Fuel Consumption for NICH Vehicles Comfortably Below Budget

The gas bill for NICH during April and July was also queried by the internal auditor.  According to his report, which was described as a draft audit, fuel consumption sprang to almost eighty-seven thousand dollars, up considerably from a budget of twenty-six thousand, five hundred dollars.  As it turns out, the Board claims Matus’ calculation was erroneous, applying a different formula than one used to determine the cost of consumption over a twelve-month period.  The gas bill, says Associate Director of Finance Edwin Alvarado is actually below budget.

Edwin Alvarado

Edwin Alvarado, Associate Director of Finance

“For the question in reference to the fuel and the fuel actuals being over, they budgeted for these four months in question.  For the entire institution, we had for that particular line a budgeted amount of two hundred and seventy-three thousand, six hundred [dollars].  If you divide that by twelve, that will give you a monthly allocation of twenty-two thousand, eight hundred.  Multiplied by four that would give you four months budgeted allocation of ninety-one thousand, two hundred; not the twenty-two [thousand].  The actuals, as presented before, for that line is eighty-five thousand, seven [hundred] and forty-six dollars and forty-five [cents].  So that means that we were actually under the budget by five thousand, four [hundred] and fifty-three [dollars] and fifty-five [cents].  The reason why the figures on the report came out as they are in that report is that the entire two hundred and seventy-three [thousand] six hundred [dollars] was not disbursed throughout all the months of the year for two particular institutes.  The Institute of Archaeology being the biggest one in terms of fuel consumption.  It was asked from them to distribute the budget throughout the months since they are aware of the different activities that they have throughout the fiscal year.”