Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Mid-Year Review (MYR) and End-of-Year Performance Certification

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

May 6, 2020

In Reply Refer To:
1680 (850) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 05/11/2020
Instruction Memorandum No. 2020-023
Expires:  09/30/2020

To:                  Assistant Directors (AD), State Directors (SD), and Center Directors (CD)
 

From:              Assistant Director, Business, Fiscal and Information Resources Management
 

Subject:           Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Mid-Year Review (MYR) and End-of-Year Performance Certification                               DD:  04/30/2020; 05/07/2020; 10/16/2020

Program Area:  All program areas.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) transmits guidance for conducting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) FY 2020 MYR and the End-of-Year Performance Certification.

Administrative or Mission Related:  Administrative.

Policy/Action: 

A.  Mid-Year Review

The MYR analysis of States/Centers/Washington Office (WO) Directorates will be conducted primarily by the WO Division of Budget (WO-880) and national leads with WO Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) review.  The budget and performance data contained in the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS) and the Performance Management Data System (PMDS) as of March 31, 2020, will be the primary sources of information used in the MYR to evaluate BLM spending and performance.  The WO staff will focus on sub-activity spending, program element (PE) usage, special emphasis programs, and Bureau-wide expenditures.

State/Center Actions: 

1.  Identify any sub-activity where carryover is expected to be greater than 2%, or any sub-activity projected to be overspent.  Please report fund status by source year (i.e. 18X for 2018, 19X for 2019 and 20X for 2020).  Use Attachment 1, Above 2% or Overspent.

2.  Report obligation rates for the Management of Lands and Resources (MLR) and Fire (LF100 and LF310) sub-activities.  If any sub-activity is greater than 60% obligated, or less than 40% obligated, please provide a short statement identifying the reason and the expected resolution date.  Use Attachment 2, Budget Obligation Rates.

3.  State/Centers may seek exchange of funds among States and Offices.  Use Attachment 3, Funds Exchange Request.  Contact the WO Budget Officer directly for any reprogramming requests.

4.  Workload Measure/PE Review:  Negotiations for workload targets were conducted as part of the FY 2020 Planning Target Allocation (PTA) process and those negotiated targets were locked for the year in PMDS.  Any additional changes or modifications to targets to reflect shifts in funding or priority should have an explanation of those changes and adjustments entered into PMDS using the Mid-Year Projected Accomplishment Update by Cost Center or by Functional Areas.  Data entered into PMDS by March 31, 2020 must be accurate and verifiable and will be used to report status to date for the MYR.  Identify any PE/Sub-activity combination which will not meet 90 percent of the original target or will exceed 110 percent of the original target.  Use Attachment 4, PE Workload Accomplishments.

5.  Special Emphasis Items:  The following programs of interest require State/Center feedback.

a.  Wild Horse and Burro:  Please provide the following information:  a) number of gathers accomplished and planned for the rest of the year; b) number of sales and adoptions accomplished and planned for the rest of the year, and c) obligations YTD for gathers.  Use Attachment 5, Wild Horse and Burro Accomplishments. 

b.  Dingell Act:  The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 is an omnibus lands act that protected public lands and modified management provisions.  Please provide a list of projects funded, or planned, to meet the requirements of the Dingell Act.  Include name of project, description, location, sub-activity used, and amount obligated or planned to be obligated.  Use Attachment 6, Dingell Act Requirements.

WO Directorate Actions:

Performance Measure Targets:  Performance measure targets established using PE information from the PTA process will be used during the MYR to determine, to the extent possible, whether performance will fall short of the targets or will exceed targets.  The WO program lead responsible for each performance measure should identify the targets that will be exceeded, or will not be met, to the WO-880 Budget Office.  Identify any bureau-wide PE/Sub-activity combination which will not meet 90 percent of the original target or will exceed 110 percent of the original target using Attachment 7, Performance Evaluaion Measure Adjustments may need to be made during the MYR process to help the BLM meet the established targets.  This is especially critical when anticipated bureau-wide end-of-year accomplishments will affect the ability to meet national performance measure targets.  In the event that this review reveals performance issues, the WO-880 analysts will work with the national program leads and the States/Centers to address them. 

B.  End-of-Year Performance Certification

The performance measure data and workload accomplishment data are used to report performance for the BLM in the annual Performance Accountability Report, the Budget Justifications, and various other budget documents.  In addition, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires all agencies to describe the means by which performance data will be validated and verified in annual performance plans.  In FY 2020, the State/Center Offices have access to PMDS until close of business on September 30th so that all performance accomplishments can be reported as actual numbers instead of estimates.

State/Center/WO Directorate Actions: 

Each Assistant Director (AD), State Director (SD), and Center Director (CD) is directed to ensure that performance data entered into the PMDS is timely and accurate and that it can be easily validated and verified. Validation refers to the process of assessing the degree to which the data collected is a true reflection of the performance being measured and has a clear relationship to the mission of the organization. Verification is the process of assessing the accuracy, completeness, availability, and internal control practices that serve to determine the overall reliability of the data collected. Any data calls from program leads in the WO that are necessary prior to reporting on performance measure data should be completed in a timely fashion to prevent delay in the EOY process.  To accomplish the end-of-year certification process, complete Attachment 8, Validation and Verification Checklist, and Attachment 9, Certification Memorandum.

Timeframe:  States/Centers are to submit their budget responses using the formats provided in the attachments to WO-880, Attention Beverly Chappelle and Wayne Allen, by April 30, 2020.  Submit workload measures to Alice Grise by April 30, 2020.  National program leads are to submit their consolidated performance reviews by May 7, 2020 to Beverly Chappelle, Wayne Allen, and Alice Grise.  All submissions should be complete and transmitted as one package.  A package received piecemeal could result in items being misplaced or overlooked.

Budget Impact:  Timely review of budget and performance data promotes efficient, mission-focused execution of the BLM budget.

Background:  In today’s economic climate, government managers are under increased pressure to ensure the most effective use of fiscal resources provided by the American taxpayer. The increased scrutiny the DOI and the BLM receive indicates the necessity for accurate and timely reporting of obligations and accomplishments. Through this reporting, the BLM can demonstrate the successful management of all mission-critical programs and activities and justify the need for adequate fiscal resources to continue important work on the ground.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None

Coordination:  This IM has been coordinated with the WO Directorates.

Contact:  For budget questions please contact Beverly Chappelle, Budget Analyst at 202-912-7051 or Wayne Allen, Branch Chief for Budget Execution at 202-912-7054.  For performance questions please contact Alice Grise, Management Analyst at 202-912-7621.  For general or procedural questions please contact Mary Laub, Acting Budget Officer, at 202-912-7076.

Signed by:                                                       Authenticated by:
Nikki Haskett                                                  Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director,                                          Division of Regulatory Affairs,WO-630
Business and Fiscal Resources

9 Attachments

            1 - Above 2% or Overspent (1 p)

            2 - Budget Obligation Rates (1 p)

            3 - Funds Exchange Request (1 p)

            4 - PE Workload Accomplishments (1 p)

            5 - Wild Horse and Burro Accomplishments (1 p)

            6 - Dingell Act Requirements (1 p)

            7 - Performance Measure Evaluation (1 p)

            8 - Validation and Verification Checklist (8 pp)

            9 - Certification Memorandum (1 p)