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Governor cuts travel per diem rate of CPA
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Posted on Jun 27 2008
Port employees traveling on public funds will now be paid the same per diem rates that apply to everyone else in the central government.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has issued an order canceling the per diem rate schedule that the Commonwealth Ports Authority sought for its employees in 2006.
Fitial said the administration wants consistency in the per diem rates paid by government agencies, including the ports authority.
The established per diem rates will apply with no exception, regardless of whether the CPA employee is a board member or in a management position, and whether the travel is funded by federal or CPA funds.
On Jan. 30, 2006, CPA proposed a new rate schedule for its employees. The authority said that higher per diem rates were needed because “current rates are no longer realistic and … rates conforming to those established by the Federal Aviation Administration more equitably cover costs incurred by employees of the Commonwealth Ports Authority during off-island travel.”
Some of CPA’s proposed per diem rates are double the rates set by the Department of Finance for government employees.
For instance, CPA employees traveling within the CNMI receive a per diem allowance of $175, while central government employees get $85.
CPA’s per diem rate for Guam trips is $200, as opposed to the $175 paid by the Executive Branch. For trips to Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, CPA’s rate is $200 a day; the central government pays $150.
Ports employees receive $300 a day when traveling to Japan, “Far East” Asia, and Southeast Asia. Under the Finance Department’s rate scale, the per diem rates are $275 for trips to Japan and $200 for trips to “Far East” Asia and Southeast Asia.
CPA is currently under a state of emergency because of its problems with meeting the requirements of its airport revenue bond. CPA management reports directly to the governor.
