Report 2015-119 Recommendation 3 Responses
Report 2015-119: State Board of Equalization: Its Tobacco Tax Enforcement Efforts Are Effective and Properly Funded, but Other Funding Options and Cost Savings Are Possible (Release Date: March 2016)
Recommendation #3 To: Equalization, Board of
The special taxes division should amend its budgeting process to reflect actual work that supervisors and support staff perform instead of adjusting staff members' predetermined allocations of time to ensure that the division does not exceed each program's budget.
6-Month Agency Response
The Special Taxes divisions have amended the time reporting processes for supervisory and support positions to be consistent with the BOE Time Reporting Manual regarding prorated time codes. The BOE Time Reporting Manual states:
"When time is spent on assignments involving more than one tax program and/or function and it is impractical to make an exact distribution of time, the time should be prorated according to a pattern which is representative of the individual employee's actual working conditions. The pattern may be based on records of actual hours worked or work counts during a sample period. The pattern should be updated annually or when changing conditions indicate the pattern may no longer be representative."
Staff analyzed actual hours worked throughout the various branches within the Special Taxes Divisions to determine the proration that is now used. The proration for supervisors and support staff is directly related to the work completed and hours charged to Special Taxes programs by each branch. The new prorated time codes were implemented for the May 2016 pay period and will be re-analyzed at the end of each fiscal year to ensure the proration reflects actual working conditions.
- Completion Date: May 2016
- Response Date: September 2016
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented
60-Day Agency Response
The Special Taxes divisions will amend time reporting processes for supervisory and support positions to be consistent with the BOE Time Reporting Manual regarding prorated time codes. The BOE Time Reporting Manual states:
"When time is spent on assignments involving more than one tax program and/or function and it is impractical to make an exact distribution of time, the time should be prorated according to a pattern which is representative of the individual employee's actual working conditions. The pattern may be based on records of actual hours worked or work counts during a sample period. The pattern should be updated annually or when changing conditions indicate the pattern may no longer be representative."
Staff is currently analyzing actual hours worked throughout the various branches within the Special Taxes Divisions to determine the proration that will be used. The proration for supervisors and support staff will be directly related to the work completed and hours charged to Special Taxes programs by each branch. It is estimated that the new prorated time codes will be used starting with the June 2016 pay period and will be re-analyzed at the end of each fiscal year to ensure the proration reflect actual working conditions.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 2016 + each FY
- Response Date: April 2016
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2015-119
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.