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Inos says CNMI stays within $122M budget
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Posted on Jul 08 2011
Acting governor Eloy S. Inos said the CNMI is so far staying within its revised budget of $122 million for fiscal year 2011, which entered its last quarter on July 1.
This means the Fitial administration expects the July to September quarter to have some $30 million in collections.
But Inos, who oversees government finances, said if actual collections fall short, then payroll may be further affected.
Right now, payroll for non-critical government employees is almost always delayed. More recently, even critical government employees including police officers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, and corrections officers almost didn’t get paid on time because of revenue shortage.
Inos said the government has been trying to limit its spending.
When asked whether additional austerity measures will have to be implemented, Inos said they don’t see further cuts in work hours, which are already at 64 biweekly instead of the regular 80 hours.
The original budget for fiscal year 2011 was $132 million. The administration had to bring it down to $122 million as actual revenues proved much lesser than projected.
Inos also said the 2012 budget, or the resources available for government appropriations, remains at $102 million.
