Only 189 govt officials file financial statements on time

Only 189 of more than 300 elected and appointed government officials expected to file their statement of financial interest failed to meet the initial May 1 deadline to do so, and some of them said they missed or “almost” missed this year’s cutoff date because of a lack of advance notification in the mail, among other things.

Public Auditor Michael Pai, in response to Saipan Tribune inquiry, said 189 government officials filed their 2011 statement of financial interest as of 4:30pm on May 1, and 26 more filed theirs as of close of business on May 2.

There is, however, a 30-day grace period for the non-filers to be able to file their financial statement with OPA without incurring a $10 fine per day of delayed filing.

That grace period ends on May 31.

Rep. Trenton Conner (R-Tinian) said he usually gets an advance notification in the mail but that didn’t happen this year. However, he was able to meet the deadline by going to OPA on Capital Hill in the afternoon of May 1 to request a blank statement of financial interest form. He filled out the form and submitted it to OPA within minutes.

Many government officials filed their 2011 statement of financial interest on the day of the initial May 1 deadline. Among them were Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos and at least six lawmakers.

Pai said the first 2011 financial statement received by OPA was filed by a Marianas Public Land Trust board of trustees member on Jan. 26, 2012.

Under the Government Ethics Code Act, the Department of Finance is required to send the Office of the Public Auditor a list of individuals it has certified to be among those required to file a statement of financial interest.

Based on that Finance list, OPA would send notices to the individuals required to file a statement to remind them of such requirement and the deadline.

This year, however, OPA did not get such a certified list from Finance. Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson’s office has yet to respond to media inquiry about the absence of such list for the 2011 filing.

Pai said in the absence of the certified list from Finance, OPA sent a notice via e-mail on March 6, 2012, advising all appointed/elected CNMI officials, boards, councils/task force members or directors, commissioners, executive directors, managing directors, deputy directors, and administrators to file their statement of financial interest on or before the May 1 initial deadline.

As to whether officials received or acknowledged that email notification is another thing, some lawmakers said.

The certified list from Finance is supposed to inform OPA of those individuals who have been appointed to, and those who have resigned, from certain positions so that OPA can properly inform them individually of their responsibility to file a statement of financial interest.

In previous years, the number of certified required filers was always more than 300.

Pai said for 2011, Finance requested OPA’s assistance in sending out a request to all agencies, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, councils, and task forces to provide Finance with an updated listing of their present organization.

“The information from these agencies, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, councils, and task forces enables the DOF to develop an accurate list of those officials who need to file a statement for calendar 2011 as required by the Act. The updated listings received by OPA were forwarded to DOF for review and certification. However, OPA has not received the certified list from DOF,” Pai told Saipan Tribune.

Pai reminds government officials about the end of the 30-day grace period.

“OPA would like to remind all individuals who know that they are required to file a statement to please do so before May 31, 2012. Free notary service is available at OPA for this purpose,” he said.

Under 1 CMC Section 8511 of the Government Ethics Code Act, all elected and appointed CNMI officials, judicial officers, and executive department heads or directors are required to file a statement of financial interest. The statement includes government officials’ income, and financial interests in real estate, among other things.

Unlike many other jurisdictions and countries, CNMI law does not make public financial statements. The assets and liabilities of elected officials are not readily available for public inspection. OPA can only release the documents with the consent of the filer.