ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS PAUL RACHETTO Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë STATUS OF INTERVIEWS: OPEN FOR RESEARCH Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews Conducted and Edited by: Brit Allan Storey Senior Historian Bureau of Reclamation Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Ë Interviews conducted–1994, 1995, 1998 Interview edited and published–2013 Oral History Program Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado SUGGESTED CITATION: RACHETTO, PAUL. ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW. Transcript of tape-recorded Bureau of Reclamation Oral History Interviews conducted by Brit Allan Storey, senior historian, Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho in 1994, 1995 and 1998. Edited by Brit Allan Storey; desktop edited and published by Andrew H. Gahan. Repository for the record copy of the interview transcript is the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. Record copies of this transcript are printed on 20 lb., 100% cotton, archival quality paper. All other copies are printed on normal duplicating paper. i Table of Contents Table of Contents.. i Statement of Donation. v Editorial Convention. vii Introduction. viii Oral History Interviews. 1 Background. 1 Growing Up in Deadwood, South Dakota. 2 Member of the University of Denver Ski Team.. 4 Interest in Accounting. 5 Member of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team. 6 Working for the General Accounting Office. 8 Transfer from GAO to the Bureau of Reclamation. 10 Head of the General Accounting Branch in Billings, Montana. 13 Harold Aldrich as Regional Director. 14 Regional Directors Bill Lloyd and Bob McPhail.. 16 Management Styles of the Regional Directors.. 17 General Accounting Branch Responsibilities. 17 Carter’s “hit list”. 18 General Accounting Branch and the Reclamation Fund. 20 Paul Rachetto Oral History ii How Money Flows to the Reclamation Fund. 21 Monitoring Repayment Contracts. 24 Reclamation’s Budget Appropriations.. 26 Personalities in the Billings Accounting Branch. 27 Fiscal Branch Responsibilities.. 28 Reclamation Accounting Procedures and Computers. 30 Fort Peck Project Budget Process. 33 Transferred to Western Area Power Administration. 34 WAPA Takes Over Reclamation Power Marketing Responsibilities. 35 Transition from the Split of WAPA and Reclamation.. 36 New Challenges Working for WAPA. 38 The Excitement of Being on the Ground Floor of a New Government Agency. 39 Shaping Reclamation’s Budget. 41 Differences between Preparing Reclamation’s and Western’s Budget. 43 Leaves Western and Returns to Reclamation. 44 Activities of the Rate and Repayment Branch. 45 Oil and Gas Revenues and the Reclamation Fund.. 46 Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program Basin Account. 47 Economic Relationship Between Individual Reclamation Projects to Oil and Gas Revenues. 49 Activities in the Division of Finance. 50 Bureau of Reclamation History Program iii Issues Encountered as Regional Finance Officer.. 51 Transferring to Boise and the Pacific Northwest Region.. 53 Oil and Gas Revenues Contribute to the Reclamation Fund. 54 Reclamation Budget Process. 55 An Investigation to Merge Reclamation with the Army Corps of Engineers. 59 Boise Made a Good Impression.. 63 Summer Program Conferences. 63 Budget Review Committee. 65 Regional Finance Officer Oversights.. 67 Problems with Constricting Budgets. 70 Budget Prioritizing and Flexibility. 72 Knowledge Necessary for Becoming an Reclamation Budget Expert.. 74 Becoming Assistant Regional Director. 75 Regional Director Directly Oversaw the Region’s Budget. 77 Reclamation and the Job Corps. 78 Other Assistant Regional Director Issues. 84 The Impact of Downsizing on the Region. 87 The Reactions of Managers to Reclamation’s Restructuring.. 90 Region’s Response to the Reorganization. 91 Transition of Responsibilities to the Area Offices.. 94 Paul Rachetto Oral History iv Impact of Reorganization on the Region. 96 Safety Reviews.. 97 IRM Issues. 98 Impact of Computers on Reclamation Business Activities. 101 Problems Associated with Moving into the Computer Age. 104 Commissioner’s Office Pushed Reorganization. 105 Latest Changes in the Region.. 107 Commissioner Beard’s Impact on Reclamation.. 109 The Transference of More Control to the Area Offices.. 110 Regional Downsizing.. 111 Denver Office’s Role in the Current Reorganization.. 113 Reduction in Force at Grand Coulee. 114 OPM’s Role in the Reorganization Process.. 117 PCs and the Evolution of How the Bureau of Reclamation Conducts Business. ..