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‘$300K-$400K can be moved around for agencies’ 2015 budget’
House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Tony Sablan (Ind-Saipan) said there’s between $300,000 and $400,000 under Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ proposed fiscal year 2015 budget that can be taken out from and then redistributed to government agencies. The committee deliberates this week on the distribution of funds, some three months before the new fiscal year kicks in on Oct. 1.
The committee wrapped up last week reviews of each department’s appropriations and will make the final revision to the distribution this week.
“It’s now a matter of plugging in the numbers. We went back to see where we can make adjustments—some will get less while others will get more compared to what the governor proposed. Yes, the committee identified $300,000 to $400,000 money that can be moved around depending on agencies’ needs,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune.
There is no telling whether a 2015 budget bill can be prefiled in time for tomorrow’s House session.
The governor’s proposed fiscal year 2015 budget is $134.33 million, which is lower than the fiscal year 2014 budget of $135.786 million after the governor signed last week a $12.386 million supplemental budget law. But Ways and Means Committee member Ralph Yumul (Ind-Saipan) said the 2015 budget is “very conservative” to begin with” so a supplemental budget should be “expected.”
