Heinz cuts working hours of staff in wake of budget cuts

Setting the stage for the expected cutbacks in third and fourth quarter allotments, House Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider has disclosed that, starting yesterday, his office has begun instituting two-hour cuts in the working schedule of his staff, which means that his office will close by 2:30pm.

In a general meeting held at the House chamber, Hofschneider also urged his fellow lawmakers to review their respective budgetary situations and implement the same cutbacks—whether a cut in the salaries or in the working hours of their personnel.

The meeting was attended by lawmakers, their respective staff and personnel and employees of the Legislative Bureau.

“It came down to meeting our obligation here and as the Speaker of the House, I need to institute some measures that would comply with the Executive Branch’s austerity program, which include a cut in the allotment or budget of the Legislature, as well as other agencies,” he said. The move will affect six employees at the Office of the Speaker.

Although the memorandum from the Office of the Governor stated that the budget cuts would be proportionate at 8.02 percent, Hofschneider said the cuts in the Legislature’s third and fourth quarter allotments actually came out at 16 percent, equivalent to a cut of about $24,500 for each lawmaker.

Despite this discrepancy, the House Speaker said he has no plans to contest this with the Department of Finance and the Office of Management and Budget, saying that, “rather than behaving irrationally and arguing about it, it is a more prudent decision to curtail expenditure and comply with the cuts.”

The CNMI Constitution sets the ceiling of $155,000 for each members of the Legislature, inclusive of all obligations connected with personnel matters, such as Retirement Fund contributions, Social Security contributions, and health insurance benefits.

“This has placed the Legislature, however, in a unique situation where it cannot, nor has it other resources to tap and reprogram funds to supplement the cut,” Hofschneider said, “resulting in a strain on all of the members’ budgets.”

Hofschneider said he used the Speaker’s Office as an example of where the CNMI government is at right now in terms of the budget situation, resulting in the Speaker’s Office shutting down two hours a day.

With this move, he said this enables him to extend his operational costs and salary costs up to September 30, “particularly since I am not authorized by the Constitution to operate on a deficit.”

“Therefore, this leaves us no room nor choice but to cut hours. It’s been a most painful thing to consider. I’ve been mulling this issue since last week and I was looking at other ways of doing it, such as reducing the salary. However, this is going to really impact on those employees with loan obligations at the bank. This [cut in hours] is a better way of meeting the reduced budget,” he said.

Although he said he is not compelling other lawmakers to institute the same measures, Hofschneider said everyone is affected by the cut in budget allotments and will have no other choice but to follow suit.

“Everyone is going to be impacted. Some may find out that they only need to cut by one hour. The overall cut for the year is around $24,500. If they [lawmakers] find that they have an unobligated amount of $24,500, then they would be safe and would not have to do anything,” he said.

But because the Legislature is required by the Constitution to live within the cap budget of $155,000 and, since that amount has been impacted by the 16 percent cut, Hofschneider said the lower chamber has no other choice but to reduce expenditures by cutting hours.

“So, starting [yesterday], the Office of the Speaker, as well as other functions of the members of the House will appropriately take measures to not incur any deficits until September 30, and if they’re required to cut one hour, two hours, however they’re going to meet their budget, so be it. This is the reality,” he said.