Reynolds' office getting a $500,000 budget increase without adding any full-time staff

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$500K budget increase for Gov. Reynolds' office leads to unanswered questions

A major budget increase for the governor's office is raising some eyebrows in the Iowa Senate.

Iowa Starting Line journalist Ty Rushing tweeted a recap of what he called a jaw-dropping conversation in the Senate chambers Wednesday.

Link to tweet

Des Moines Sen. Janet Petersen (D) asked Fort Dodge Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink (R) why Gov. Reynolds' office was getting a $500,000 budget increase without adding any full-time staff.

Sen. Kraayenbrink reportedly said he didn't know and that he'd asked the same question.

"OK, I know in the government reorganization bill the governor was given the authority to change all of the salaries, payments to those that are remaining in the cabinet and it appears received some significant bonuses. Do you believe that would be what that money would be?" Sen. Petersen asked.

"Pretty sure that is not what this is for," Sen. Kraayenbrink said.

"OK, but you don't know how the governor is using the extra 500-thousand dollars?" Sen. Petersen asked.

"Yes," Sen. Kraayenbrink replied.

https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/500k-half-a-million-dollar-budget-increase-for-gov-reynolds-office-leads-to-some-unanswered-questions-for-lawmakers-on-the-senate-floor

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1. Bleeding Heartland Exclusive: Iowa governor's office hides the ball on its own spending

Iowa House and Senate Republicans have agreed to increase the allocation for Governor Kim Reynolds' office by more than 20 percent, even as many state agencies are receiving status quo budgets for fiscal year 2024, which begins on July 1.

Senate Appropriations Committee chair Tim Kraayenbrink acknowledged during floor debate on April 26 that Republicans do not know how the governor's office plans to use an additional $500,000 standing appropriation for FY2024.

It was an extraordinary moment, but not a surprising one. For years, Reynolds' staff have avoided disclosing how the governor's office was covering expenses that greatly exceeded the funds allocated by the legislature, by nearly $900,000 in fiscal year 2020 and roughly the same amount in fiscal year 2021.

The Reynolds administration has also made it increasingly difficult to uncover details about the governor's office spending through open records requests. Budget reports for fiscal year 2022, which ran from July 2021 through last June, were provided in a different format from previous years, concealing how much other state agencies provided to compensate Reynolds' staffers. In response to a records request, the governor's office claimed to have no invoices for such payments.

Nevertheless, documents obtained by Bleeding Heartland......

https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2023/04/30/exclusive-iowa-governors-office-hides-the-ball-on-its-own-spending/