provided free to users, while some, such as lodging and camping, require a fee. The revenue generated by these services is used in part to cover the operating costs of the services. ODNR parks offer a variety of overnight accommodations. The main options available are lodges, campgrounds, cabins, and unique “getaways.” ODNR owns all lodges and 185 cabins, which are managed by third-party concessionaires (ODNR Performance Audit, February 2015). Table 5-1 shows the parks' self-operated overnight accommodations for calendar year (CY) 2013. As can be seen in the table, the parks operated 9,543 individual overnight accommodations in CY 2013, mainly intended for campsites; 95.5 percent or 9,118 of the total. Campgrounds and cabins make up the majority of the parks' self-managed inventory as well as self-generated revenue; 98.6% and 96.2%, respectively (ODNR Performance Audit, February 2015). Electric campsites clearly dominate the total revenue of self-managed overnight accommodations with over $11 million and inventory count of 4,000 compared to other accommodations. However, it should be noted that within both of these categories, ODNR and Parks leaders have expressed concerns. that current gaps affect the ability to meet customer needs competitively. Specific concerns have been raised regarding an insufficient number of fully equipped campsites and an aging cabin inventory that is no longer adequately able to attract guests and meet their needs effectively and efficiently (ODNR Performance Audit, February 2015). ODNR has a limited amount of property that can be used for such purposes. In the years to come, new strategies will have to be implemented to meet the demand for electric campsites. It is worth noting that on a daily basis, the median preferred chalet, the most common chalet offer, gains more than eight times, or $30.48. more revenue per day than median electric camping, the most common camping offering (see Table 5-3 below). ODNR also collects revenue from various taxes and fees from mining, oil and gas. Take for example the table below: The graph above 2015.
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