Midwest Exec Report

MIDWEST AREA EXECUTIVE REPORT

December 2008

Thought I’d make good use of my time in the airport by writing an article for the newsletter.  I can only read about the bad economy so long.  The NASCOE Exec board just completed its fall meeting with FSA management.  The main purpose of this meeting is to review the items that management said they would address during the spring negotiation session as well as, unanswered questions from the National convention.

We arrived Monday and conducted NASCOE business that evening reviewing the items and discussing other issues that had come up since the organizational meeting in September and our October Conference call.

These meetings were unique because as political appointees many of the department heads will be gone in two months so there is little they will be able to do.  Plus the fact that there is a transition team coming in will further restrict their activities. Tuesday morning we met with Administrator, Teresa Lasseter.  We discussed a few things that she was still hoping to do before she leaves in early January.

One item to get done is the PT Office review.  Three counties are being reviewed in one state in each NASCOE area.   NASCOE hopes that after these reviews are completed in early December.  Barbara Boyd from HRD hopes to have the findings put together and be able to report on them by mid January.  Barbara reported that they are finding some positive things but it has to be determined whether they will result in a higher classification.

The administrator also emphasized that we need to show we are not making improper payments.  If required forms are not completed or completed incorrectly, the payments associated with those forms are considered improper.  FSA was identified as doing an excellent job improving on this however there NAP and disaster programs were still problem areas. With the possibility of USDA reorganization coming, we need to show that we can do the job and do it properly.

The Budget was a topic throughout all of our meetings. Our travel budget is 75% of last year’s budget which will make it difficult to do the face to face training we all want. The limited budget will also force FSA to determine what the priorities will be for software development with some of those items put on the back burner.

Dennis Taitano, head of the Budget division, said funding for staff will remain the same as it did for 2008 however FSA needs to absorb $56 million more because of COLAs and other pay adjustments. It is hoped that when the budget is finalized we will get pay increase adjustments. He did say that in Senate stimulus bill S368 there is $171 million appropriated for modernization and maintenance of computers and systems required for Farm Bill implementation. It has been emphasized to congress that the program delivery system could be a significant risk the second half of the fiscal year if we don’t get supplemental income.

Patrick Hanley, head of the MIDAS project had some good news.  He is optimistic that he will get funding for software development but in the mean time he and his staff are reviewing and addressing other items that will help eliminate some of the “pain points” the field is dealing with in program delivery.  The 770 checklist has been revised to require only a signature by the preparer instead a date and initial by each entry. Also “by “or “for” will now be printed on the signature line for all applications. These simple changes were identified as things that caused the field offices problems during the Lean Six Sigma offices reviews last year. The changes will make us more efficient and address some IPIA issues.

Signature authority requirements are also being reviewed and it is hoped that the revised 902 payment limitation form will relieve the field staff of the responsibility of making legal determinations.  It was estimated that county office spent an average of two hours verifying signature authorities. The other project his group is working on is acreage rounding between the GIS and system 36 systems. All though these could be small things in the big picture, they will help address some significant problems we are dealing with in the field.

FSA is in a state of flux right now because of the change in administration. We don’t know who will be leading FSA or what the priorities of the Obama administration will be.  Hopefully some of the things we have been working like PT reclassification will continue in a positive direction.

USDA reorganization is still being mentioned but the discussion of the extent and when is still a ways off.  NASCOE has provided information to Chairman Peterson at his request.

During the next few months we will be dealing with a lot of new programs.  We will find lots of problems and things that don’t work or can be improved. I encourage you to work through NASCOE using the Programs Committee or the Negotiation process to help inform management of those issues and get them addressed. Forms are available on the NASCOE web site that can be used to submit items.

I wish to thank everyone for their support of the NASCOE leadership and encourage you to keep us informed of your concerns and issues.  Enjoy the upcoming holiday season and be safe in your travels.

Take care,

Jonathan Williams

Midwest Area Exec     

QUOTES

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.   – Unknown

Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.  – Mike Ditka