Police chief pleads for more money for ‘underfunded’ DPS

Department of the Public Safety Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero said he is “begging” lawmakers to give his department the necessary budget to address the many needs of the Commonwealth.

Guerrero on Thursday presented to the Legislature a $7.2-million budget for DPS.

But the proposed DPS budget is significantly higher than the $4.5 million proposal from the government.

“I’m not just asking, I’m begging,” Deleon Guerrero said, adding that “there are just way too many demands and how can we meet these demands if we do not have the resources?”

In the budget presentation, the DPS said it is earmarking a big chunk of the budget, about $5.1 million, for personnel, and $1.6 million for operations.

Deleon Guerrero said he has also requested budget for 20 more police officers.

At one point during the hearing, a frustrated Deleon Guerrero said until now, the DPS still has no legal counsel, emphasizing the sorry state of the department.

He also cited the need for a certified counselor to provide psychological intervention, confidential counseling, dealing with traumatic incidents, and reintegrating officers after active military service, among others.

Deleon Guerrero specifically mentioned San Antonio and Koblerville as needing more police patrol presence.

“How can we respond and calm down those fears in those areas if we don’t have enough officers?” Deleon Guerrero said.

Rep. Antonio P. Sablan (Ind-Saipan), chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said lawmakers hear Deleon Guerrero’s plea for more budget.

Sablan also gave his personal assurance that the committee will find ways on how to best address the DPS needs.

Underfunded

During the budget hearing, Rep. Ralph Yumul (Ind-Saipan) said he is “concerned” that the government continues to underfund the DPS considering the very important role the department has in the CNMI.

Yumul said he has reviewed budget allocations and requirements of the DPS in the previous fiscal years, and according to him, some of the requested budget that were not given range from “hundreds of thousands of dollars, to sometimes close to a million.”

“We have to give what the DPS needs,” Yumul said, noting that even with a supplemental budget, it seems funds cannot get to the DPS because government often “overspends.”

Office of Management and Budget chief Vicky Villagomez said what the government wants is to provide “flexibility” for the DPS and allow the department to shift resources to critical areas.

Villagomez said the bottomline is that the government is still in the “red” and that there are critical areas—such as the $30 million in retirees’ pension and the 25 percent of the total budget for the Public School System, among others—that the government is mandated to fulfill.

“Everybody needs funding,” Villagomez said.