Under supplementary appropriations, Mr. Chairman, in last year's report, the committee stated its concern that some departments were circumventing the budgetary planning process by relying on supplementary appropriations as an integral part of the budgetary and planning cycle. It was felt by the committee that the majority of these departments were aware or should have been aware that additional funding was likely to be required and by using the supplementary appropriations, the departments denied the committee and the government the opportunity to gain a full understanding of the funding problems facing the departments.
The committee is pleased that in this fiscal year the government has not relied on supplementary appropriations. The appropriations now appear to be largely used for the purpose for which they were created, that is to deal with fiscal issues which are unforeseen or cannot be accurately planned for.
Division
Realizing that the issues mentioned in the Auditor General's Report regarding preparations for division will have to be settled at the political level, the committee appreciated the comptroller general's comments and update on how division planning was proceeding. The committee will be closely monitoring these ongoing issues.
The next area is revenues, receivables, and receipts management. Mr. Chairman, the Auditor General's report listed several concerns with the way the various government departments handled revenues. The committee was generally satisfied with the government's response to the concerns outlined in the Auditor General's Report. Committee Members agreed that the contracting out of the lesser value receivables to private collection agencies was a positive step and would free up the Financial Management Board Secretariat collection agents to pursue the higher-value receivables.
The committee would like to express some scepticism about a $300,000 cost estimate attached to the upgrade of the financial information system to enable the system to calculate and add interest to overdue accounts. The committee feels that by not calculating and adding interest to the overdue accounts, the government is missing out on a revenue generator, as well as a tool to encourage timely account payment. It was noted that the NWT Power Corporation charged interest on overdue accounts and that there may be a possibility for the government to make use of the Power Corporation's program. The committee also had the same concerns as the Auditor General's office with respect to the handling of cash at the local and regional levels. With the privatization of some government services, it was felt by the committee that the government needed to tightly monitor the deposit requirements to ensure any cash reporting deficiencies were discovered and dealt with in a timely, efficient manner.