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Bill to secure Tinian payroll now law
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Posted on May 06 2019
The House of Representatives bill to help pay the salaries of Tinian municipal employees is now law after Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signed House Bill 21-37 last April 29.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Antonio SN Borja (R-Saipan), is now Public Law 21-1 and uses $1.2 million special casino gross revenue tax that was intended for Tinian.
P.L. 21-1 allocates $1.09 million for personnel and operations, and public programs for the Tinian municipal government, the Tinian Municipal Treasury employees, the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission personnel and operations, and the Tinian Mayor’s Office.
An additional $60,000 will be used to buy one van for the Office of Aging under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs-Tinian, while $25,000 each will be used to buy vehicles for the Department of Public Works-Tinian’s Building Safety Division and the Department of Finance-Tinian.
In a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan said: “We really need that money for our employees in the municipality. The signing is very timely since our payroll will only last up to May 10. Without the bill being signed into law, it would have [meant] unpaid salaries, furloughs, and cut hours. Now that we have funding, it is welcome news to us.”
He added that he is aware of the concerns raised by minority leader Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) and Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan) when Borja’s bill was being deliberated on the floor in the House.
“The money will help make sure the employees will get paid…and other obligations [are] covered. The [money] was the share for Tinian from the CGRT. We’re re-obligating the money. We’re taking away money from a project that was supposed to be ongoing,” said Aldan, referring to paving of the Marpo Heights. “The project will push through and we’re not going to abandon it.”
He said that they are still on target for the Marpo Heights project. “There’s $2 million…in capital improvement project [funds], which funds road, water, water, and other infrastructure projects. We’re not abandoning the project and it will push through.”
