Fiscal Year 2022 Mid-Year Review, Third Quarter Review and End-of-Year Performance Certification

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
https://www.blm.gov

March 8, 2022

In Reply Refer To:
1680 (HQ-850) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/31/2022
Instruction Memorandum No. 2022-028
Expires:  09/30/2022

To:                  Assistant Directors, State Directors, and Center Directors

From:              Assistant Director, Business Management and Administration

Subject:             Fiscal Year 2022 Mid-Year Review, Third Quarter Review and End-of-Year Performance Certification                                                                                                                                  DD: 04/15/2022; 04/22/2022; 07/15/2022; 07/22/2022; 10/17/2022                                                                                                                        

Program Area:  All program areas.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) transmits guidance for conducting the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) FY 2022 Mid-Year Review (MYR) and Third Quarter Review (TQR) to assess the financial health of all BLM offices. It also includes the End-of-Year Performance Certification requirements to validate and verify performance element data.

Administrative or Mission Related:  Administrative.

Policy/Action:  BLM States/Centers/Directorates are required to submit data on sub-activity spending, program element (PE) usage, special emphasis programs, and Bureau-wide expenditures for FY22. The BLM Headquarters (HQ) staff uses this information to assess the Bureau’s financial status at the end of March for mid-year and at the end of June for third quarter.

1. MYR and TQR Review

The MYR and TQR analysis of States/Centers/Headquarters (HQ) Directorates will be conducted primarily by the HQ Division of Budget (HQ780) and national leads with HQ 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, 2022 (MYR), and June 30, 2022 (TQR) will be the primary sources of information used to evaluate BLM spending and performance.  The HQ staff will focus on functional area 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 percent or any sub-activity projected to be overspent.  Please report fund status by source year. (Use Attachment 1, Above 2 Percent or Overspent).
2. Report obligation rates for the Management of Lands and Resources (MLR) and Fire (LF100 and LF310) sub-activities. For MYR, if any functional area is greater than 60 percent obligated, or less than 40 percent obligated, please provide a short statement identifying the reason and the expected resolution date.  For TQR, if any functional area is greater than 85 percent obligated, or less than 65 percent 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 an exchange of funds among States and Offices.  (Use Attachment 3, Funds Exchange Request).  Contact the HQ Budget Officer directly for any reprogramming requests.
4. Workload Measure/PE Review: Negotiations for workload targets were conducted as part of the FY 2022 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 31 March 2022, and by 30 June 2022, must be accurate and verifiable and will be used to report status to date for the MYR and TQR.  Identify any PE/functional area combination that will not meet 90 percent of the original target or exceed 110 percent of the original target.  (Use Attachment 4, PE Workload Accomplishments).        
5. Special Emphasis Items:  The following program of interest requires State/Center feedback (Mid-Year Review only).

Please provide the following information for Wild Horse and Burro:  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). 

HQ Directorate Actions:

Performance Measure Targets:  Performance measure targets established using PE information from the PTA process will be used during the MYR and TQR to determine, to the extent possible, whether performance will fall short of the targets or will exceed targets.  The HQ program leads responsible for each performance measure should identify the targets that will be exceeded or not met to the HQ780 Budget Office.  Identify any priority bureau-wide PE/functional area combination that will not meet 90 percent of the original target or exceed 110 percent of the original target using Attachment 6, Performance Measure Evaluation.  Adjustments may need to be made during the MYR and TQR 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.  If this review reveals significant performance issues, the HQ780 analysts will work with the national program leads and the States/Centers to address them. 

2. 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 Plan and Report, the Budget Justifications, and various other budget documents.  In addition, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires all agencies to describe how performance data will be validated and verified in annual performance plans.  In FY 2022, the State/Center Offices have access to PMDS until the close of business on September 30th so that all performance accomplishments can be reported as actual numbers instead of estimates.

State/Center/HQ Directorate Actions: 

Each Assistant Director (AD), State Director (SD), and Center Director (CD) will ensure that performance data entered into the PMDS is timely and accurate and that it can be easily validated and verified. Validation refers to assessing the degree to which the data collected is a true reflection of the performance being measured and has a clear relationship to the organization's mission. 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 at HQ that are necessary before reporting on performance measure data should be completed in a timely fashion to prevent delays in the EOY process.  To accomplish the end-of-year certification process, complete Attachment 7, Validation and Verification Checklist, and Attachment 8, Certification Memorandum.

Timeframe:  States/Centers are to submit their budget responses using the formats provided in the attachments to HQ780, Attention Beverly Chappelle, and Sandra Hall, by April 15, 2022, for MYR and July 15, for TQR.  Submit workload measures to Raymond Smith and Michael Asghedom by April 15, 2022, for MYR and July 22 for TQR.  National program leads are to submit their consolidated performance reviews by April 22, 2022, for MYR and July 22 for TQR, to Beverly Chappelle, Sandra Hall, Raymond Smith, and Michael Asghedom.  End-of-year performance certifications are due October 17, 2022.  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:  The MYR and TQR process is part of the financial review cycle to ensure dollars are spent strategically, and no fund/functional area is over or underspent at year-end.  These reviews allow the BLM to redirect and/or adjust accordingly.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None

Coordination:  This IM has been coordinated with all HQ Directorates[HNM1] .

Contact:  For budget questions please contact Beverly Chappelle, Budget Analyst at bchappe@blm.gov or 202-742-0605 for Budget Execution.  For performance questions please contact Raymond Smith, Program Analyst at r1smith@blm.gov or 202-742-0615.  For general or procedural questions please contact Sandra Hall, Branch Chief, Budget Execution, at sahall@blm.gov or 706-910-3977.

Signed by:                                    Authenticated by:
Barbara L. Eggers                        Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                        Division of Regulatory Affairs and Directives,(HQ-630)
Business Management and
   Administration

8 Attachments

1. Above 2 Percent or Overspent (1 p)[HNM2] 
2. Budget Obligation Rates (1 p)
3. Funds Exchange Requests (1 p)
4. State PE Workload Accomplishments (2 pp)
5. Wild Horse & Burro Accomplishments (1 p)
6. Performance Measure Review (1 p)
7. Validation and Verification Checklist (1 p)
8. Certification Memorandum (1 p)