I wrote a post a few weeks back about the Michigan DNR’s budget woes and how the MUCC had joined together with other local Michigan outdoor organizations, along with the Governor, and agreed to pull 5 million from the state’s general fund and put it into the Department of Natural Resources budget for the fiscal year. This saved quite a few programs in the state, prevented some conversation officers from being laid off, and also prevented any license fee increases for the current fiscal year.

From the start I was completely backing the DNR and the MUCC and their stand that a reasonable increase in license fees was needed to continue to fund and support the outdoor resources that we have and enjoy. Then today I stumbled across this article on the MUCC’s site and all of that changed. I’m not sure how I missed this in the news, but with everything going on I’m not surprised that I did. However, it has changed my perspective on the issue as a whole.

The main theme of the article is that “somehow” the DNR “found” 20 million dollars. Yep, you heard me, 20 million dollars!!! From the MUCC article:

The facts are now clear that the entire picture wasn’t being presented. In a few short months, the Department went from projecting a $10.8 million deficit in the Fish and Game Protection Fund to a $10 million fund balance. That’s a swing of more than $20 million.

Rebecca Humphries, the director of the Michigan DNR, explained the unexpected revenue to Michigan lawmakers this way. From an associated press article on Mlive.com:

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries told lawmakers this week that the Game and Fish Fund will have a $10 million fund balance because of an unexpected increase in license sales, operational savings and higher-than-expected returns on investments.

I guess we have no choice but to believe her at this point, but how does one mis-calculate the budget that far? I am finding this extremely hard to believe. The timing of the monetary “find” is interesting as well. A week ago the state and the governor approved an allocation of money to your department and then magically you find 20 million dollars? Very interesting indeed.

Half-way through this article my mind was already made up that I was not going to support an increase in the license fees until one thing happened; an audit. Not just any audit, but one from an independent source that shows exactly where the money has been spent, why it was spent there, and why more, if any, is needed. Apparently Dennis Muchmore, MUCC’s Executive Director agrees. From the MUCC article:

At the request of MUCC Executive Director Dennis Muchmore, we will be having an independent audit and evaluation of revenues and expenditures of the Fish and Game Protection Fund performed. It’s clear that we simply can not properly represent our members without first clarifying exactly how much money the Fish and Game Fund has and how it’s spent. It’s also clear that those numbers must be verified from an independent source. Should these steps have been taken in the first place? Well, given the current situation the answer to that is easy: Of course they should have. But there’s a reason that old saying about hindsight is so popular.

I want to make clear that I don’t fault the MUCC whatsoever in their backing the proposed license fee increases. I had come to the same conclusion. With the facts that were available at the time it was the logical step. With the facts that have come to light now I am holding off my views until the results of this proposed audit are made public. It just seems to me that something fishy is going on here.

I will keep everyone informed!

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