Mayor Belen: City performed well
DESPITE SERIOUS DEFICIT
DESPITE an almost empty coffer she inherited from the previous administration, Mayor Belen Fernandez managed not only to pull the city through but to move forward establishing meaningful people-oriented projects.
The mayor unabashedly attributed her success in achieving significant gains in her first 100 days to three effective fiscal programs she instituted.
This was gleaned from Fernandez’ “First 100 Days “ report to the people of Dagupan last week that listed accomplishments in all areas of endeavor, particularly in social services which she chose to give top priority.
“Dagupenos should not be deprived of the necessary services just because of our financial managers’ report that the city is cash-strapped,” the mayor said.
She reported that the city managed to score well in nutrition, health, basic education, in the fight against illegal drugs, assistance to senior citizens and persons with disabilities, poverty alleviation, disaster preparedness, waste management, its program to clean rivers and minimize the flooding, infrastructure and others despite slashed budgets.
Fernandez, who took the helm in July, applied cost-cutting and revenue measures to save her administration and proceeded to permanently correct the system by directing the adoption of Zero Budgeting for the 2014 city annual appropriations.
Noting a big deficit of P23 million left by the Lim administration after the latter paid expenditures for 2012 out of the 2013 budget, a practice disallowed by the Commission on Audit, Fernandez said she had to rely on her own managerial experience as a businesswoman to devise schemes to cope with the tight money situation in order to save a sinking ship.
Adding woes to her young administration was the fact that appropriations for different programs were practically fully exhausted in the first six months of the year.
COST-CUTTING
To pull Dagupan in safer water, Fernandez ordered the adoption of a combination of cost-cutting and revenue generating measures.
Considered as the most significant of the many cost-cutting measures is the reduction of the city’s payroll. Fernandez said the number of technical consultants in the city was reduced from 69 to 19, and emergency workers (EWs) from 777 to 430.
In downsizing the workforce, she said she discovered that a number of those who included in the payroll were persons who were not aware that they were employed and their salaries were being pocketed by senior officials of the Lim administration.
(Earlier, The PUNCH also determined that several EWs were actually personal employees of some consultants).
The mayor that said cases of malversation and estafa and falsification of public document were clearly committed had directed the City Legal Office to look into the filing of the cases in court against responsible officials.
The savings from the downsizing she said were re-allocated to more significant programs and projects of bigger impact to the people of Dagupan. (See sidebar story and her “First 100 Days” Report in this issue).
In addition to the cost-cutting, the mayor’s proposal to shelve the proposed Lying-in Clinic and Tsunami Hill was unanimously supported by the City Development Council.
This resulted in the realignment of budgets of the two projects for more urgent and impact programs for the city.
The CDC decided to shelve hospital project upon learning that the Department of Education turned down the plan for the relocate pupils to give way to the P37-million peso Lying-in Hospital.
On the other hand, though the Phase 1 of Tsunami Hill was already fully paid by the previous administration for its partial completion, CDC supported Fernandez’s plan to stop it due to the questionable structural integrity of the project.
Instead, the constructed portion of a large circular structure that was intended to serve as the base of the proposed Tsunami Hill, will be converted into a tree park to improve the environment in Pugaro Island.
Further on cost-cutting, Fernandez trimmed down the gas expenses from the middle of May when she took over as acting mayor from P1.9 million to P544,000, a P54 per cent improvement.
She pointed out that the mayor’s office does not need the P.5 M in monthly gas allowances to operate, citing the P488,000 gas bill of the mayor’s office in April alone.
On overtime pay, Fernandez promptly called for a moratorium on overtime of employees.
From almost a million pesos paid monthly in overtime, the city now pays an average of P71,000 only. For the period July to September alone, her administration paid only P200,000 compared to the P6.32 million or an average of P1.05 M in overtime expense in the first six months of the year.
Fernandez said that in strict compliance with COA rules, procurement expenses had been severely cut. She wondered how the city could order the payment of P14 for a non-essential office supply like a rolled tissue paper that only costs P4.
REVENUE GENERATION
On revenue generation, Fernandez said that focus on collection from various sources from July to September 2013 has resulted in the generation of P46.122 million compared to the P42.461 million for the same period last year.
“Not only did our first 100 days generate an improvement of 8.6 percent, we were also able to prove that we can transform a low performing department into a dependable money generator,” said Fernandez, referring to the City Market Division.
Thus market cash ticket collection increased progressively since July when the collection reached P634,000 as compared to P400,000 for the same period last year or an increase of 55 percent.
In August, the collection reached P1.3 million as compared to P345,00 last year. In September, the collection was P1.5 million in contrast to P464,000 last year.
Summing up, Fernandez said the city only collected an average of P13,000 per day in July 2012, but her administration started with P20,000 average daily; in August 2012, collection averaged only P11,000 daily compared to P41,000 this year. Finally in in September 2012, the city only collected P15,000 daily, but last month averaged more than P50,00 a day.
The mayor said several malpractices during the past administration were discovered that partly resulted in dismal low collection of cash tickets. She has since instructed the treasury department to order cash tickets only from the National Printing Office (NPO) to ensure their authenticity.
To stop the malpractices, the mayor said she assigned additional inspectors “to inspect inspectors” in addition to making collection three shifts a day in contrast to the old policy of once a day collection, and collectors are now required to remit their collections daily.
To further set the tone of her administration, the mayor advised the Local Finance Committee to work closely with department heads to begin using Zero Budgeting and Bottom-up budgeting in preparing the 2014 budget which she estimated to be in the range of P600 million.
“As a home-grown businesswoman, I have always believed that it is not the size of your capital that ensures growth and success but the number and efficiency of your turnover,” the mayor said.
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