Latest news with #BudgetOffice
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Calls for transparency around cross-border project funds
There is significant scope to enhance transparency around funding for cross-border projects, one of the Government's key policy programmes, the Parliamentary Budget Office has stated. More than €2 billion has been pledged to the Shared Ireland Initiative over the period from 2021 to 2035. However, the report by the Budget Office found that there was currently a disjointed approach to financial reporting on the Shared Island Fund. More than €550 million has been committed to date but the Budget Office stated that it was unclear how much of this funding has been allocated at this point. The Shared Ireland Initiative is aiming to promote cooperation across the island of Ireland. Some of the funding commitments include €600 million for the A5 North-West transport corridor, the construction of the Narrow Water Bridge along with a contribution towards the redevelopment of Casement Park. A Government spokesperson said all allocations from the Shared Island Fund are reported on in Dáil statements, parliamentary question replies and in the Initiative's annual reports. They said the Department of the Taoiseach will consider the Parliamentary Budget Office report in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and NDP Delivery and Reform. "More detailed project-level reporting on Shared Island Fund allocations would need to take account of the fact that individual Departments are responsible for management of and reporting of funds within their votes, including from the Shared Island Fund," the spokesperson said.
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Financial system overhaul
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has pledged sweeping changes to the nation's financial sector, including a major overhaul of key ministries, in a bid to decentralize power and strengthen legislative oversight. Central to the plan is restructuring the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The budgeting function would be split and placed under the control of the president or prime minister, creating a separate Budget Office alongside a new Ministry of Economy. A broader shake-up of the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service is also under review. The FSC's policy role would shift to the new ministry, while supervisory duties would go to the FSS, or a newly proposed Financial Supervisory Commission.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Drivers owe Milwaukee nearly $41 million in unpaid parking tickets. Here's a breakdown
City officials are aiming to bolster revenue by issuing more parking citations this year, along with upping the cost of the fines. However, thousands of drivers still owe the city millions of dollars in unpaid parking tickets spanning back several years. The city is attempting to collect nearly $41 million in unpaid parking tickets issued between 2018 and 2024, according to city records. However, that number does not represent a budget shortfall, because the city doesn't count parking ticket money toward the budget until they receive it, said Department of Public Works spokesperson Tiffany Shepherd. At year end, the city collects about 60% of parking tickets issued annually on average, although that doesn't account for those who will pay their tickets months or even years later. Here's the latest breakdown of how much money drivers still owe Milwaukee in parking tickets, plus a look at how the city works to collect unpaid citations. Milwaukee is owed more than $37 million in unpaid parking tickets from Wisconsin drivers, and nearly $3.5 million from out-of-state drivers from tickets issued between 2018 and 2024, according to city data. The city routinely receives payments for citations issued up to seven years in the past, said Shepherd. City officials contract with a secondary collection agency to pursue delinquent citations, and to send collection notices and make collections calls. The city also uses the Wisconsin Tax Refund Interception Program for collections from in-state violators. People receiving a state income tax refund have the amount of their delinquent parking citations deducted from their refund. The city has collected between $1.5 million and $2.5 million annually from this tool. The most challenging citations to collect are from unregistered vehicles and out-of-state drivers, said Shepherd. Of the total current outstanding citations, more than a quarter, or $11.5 million, have no current vehicle information. "Despite the challenges, we remain committed to the ongoing pursuit of these collection efforts," wrote Shepherd in an email. The cost of a transportation fine increased by $12 on average in 2025. The largest fine increase was for parking in a handicapped area, with the fine jumping up by $100, according to data provided by the city's Budget Office. The city is projected to issue 500,000 parking tickets in 2025, all because the city worked to fill vacant parking enforcement officer positions in the past year, said Shepherd. That's a jump from an expected 456,000 parking tickets issued in the city last year. "In 2025, we're not issuing a massive amount of tickets. We're still below average of what the city used to issue pre-COVID," said Shepherd. In 2018, the city issued 636,535 parking citations across Milwaukee, she said. More expensive parking tickets are among a list of fee increases proposed by the city to close a gap between the city's revenues and its costs to continue providing services at the same levels. RELATED: Milwaukee sees declines in violent and property crimes in 2024: 'Should motivate all of us' RELATED: Milwaukee parking-ticket scam: Text messages distributing fake overdue notices Alison Dirr contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee is owed nearly $41 million in unpaid parking tickets
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump fights complicate latest budget brawl between McKee and Neronha. Here's why.
Trump fights complicate latest budget brawl between McKee and Neronha. Here's why. Show Caption Hide Caption RI governor, legislators announce 2025 bills to ban assault weapons Tuesday's news conference centered on bills to ban the purchase, sale and ownership of the military-style firearms categorized as "assault weapons." The attorney general asked for $3.65M budget boost to hire 13 new employees Neronha took issue with McKee denying his budget ask in 2023 Dispute comes as Neronha's office leads state court cases against President Trump's orders Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and Gov. Dan McKee are at odds over the state budget again, this time as Neronha spearheads the Ocean State's opposition to President Donald Trump's agenda. In his annual request to state budget writers last fall, Neronha asked for a $3.65-million increase in his office's budget for the year starting July 1. The extra money would allow him to add 13 new employees, including additional prosecutors, and bring it closer in line with staffing levels in other states, he said. "In the last budget cycle, my office kept our budget request to the absolute minimum, with no new requested [Full-time Equivalent positions] and a modest increase in our base budget," Neronha wrote in his request to McKee. "This year, it is essential that we increase our staff and budget to keep pace with the needs of Rhode Islanders ‒ and to ensure this Office is positioned to meet its statutory, ethical and legal obligations." Neronha argues he needs more money to fight Trump administration's actions Not long after Neronha submitted his request, Trump won the 2024 presidential election, raising the probability of litigation between the state and federal government. That did not convince McKee to give Neronha more money, however. In the budget McKee proposed to lawmakers last month, staffing levels for the attorney general's office were kept flat, as they were for most state agencies in a year of diminished federal resources and a projected revenue deficit. Neronha's request "for additional [full-time equivalent employees] was not presented in the context of addressing a new administration in Washington, D.C.," state Budget Office spokesman Derek Gomes wrote in an email. "The governor's office recognizes that the Office of the Attorney General can bring forward a request to the General Assembly, and the governor's office will monitor it, as it does with all budget-related items during the legislative session." When McKee told reporters he would stand by unauthorized immigrants threatened by Trump administration deportation sweeps, Neronha took to the social media platform Bluesky. "The best way for the governor to stand up for the people of Rhode Island is to give my office the resources we need to protect Rhode Islanders and their interests, as other govs have done," Neronha posted. "We are already litigating v. Trump overreach – and only we can do that. Instead he rejected our request." Neronha's office is part of four lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions and is leading the 22-state suit to block a federal funding freeze in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. The other suits challenge cuts to National Institutes of Health funding, ending birthright citizenship and access to private information for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Neronha spokesman Timothy Rondeau said the attorney general's office is evaluating "numerous opportunities" to file amicus briefs on federal cases, fielding a "barrage of outreach" from constituents, helping "navigate the fallout" from executive orders and "issued guidance with respect to ICE in schools." What does Neronha want? What would the state get for the extra $3.65 million Neronha requested in his budget for next year? Four new prosecutors, including two to handle drunken driving cases One victims services advocate A new three-employee Charities Unit to investigate philanthropies One attorney and one paralegal to bolster the Open Government Unit Two new Information Technology employees and one "eDiscovery Management" specialist New software for cybersecurity, body worn cameras and eDiscovery Complex litigation expenses for health care, energy rate reviews, and gun cases McKee's budget for next year includes $51.6 million for the attorney general's office, up from $46.5 million approved by lawmakers for the current year and nearly the $52.5 million Neronha asked for. But the extra money in the budget would not pay for the new hires Neronha wants, but rather the 5% pay raises the McKee administration awarded state workers last year, which were not included in the budget passed by lawmakers over the summer. Not the first budget brawl between departments This isn't the first time Neronha has asked for a budget boost and been denied by McKee. In 2023 Neronha's requested a $2-million increase to pay for, among other things, a new cold case unit. After McKee didn't include it in his budget, state lawmakers added it to the state's final end of session spending plan. (McKee's office noted that they had included extra funding for the attorney general in 2022.) McKee and Neronha have also clashed over issues including the eviction of a State House homeless encampment, enforcement of an apartment lead abatement law and the investigation of McKee's contracts to friendly education nonprofit the ILO Group. Now Neronha's request for a bigger budget is once again in the General Assembly's hands. "The Attorney General has discussed these issues with the Speaker, and is very grateful to both the Speaker and the Senate President for the support they have given our Office over the years to expand our capacity to help Rhode Islanders," Rondeau wrote in an email on the budget.
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Poor oral health is a strong indicator of disadvantage in Australia. So why aren't we doing anything about it?
An increasing number of Australians struggle to access and afford dental care, and many experience dental disease with consequences that extend well beyond the mouth. Poor oral health remains one of the strongest indicators of disadvantage in Australia, and people who rely on public dental services endure long waiting times; in some places more than two years for basic general dental care. About half of the population does not visit the dentist on a regular basis, and cost is continually cited as a major barrier to access. The cost-of-living crisis has only exacerbated this issue. The exclusion of dentistry from Medicare more than 50 years ago has had disastrous consequences, which are now becoming more apparent. Australians can attend their general medical practitioner, be treated in a public hospital and fill their prescriptions without their financial circumstances being a major barrier to receiving care. That is because state and federal governments subsidise up to 88% of the cost of these services. Unfortunately, the majority of dental costs are paid out-of-pocket by individuals, and federal government funding subsidises private health insurance substantially, further entrenching easy access for higher income groups. Why is the mouth treated differently to the rest of the body? We are failing through a lack of national leadership, because it is apparent that successive governments have not placed sufficient value or priority on the importance of good oral health. The Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, established by the Howard government, was later shut down by the Rudd/Gillard government with plans to introduce a Commonwealth Dental Health Plan that never materialised. However, Australia did introduce the Child Dental Benefits Scheme in 2014 to provide dental care to vulnerable children. Commonwealth funding to support public dental services was boosted and then cut and has remained at a paltry $108m annually since 2017. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email It's not hard to fund a universal public dental care system if we really cared about improving oral health. It has been estimated that a universal scheme could range in cost from $1.8bn a year for a scheme that provides only preventive care to $7.7bn for an uncapped scheme that includes general dental care. The parliamentary Budget Office recently costed the Greens' dental scheme at $14bn a year. A universal dental scheme should be considered an investment, not a cost, because there are significant benefits to improving access to dental care. Dental diseases are the leading cause of preventable hospitalisations, costing about $1.6bn annually, and the cost to the economy from lost productivity from such disease is estimated to be in the order of $700m annually. Importantly, reducing dental disease has significant benefits in improving quality of life, including reducing the exacerbation of things such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes by dental disease. The reason cost estimates vary so much – and why there is concern in some quarters about the budgetary implications – is that there is no consensus on what a dental scheme would look like. There are three key elements to a universal health scheme: breadth of population covered, scope of services provided, and depth of costs covered. In an ideal world, a truly universal dental scheme would provide preventive and general dental care across the whole population, with some of the costs borne by the government while allowing providers to charge a co-payment – in much the same way Medicare operates. What is stopping this from happening? Public funding for dental care has been a political hot potato for decades, with states and the federal government pointing the finger at each other as the situation deteriorates. However, with a federal election looming, there is a window of opportunity to recalibrate. The Labor party is on record as saying that oral health is the missing element of Medicare, with a goal to provide universal access to affordable dental services for all Australians. The Aged Care royal commission in 2021 recommended the establishment of a senior dental benefits scheme, and a Senate select committee into dental services made it abundantly clear that the status quo is no longer an option. Dental care in Australia is at a crossroad. There is an opportunity to take bold action to correct the mistakes of the past and create an equitable dental system that ensures all Australians, regardless of their background, income or where they live, can access timely dental care when they need it. Momentum is building and there is a groundswell of public support for change. We must not waste it. Matt Hopcraft is Associate Professor in Professional Practice at the Melbourne Dental School at the University of Melbourne
