Legislators need to cap oversight costs on new fund

This editorial appears in the Oct. 29, 2009, Yakima Herald-Republic

It has the ring of a biblical commandment: Lawmakers giveth and state agencies taketh away.

That appears to be the case with the recent $800,000 lawmakers appropriated to help the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences train new doctors over the next two years.

To pay for oversight of this new program, the Higher Education Coordinating Board in Olympia carved out a 10 percent fee. The $80,000 in administrative costs will pay for staff in Olympia to devote eight hours a week, or 32 hours a month, to track how the rest of the $720,000 is being spent by the medical school in Yakima.

Rep. Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, who helped to secure the funding in the waning days of this year's legislative session, said he was outraged by the fees. He called it inflated and argued the agency, which administers funding programs for students and assists colleges with academic courses, is simply trying to patch holes in its operating budget. The HEC Board had $1.2 million to cut from its $7 million budget earlier this year.

Anger over the fees extended across the political aisle. The chairwoman of the Health Care and Wellness committee also said the HEC Board had overstepped.

"I think it's silly," Rep. Eileen Cody, D-Seattle, said of the fees.

In its defense, the HEC Board has put forth several persuasive arguments. First, this is a new role for the agency, overseeing training that's paid for directly from the state's budget. That's why the board set aside 10 percent for costs, which is at the high end of what's customarily assessed by other state agencies.

In addition, the HEC Board says it will plow back any remaining funds to the general fund if administrative costs are less than projected.

While we are sympathetic to the extra workload being placed on the HEC Board, we are far from convinced that the 10 percent charged is warranted. Oversight is necessary, but setting aside $40,000 for what the board claims will be some 48 days of auditing work per year is excessive.

Lawmakers should be distraught, but they also must share some of the blame since they failed to put limits on administrative costs when they passed the legislation. That's hardly laudable oversight on their part. What they need to do now is ensure that the HEC Board keeps its auditing expenses within limits.

Likewise, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences must also keep a close eye on how it spends the $720,000. That money will be used to oversee the training of third- and fourth-year medical students during their clinical rotations and to promote osteopathic physician services to rural areas. Like the auditing required of the HEC Board, this training and outreach program is new for the medical school.

If they both do their jobs responsibly, we would expect the HEC Board to be returning some of its administrative fees to the general fund and the medical school to make new in-roads into outlying communities.

That means lawmakers will also have to perform their due diligence. Only then will we be able to call this new program a success.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.

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