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Governor reassures employees on raises
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Posted on Feb 12 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has signed a bill into law reassuring civil service employees frozen on Step 12 for two years that they will receive the 5 percent lump sum salary bonus once funding is available.
Public Law 11-59 clarifies an existing measure that provides for the salary benefit to government workers which has stirred confusion whether the increase was lump sum, one time or an addition to the employee’s annual salary.
The amendment to Public Law 10-76 approved in December 1997 provides that civil service employees from grade levels 1 through 3 who are frozen on Step 12 for at least two years and who have maintained satisfactory performance during such time are entitled to a lump sum bonus equal to 5 percent of the base pay.
Employees covered by the law will be eligible to receive the bonus once every two years if cash resources are available.
“Although I have signed this…to clarify the pay out mechanism of the bonus called for under P.L. 10-76, there is no actual cash to pay this lump sum salary bonus,” the governor said in a letter transmitted to the Legislature after he signed the measure.
Tenorio explained the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Finance have informed him that paying out the benefit at this time is unlikely because of the 13.4 percent reduction from the original budgetary resource projection.
The $216 million spending package for Fiscal 1999 is facing another cut after it was revised downward last year because of the anticipated 25 percent decline in user fee collections from local garment manufacturers.
Shrinking cash resources as a result of the worsening economic condition in the CNMI has also held up the 30 percent bonus for government retirees.
Under the amendment, each department should provide the OMB a list of employees eligible to the salary bonus which will be attached to the yearly appropriation submitted by the governor.
The measure also applies to commonwealth employees in federally-funded positions seeking CNMI’s civil service classification and compensation.
Should federal funds are unavailable to pay out the 5 percent bonus, expenditure for such will be authorized by appropriation or lawful reprogramming.
