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Thursday, Jun. 26, 2003 - 7:27 p.m.

I thought I did it, but I was wrong�.

It?

Spent Mohall�s� entire share of the state budget for this fiscal year, that�s what.

I left the storage at 11 am (right after lunch- yeah, the 10:30 lunch time is still in effect, due to the prick who is the head of NDDOT).

I had spent the morning hours calling the state garage, a couple of local retailers, and a couple more of our long distance contract vendors. I had finally finished using up what I had left in my various accounts until I had the following amount of money left:

2200 account (off-road equipment and building repair/maintenance money): $37.87

2500 account (commodities not designated for trucks or equipment repair) : $24.13

2900 account (truck repair and supplies) :$33.98

When you take into account the fact that between the three accounts we started the fiscal year with over $754,000, having less than $100 left 2 days before the end of the fiscal year is some pretty good budgeting.

And yes, we have to spend everything. It is this way with every branch of government, whether it be federal, state, local, or the dogcatcher. You get your money allocated to you on a 12-month basis. If you don�t spend it all, whatever you have left over goes back into the �big pot�, for someone else to use.

That wouldn�t be bad, except for the fact that most government accounting offices take any left over money to mean that they gave you too much to start with. The next step is to cut you budget, leaving you with even less to spend the next fiscal year.

Yeah, I know- stupid.

In the real world, if you have money left over at the end of the year, that is a great thing.

In government, it means you haven�t done your job!

I couldn�t buy stock supplies for the storage (and my other 4 counties) from the start of April on , up until about 4 weeks ago. Trucks and equipment needing repair parts not on hand were parked. No new purchases were made, unless they were emergency items.

Then, with less than a month left in the fiscal year, everything changed:

SPEND SPEND SPEND SPEND!!!!!

I hate this crap. It happens almost every year. This year, it is just worse than normal

I try my best to NOT waste the taxpayers� dollars. I look for a bargain where I can find it, and I even talk suppliers down on their prices if I can.

And this is my reward:

When I returned from Springpatch (picked up over $5000 worth of truck supplies from the State garage), there was a note from Beavis on my desk.

It said, �Add $850 to your 2200 account, and another $430 to the 2900 account. You need to spend this tomorrow on items that can by shipped BEFORE July 1st. Also- we should be getting more 2500 money tomorrow. Plan on buying what you need with this tomorrow.�

I hate this crap������


(An aside to one particular reader in my D-land universe)

SOMEONE needs to stop by the storage and pick up some leaf lettuce before it finishes bolting to seed. If it gets picked up BEFORE the new fiscal year, it will still be tasty. It will still be good for a salad, if you keep it in the �fridge for a few days. This would mellow the heat-induced bitter flavor out. If you want to wilt it with a little bacon grease, it will be fine to use anytime, up until flowers form on the plants. That shouldn�t be for a few more days, in case you can make it to the Mohall storage building.

I think the person I am dropping this hint to knows who they are, right?

O.K. then�..

And now- back to my day�.


I started seeds for my fall garden.

Yeah, I know- fall is a long way off. Summer�s heat just started in the past week or so for us here in Mohall.

If you garden, you have to constantly be thinking ahead. For that reason, I had to dig my seed bag out of the back of the �fridge, and pick out what plants I want to harvest in another 3-4 months.

Remember- I am now eating cabbage, broccoli, and bok choy that I dropped into seed starting containers back in late February. They take a little time to grow�.

So tonight, I started 5 cups with the following crops:

Cauliflower (1- Silver cup 40, 1- Snowball Improved ).

Cabbage (1- Spring Giant Chinese , 1- Danish Ballhead).

Broccoli (Goliath).

These won�t go into the ground until sometime in August.

In the past 7 days, I have also planted more lettuce (Red Sails and Simpson Improved- both heat-tolerant crops) and radish seeds (French Breakfast and Diakon Long- probably a waste of time, but just in case it stays cooler than normal I try anyway).

Gotta plan ahead, if you want a constant harvest���..

Antique - Futuristic


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