Govt receivables total $312M

The CNMI’s government’s gross receivables reached $312 million as of Sept. 30, 2003, according to an independent firm’s audit report issued in May this year.

The Deloitte & Touche report for fiscal year 2003, which was only released to the media recently, said that the primary government’s receivables, including “uncollectibles,” totaled $118 million, while component units or the autonomous agencies gross receivables totaled $194 million.

Receivables are funds that should have been received or collected by the government.

The primary government, which consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial offices, listed $75 million as uncollectibles or accounts that are more than 90 days delinquent as of Sept. 30, 2003, resulting in net receivables of $43 million.

The component units, which consists of the Public School System, Commonwealth Ports Authority, Commonwealth Development Authority, Commonwealth Utilities Corp., Northern Marianas College, Marianas Public Lands Trust, Marianas Public Lands Authority, and Marianas Visitors Authority, recorded $121 million in uncollectibles, resulting in net receivables of $73 million.

Meantime, the primary government’s records showed $20 million receivables from federal agencies, $78 million from other agencies, $18 million in taxes, $1.1 million in “general” and $728,200 from “others.”

The uncollectibles of $75 million was under the General Fund, leaving only $21.4 million net receivables under that category.

Other receivables for the government include $6 million in federal grant funds, $14.1 million in Department of the Interior capital projects funds, $575,087 in NMTIT Rebate Trust Fund, and $925,428 in non-major funds.

For component units, CPA recorded gross receivables of $5.5 million; CDA, $144 million; CUC, $20 million; MPLT, $619,978; MPLA, $15.9 million; NMC, $3 million; PSS, $4.6 million; and MVA, $98,342.

In terms of uncollectibles, CPA listed $1.3 million; CDA, $93.3 million; CUC, $8.5 million; MPLA, $15 million; NMC, $2.2 million; and PSS, $98,577.

In its reports, Deloitte & Touche said the huge receivables may be attributed to the government’s lack of procedures to evaluate “the propriety and collectivity of recorded receivables.”

The auditing firm reported a $118.4 million budget deficit by the government as of Sept. 30, 2003. It said that the General Fund’s total “unreserved fund balance deficit” totaled $118.4 million, which is an increase of $13.3 percent from the prior year’s deficit.

Records showed that the government has been incurring deficits since the beginning of the Commonwealth. When the single audit was implemented in fiscal year 1986, the budget deficit was recorded at $25 million.

A deficit is usually incurred when the government spends more than it collects.