ALEXANDRIA, Va. (1/8/16)--The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has published a frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) document addressing its 2016 and 2017 operating budgets. The agency approved a 2016 budget of $290.9 million (a 4.1% increase over the 2015 budget) at its November board meeting, and the 2017 budget is estimated to grow by 4.1% from 2016.

The Credit Union National Association has long advocated for the NCUA to seek ways to reduce its budget, particularly with the credit union system being very healthy.

According to the NCUA, the 4.1% increase is due to an increase over last year in pay and benefits ($9 million increase), travel ($4,595 increase), rent, communications and utilities ($993,438 increase), administrative expenses ($632,782 increase) and contracted services ($2 million increase).

The document highlights NCUA Chair Debbie Matz’s pledge to ask the NCUA board to vote at the Jan. 21 meeting to publish the agency’s overhead transfer rate and operating fee methodology in the Federal Register for public comment.

According to the agency, after the methodologies are published, they will be published “periodically thereafter in conjunction with the NCUA’s Strategic Plan.

The FAQ document answers 26 questions over 14 pages.

Other highlights include:

• Information on the processes the NCUA uses to calculate its annual budget, including criteria and methodologies when developing the budget and expenditures;
   
• How the budget aligns with the agency’s 2014-17 Strategic Plan and its 2016 Annual Performance Plan;
   
• How the agency determines pay increases for employees each year, as well as the standards it uses in setting pay levels and merit increases;
   
• Ways the NCUA has attempted to reduce costs, particularly in travel and attendance at conferences categories;
   
• A breakdown of NCUA office increases, and why those numbers were increased; and
   
• Links to more than 90 documents related to the NCUA’s budget and budgetary process.