28th CPTS, CONS complete fiscal year closeout

  • Published
  • By Airman Ashley J. Woolridge
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Most Americans consider Dec. 31 to be a chance to reflect on the past year and Jan. 1 an opportunity to make a fresh start.

Those involved in financial operations, however, follow a different calendar - burning the midnight oil during the dwindling hours of Sept. 30, and breathing a sigh of relief at the dawn of Oct. 1. The Airmen in the 28th Comptroller Squadron and 28th Contracting Squadron know exactly how this feels.

Maj. Garry Elliott is the commander of the 28th CPTS. His squadron deals with military pay and helping Airmen complete their travel vouchers before they are sent to the Air Force Financial Services Center.

"The theories don't change any this time of year, but we deal with the budget side a lot more," Elliott said. "The easiest way to think about it is we become much more micromanaging, because we have to get down to zero dollars, or as close to that as we can."

Financial management personnel within the 28th CPTS handle a great deal of the workload at the end of the fiscal year.

"We watch the funds and make sure that we have enough money on base for what we need," said Senior Airman Nikkolas Tessier, 28th CPTS financial analyst. "The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, so when that happens most of the appropriations that Congress had set up for the year expire. We have to spend everything we have, or we lose it. Not only that, but we also have to make sure that we don't spend all of the money we have at the beginning or middle of September, and then end up with purchases that need to be made at the end of the month."

Both the 28th CPTS and the 28th CONS go the extra mile during the month of September, working in shifts Sept. 30 to keep the offices manned until 2 a.m., Oct. 1, to ensure a smooth transition into the next fiscal year.

"We manage the contracts and buy the goods that keep the base going," said Maj. Rebecca Welton, 28th CONS commander. "Our prep work for the closeout begins in June and July because we have to spend all of our money by midnight, Sept. 30, or it turns into a pumpkin."

Tessier said the beginning of the new fiscal year is often as stressful as the end of the last one.

"The money goes away Oct. 1, but we don't actually get new money," Tessier explained. "The last few years that I've been here we've been under a CRA (continuing resolution authority). What that means is we can spend up to the amount that we spent this time last year without an actual budget being passed by Congress. We won't get a new budget or initial distribution until about April or May of next year, but we still have to run the base."

Doing that takes a great deal of money - Elliott said the budget for this year was $102 million and Welton said her squadron spent $19.1 million in September alone. Although they may spend most of their time behind a desk, the work the 28th CPTS and the 28th CONS personnel accomplish behind the scenes is vital to successful operations at Ellsworth.

"Like any other unit on base, we're here to support the mission," said Elliott, who has 18 years of financial management experience. "If there's no money or the money's not flowing properly, then the jets don't fly, or if we don't pay for the fuel for emergency vehicles, they can't get where they need to go. It's a team effort, Major Welton and I joke that we're brother and sister because we are in constant communication with each other."

Welton said one of her favorite things about her career field is being able to learn something about every unit's individual mission. "It's exciting to have your fingers in everything that's going on around base," she said with a smile.

September may be a hectic month for both squadrons - as the fiscal year deadlines approach, all purchases receive more scrutiny, and base-level commanders must approve every transaction - but Tessier said, overall, he enjoys his job.

"It's one month a year, the other 11 months are pretty much routine," Tessier added. "A lot of people think, `You're finance, you're just a paper pusher.' But when I can go out and look at a building on base, like the 432nd Attack Squadron, and know that I certified the form and pushed the money through for that security system, and that I contributed to that - it's a good feeling."