Funding of Constitutional Officers - Virginia Joint Legislative Audit ...

elpr€~Sentjng each local government's relative ability to generate revenues which
for constitutional office services. This information was used in determiitling
local shares of local-responsibility costs. The purpose of the analysis was to
ae-veJ,on a measure which could be used to ensure that the proportion of available local
resources required to provide the services would not vary greatly across ~v,-"a.u\,.u: ..'.
State and Local Fees Analysis. As another means of addressing tax equity,
..uL>...."""' staff assessed, on the basis of assigned responsibility for service costs, the
extent to which the State and local governments should benefit from fees collected by
constitutional officers. In FY 1989, fee revenues from all constitutional officers
amounted to $35.5 million. By restructuring the distribution offee revenues based on
responsibility for service costs, revenues would more closely match the need for funds
to cover service costs.
Administrative Structures Analysis. To address the funding goal ofaccountability,
JLARC staffdeveloped a system offunding administration that ensures recognition
of appropriate costs by the State while enhancing local decisionmaking and
accountability to the State and local governments. The analysis was based on the
specific concerns about the current process, and the administrative requirements for a
funding approach based on staffing standards and objective measures ofability to pay.
Outcomes of the Analysis
To evaluate the interaction and impact of the various components of the
analysis, JLARC staff developed computer models to calculate costs for each constitutional
office, and to determine the State and local shares of the costs. To assess the
impact of the changes in the system on the funding for each office, the models can be
used to vary certain choices, such as average base salaries, salary increases, a cost of
competing factor for personnel, fringe benefits, and State and local shares of service
costs. Thus, the computer models are a tool which can be used by the General
Assembly and the Compensation Board to determine the specific funding impact of
proposed changes to the funding process. Two examples ofhow the models can be used
are shown in Appendix E.
REPORT ORGANIZATION
This chapter has provided background information on the study mandate, the
need for changes to the funding process, and the approach for evaluating funding
distribution changes. Chapter II addresses how the staffing costs associated with all
constitutional offices can be calculated. It presents an approach for estimating these
costs identifies alternative cost choices.
presents an approach for addressing what portions ofcosts should
the State and the local governments. It examines methods to determine the
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