VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Members of the 30th Comptroller Squadron are diligently working extra hours to close out the fiscal year budget by Sept. 30.
The fiscal year closeout is a time when multiple organizations come together to balance the annual base budget.
“The 30th Space Wing gets a certain budget every year for all of our requirements, and by 30 September we have to obligate all the funds that we have,” said Ms. Lea Ybarra, 30th CPTS financial analysis chief. “We mostly take care of the 30th Space Wing, but we also help the tenant units process their funding documents. Everybody’s mindset is all hands on deck.”
The closeout process requires extensive man hours, with the end goal being to prudently and legally spend every penny allocated on valid mission requirements.
“If we don’t execute all of the funds appropriated to us by Congress, then we risk losing them,” said Maj. Charles Dunar, 30th CPTS commander. “When the next year comes around and Congress looks at the funding we were distributed based on the requirements we said we had, and then how much was actually used, they may decide not to give us as much money the next fiscal year.”
The overall objective is to maintain responsible budget management and execution throughout the fiscal year. In order to maximize effectiveness, the base units must plan accordingly to acquire the proper resources needed to sustain their mission with the funds Congress has approved.
Based on the 30th SW mission requirements, 30th CPTS requests the amount of funding necessary to ensure every unit has the dollars to effectively perform the mission. Once funded, the base “resource management machine” gets rolling with primary players being 30th CPTS, 30th Contracting Squadron, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron, as well as, all group and squadron resource advisors.
In addition to the end of year closeout efforts of 30th CPTS, 30th CONS ensures every squadron's contract requirements are met to effectively execute the mission.
“It’s not just CPTS,” said Dunar. “The 30th Contracting Squadron is extremely important because they process the contracts that ultimately spend the dollars provided by the wing. We need them to make the fiscal year a success and they need base funds to make it happen, so we constantly rely on each other throughout the year.”
Dunar couldn’t be more proud of the hard-work and dedication of every member of 30th CPTS.
“The overtime and dedication they have shown thus far and will continue to show while closing the books on time, and executing all of our funds to avoid the risk of losing them next year, is extremely important,” said Dunar. “I’m very proud of their efforts and the results so far this year. Thanks to them and our resource management partners, we’re going to have an exceptionally successful closeout in the coming days.”