Front Page  news  state

Friday, November 16, 2007

DOT's Federal Aid Could Be Held

By Trip Jennings
Journal Capitol Bureau
    SANTA FE— New Mexico could see $300 million in federal transportation aid suspended because the state's year-old computer system isn't properly tracking expenses, a new Federal Highway Administration report says.
    The Oct. 24 report says the suspension of federal reimbursements could occur as early as this month unless the state's so-called SHARE system starts accurately tracking payroll costs and capital assets, such as land or buildings related to projects eligible for federal aid.
    The report was issued after a federal audit on SHARE conducted this summer.
    The federal government reimburses the state each year for expenses of highway and other transportation projects.
    Any loss of federal transportation aid would exacerbate an already bad situation for New Mexico. Lawmakers were told last month that the state's two high-profile transportation programs, known as GRIP I and II, are short by more than $500 million needed to complete all their projects.
    State transportation spokesman S.U. Mahesh said Thursday he doesn't expect the state to lose any federal money and his agency will roll out a solution soon to the computer system problems.
    "We expect to receive every penny of this money as we move forward and address FHWA's concerns as they relate to SHARE," Mahesh said in an interview.
    Concerns about the state transportation agency's conversion to SHARE on July 1, 2006, were well documented. Prior to the conversion, an analysis done by Gartner Consulting said that while most New Mexico agencies were ready, the Department of Transportation agency was not.
    Mahesh said the state transportation agency "made a conscious decision to participate in SHARE" despite the warnings.
    The threatened suspension of federal funds has caused state officials to start talking about how to fix SHARE to properly account for transportation expenses.
    Such a fix would require money, but no one knows how much, said state finance secretary Katherine Miller and state controller Anthony Armijo. Some people have put the estimate into the millions of dollars.
    A fix, whatever it might cost, would add to the $28 million New Mexico already has spent on SHARE, which replaced more than 70 human resources and accounting programs used across state government.
    There are more possible SHARE-related expenses on the horizon.
    The state Department of Information Technology is asking the Legislature to approve $935,000 during the 2008 session for state worker training in SHARE, including classroom and customized one-on-one training for agencies, spokesman Andy Lenderman said.
    It would supplement earlier training, Lenderman said.
    State Treasurer James Lewis also is asking lawmakers for $280,000.
    Currently, SHARE does not compute the average daily balance of the state's 150 self-earning accounts, causing agency employees to do it manually, Lewis said. The money would pay for an analysis to help the treasurer's office decide how to remedy the problem, Lewis said.
    SHARE also might contribute to a delay in the completion of independent audits that analyze state agency's books.
    Some wonder if the problem-plagued SHARE system recorded every state financial transaction accurately. If not, it would make it harder for the auditors to track the flow of money through state government, state officials said.