Torres: Mayor’s offices to see budget hikes next fiscal year

Torres

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres disclosed yesterday that CNMI mayor’s offices would see an increase in their budgets for next fiscal year, suggesting at an overall growth in revenue projections.

Torres met with the island mayors of Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Northern Island and gave them their budget proposals or figures yesterday, showing an increase in funding for all the mayors offices.

The governor said that based on projected figures from fiscal year 2016, the administration has increased the mayor’s offices budgets for 2017.

“All of them were happy and all of them made a motion to adopt the proposed legislation to them,” Torres told Saipan Tribune in an interview in his office late afternoon yesterday.

The shared figures come from a fiscal year budget proposal that the Governor’s Office is crunching out ahead of official submission to the Legislature in the coming months.

Per CNMI law, the governor has to meet with the council of mayors prior to the budget submission to get their input. Yesterday’s meeting began that process.

“This is actually the only thing that is done,” Torres said of the budget proposals. “Everything else is fluid. But this is something that we have given to the mayor’s offices.”

Still, the Torres administration is optimistic and anticipates budget growth for next year that has the potential to be “double-digit forecasted revenue increases,” Saipan Tribune learned.

The Saipan Mayor’s Office will see a $209,000 increase from a budget last year of $1.8 million.

The Northern Island Mayor’s Office will see a proposed increase to $505,000 budget from a $340,000 budget.

Rota Mayor’s Office will see an increase to $6.7 million from $6.4 million.

From a current budget of $6.6 million, the Tinian Mayor’s Office will see a proposed budget of $6.8 million.

Torres said he ensured the mayors of continued collaborative working environment focusing on “their needs” as they move forward.

“If they need an additional supplement…anything that needs emergency assistance my office is ready to work with them,” Torres said. “And if there is a supplemental” budget information “coming in July, that is something we will sit down again” and discuss.

Torres added they would be setting up quarterly meetings to hash out issues that need to be worked on. Among other issues, Torres said they discussed the proposed military buildup on the islands of Tinian and Pagan, particularly a divert airfield on Tinian and the training range proposals on Pagan.

On Pagan, Torres said he would be pushing homesteads on island.

“I asked the mayor for his full support,” Torres said, adding that the Northern Islands Mayor Jerome Aldan invited all the mayors and himself to join the forum, “Konferencian Dinana Islas Marianas” slated for Pagan this June.