The production supervisor of the Machining Department for Hagerstown Company agreed to the following monthly static budget for the upcoming year:

$\backslash$table$[[\backslash$table$[[$Hagerstown Company$],[$Machining Department$]]],[$Monthly Production Budget$],[$Wages$,$$$417,000$

b$.$ Compare the flexible budget with the actual expenditures for the first three months.

What does this comparison suggest?

The Machining Department has performed better than originally thought.

The department is spending more than would be expected.