On November 17, 2004, the Tuition Trust Fund cash balance closed at a negative $13.0 thousand. The fund's negative cash balance continued through November 30, 2004, when the fun's cash balance closed at a negative $14.0 thousand. The negative balance was due to the difference in the timing of revenues and expenditures.
The Medical Assistance Trust Fund, the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Fund and the Tuition Trust Fund shortfalls were not in excess of the statutory interfund borrowing limitations and did not exceed the balances of the funds available for interfund borrowing.
The distribution of interest earnings to investment pool participants is based on the average daily balance in the pool and each fund's share. Therefore, the monthly calculation by the State Controller's Office will automatically reflect the use of these temporary reallocations of balance authority, and as a result, the funds requiring the use of the authority will effectively bear the interest cost.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Marotta
Secretary
Referred to committee on Ways and Means.
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Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 8, 2004
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, we have completed an evaluation of the assessment of manufacturing property by the Department of Revenue (DOR). In 2003, approximately 11,000 manufacturers paid $292.7 million in property taxes, accounting for 4.1 percent of all property tax revenue received by local governments.
DOR assesses the value of manufacturing property by inspecting properties and reviewing forms submitted by manufacturers. As of January 2004, 41.5 full-time equivalent employees in five district offices completed these and other related tasks at an annual cost of approximately $2.8 million. We reviewed the methods DOR uses to establish the value of manufacturing property and found that while these methods are generally consistent with statutory directives, differences in practices exist across the districts. We include a recommendation that DOR report to the Audit Committee on its analysis of these differences.
Although s.
70.995(7)(b), Wis. Stats., requires field audits to be conducted at least once every five years, DOR is not meeting the requirement. We estimate DOR would need nearly seven years to complete field audits for all manufacturing properties, based on current procedures and staffing levels. Reasons for this include an inefficient assessment process, an increase in appeals, and a decrease in staff. We include a recommendation that DOR improve its tracking of field audits, prioritize its field audit workload, and automate functions where possible in order to increase efficiency.
A1003
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DOR staff. The agency's response follows the appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
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State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 14, 2004
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
At the request of the departments of Commerce and Administration, and to meet our audit responsibilities under s.
13.94, Wis. Stats., we have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2003. We were able to express our unqualified opinion on the Statement of Changes in Program Assets and related notes.
Under the Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program, the State issues revenue obligations, such as bonds and commercial paper, to provide financing for payment of claims under the Wisconsin Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Award (PECFA) program. The obligations are not general obligation debt of the State. Instead, the revenue obligations are to be repaid from the $0.03 per gallon fee charged suppliers for petroleum products sold in Wisconsin and collected by the Department of Revenue.
Between January 2000, when the Petroleum Inspection Fee Revenue Obligations Program was created, and June 30, 2004, the State issued $387.6 million in revenue obligations to pay PECFA claims and to address a backlog of approved but unpaid PECFA claims. The backlog of PECFA claims from prior years has largely been eliminated, and as of June 30, 2004, only $3.9 million in approved claims were awaiting payment and approximately $12.1 million in additional claims had been received but not yet approved for payment. In addition, landowners had incurred an estimated $66.2 million in costs for which reimbursement claims had not yet been submitted.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us during the audit by staff of the departments of Commerce, Administration, and Revenue.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
