Good article...
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 3:46 pm
Merged state agency under fire
Critics say funding issues imperil mission of Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
When Gov. Jennifer Granholm merged Michigan's two conservation-oriented agencies into a single entity as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE), it was done with the promise of improved stewardship of land, water and wildlife.
But as negotiations for the new agency's first budget get under way, critics say the merger has done little to stem the state's declining ability to protect its natural resources. At a time when natural resources may be the state's best selling point and means of attracting tourism and industry, many conservationists feel Michigan's government may be giving those assets short shrift.
"It's unfortunately a combination of two underfunded agencies into one bigger underfunded agency," said James Clift, policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council. "So we're continuing to see the erosion of their ability to fulfill their basic mission."
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The fallout is everywhere: State campgrounds have closed. The number of deer check stations has been reduced. Funding for cleaning up abandoned industrial sites is gone, and funding for addressing underground storage tanks is going fast. It's taking longer for the department to process environmental permits for businesses and fewer personnel mean a reduced ability to oversee those businesses.
The merger of the departments earlier this year appears to continue the downward trend, say conservationists. As of mid-April, the combined agencies have lost 14 percent of their full-time work force in the last 13 years. And while the gross budgets for both have stayed relatively consistent in recent years, the makeup of the funding has changed dramatically.
Funding for the departments comes from three areas:
• Revenues generated through user fees, which can be used only for specific purposes
• Federal funds that often require the state to provide a match and are earmarked for specific purposes
• General fund dollars that department administrators have control over
Without declining general fund dollars, the departments have made up revenue by increasing fees in many cases -- a move that can make parks and other state services too pricey for some residents.
"There are number of programs in the past where we didn't charge fees at all," said Bob McCann, and MDNRE spokesman "There is a direct impact on taxpayers from having to go to a fee-based funding program like that."
And without the discretionary spending, things such as deer check stations wind up closing down. And that's bad news say members of the hunting and conservation communities.
Ted Rutkowksi, a Hamtramck resident and avid hunter and fisherman, said: "You're not going to get a real decent count of the deer being taken and their health." State officials utilize the data collected at those stations to help set their strategies for managing the deer populations.
In 2002, the Michigan Legislature allocated a combined $153 million in general fund spending to DEQ and DNR. The proposed general fund allocation for 2010, the first year of the MDNRE, is $42.1 million. That includes roughly $7 million that is earmarked for operating the state's Department of History, Arts and Libraries -- a department Granholm dismantled in 2009.
"We've also had a significant decline in staff," said James Kasprzak, chief of the MDNRE financial and business services division. "In our air quality program, just in this current fiscal year, we've dropped 14 positions in permitting and inspection."
Combined, the DEQ and DNR had 3,137.5 filled positions in 1997. As of April 17, the new combined agency has 2,697.5 filled positions.
Rachel Kuntzsch, executive director of Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy, has monitored Michigan's declining financial commitment to green issues in recent years. In 2008, her organization published a study that showed what emphasis Michigan placed on preserving its natural resources.
"Michigan is among the national leaders in terms of the amount and diversity of natural resources, land cover ... ," the report says. "However, Michigan is at the bottom in terms of how much it spends to protect those resources."
To Kuntzsch, the rerouting of conservation spending is equivalent to Michigan shooting itself in the foot.
"In Michigan, we've shifted the balance to where we're so heavily funding things like corrections, that we've made huge dramatic cuts on education and conservation and natural resources," she said. "If you look at what's going to attract the next generation of workers to this state, it's not what we're funding."
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100621/POL ... z0rWDsN0gv
Critics say funding issues imperil mission of Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
When Gov. Jennifer Granholm merged Michigan's two conservation-oriented agencies into a single entity as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE), it was done with the promise of improved stewardship of land, water and wildlife.
But as negotiations for the new agency's first budget get under way, critics say the merger has done little to stem the state's declining ability to protect its natural resources. At a time when natural resources may be the state's best selling point and means of attracting tourism and industry, many conservationists feel Michigan's government may be giving those assets short shrift.
"It's unfortunately a combination of two underfunded agencies into one bigger underfunded agency," said James Clift, policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council. "So we're continuing to see the erosion of their ability to fulfill their basic mission."
Advertisement
The fallout is everywhere: State campgrounds have closed. The number of deer check stations has been reduced. Funding for cleaning up abandoned industrial sites is gone, and funding for addressing underground storage tanks is going fast. It's taking longer for the department to process environmental permits for businesses and fewer personnel mean a reduced ability to oversee those businesses.
The merger of the departments earlier this year appears to continue the downward trend, say conservationists. As of mid-April, the combined agencies have lost 14 percent of their full-time work force in the last 13 years. And while the gross budgets for both have stayed relatively consistent in recent years, the makeup of the funding has changed dramatically.
Funding for the departments comes from three areas:
• Revenues generated through user fees, which can be used only for specific purposes
• Federal funds that often require the state to provide a match and are earmarked for specific purposes
• General fund dollars that department administrators have control over
Without declining general fund dollars, the departments have made up revenue by increasing fees in many cases -- a move that can make parks and other state services too pricey for some residents.
"There are number of programs in the past where we didn't charge fees at all," said Bob McCann, and MDNRE spokesman "There is a direct impact on taxpayers from having to go to a fee-based funding program like that."
And without the discretionary spending, things such as deer check stations wind up closing down. And that's bad news say members of the hunting and conservation communities.
Ted Rutkowksi, a Hamtramck resident and avid hunter and fisherman, said: "You're not going to get a real decent count of the deer being taken and their health." State officials utilize the data collected at those stations to help set their strategies for managing the deer populations.
In 2002, the Michigan Legislature allocated a combined $153 million in general fund spending to DEQ and DNR. The proposed general fund allocation for 2010, the first year of the MDNRE, is $42.1 million. That includes roughly $7 million that is earmarked for operating the state's Department of History, Arts and Libraries -- a department Granholm dismantled in 2009.
"We've also had a significant decline in staff," said James Kasprzak, chief of the MDNRE financial and business services division. "In our air quality program, just in this current fiscal year, we've dropped 14 positions in permitting and inspection."
Combined, the DEQ and DNR had 3,137.5 filled positions in 1997. As of April 17, the new combined agency has 2,697.5 filled positions.
Rachel Kuntzsch, executive director of Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy, has monitored Michigan's declining financial commitment to green issues in recent years. In 2008, her organization published a study that showed what emphasis Michigan placed on preserving its natural resources.
"Michigan is among the national leaders in terms of the amount and diversity of natural resources, land cover ... ," the report says. "However, Michigan is at the bottom in terms of how much it spends to protect those resources."
To Kuntzsch, the rerouting of conservation spending is equivalent to Michigan shooting itself in the foot.
"In Michigan, we've shifted the balance to where we're so heavily funding things like corrections, that we've made huge dramatic cuts on education and conservation and natural resources," she said. "If you look at what's going to attract the next generation of workers to this state, it's not what we're funding."
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100621/POL ... z0rWDsN0gv