A restructuring act, passed in 2003, broadened the duties of the Planning Department. Departments other than the Planning Department have had much larger budget increases since 2001. The budget figures used in the original editorial were adjusted for inflation. In some years between 2001 and this year, the Planning Department budget did not increase.
Letter to the editor: The Planning Department budget increased from $100, 000 in 2001 to $524, 000 for this year. However, this does not justify your conclusion in yesterday' s editorial that the department now spends five times as much money as it did in 2001 to perform the same duties.
Which one of the following, if true, most helps to support the claim made in the letter regarding the justification of the editorial's conclusion?