FY 2000 budget still in limbo • With eight days to go, Ways and Means Committee undecided how to divide the pie

With barely a week to pass the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, the House Ways and Means Committee is looking at approving appropriations for a few critical departments and agencies following disagreement on the final funding level.

Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes said yesterday there is no final decision yet on how to distribute the $206 million operational budget for FY 2000 that Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio proposed early this year.

The Legislature is required under the law to pass the budget package before the current fiscal year ends on September 30. If it failed to do so, the government will have to run under continuing resolution.

“Just in case that we don’t finish the entire budget this week, there is a possibility to provide appropriation for certain departments and just let the other departments to follow the governor’s submission,” Reyes told in an interview.

Some departments likely to get approval are the Public School System, Department of Public Health, Department of Public Safety, Northern Marianas College and the Scholarship’s Office as well as the mayor’s office on the three islands.

“If there are still some disagreement and arguments on some of the figures, then we may have to skip the budget of those other departments,” said the Ways and Means chairman.

According to sources, the budget deliberation being conducted by the committee, which deals with the financial affairs of the government, has been bogged down by disputes on how much share each agency would receive.

Several departments and agencies have asked the Legislature for additional funding for the next fiscal year, citing potential disruption in the delivery of public services if they don’t get enough resources.

Since the midterm elections is less than six weeks away when most members of the House are seeking fresh terms, some lawmakers are insistent to direct funds to their pet programs despite dwindling government revenues, one source said.

But Reyes said he hopes to draw up a final budget package this week and send it to the House and Senate for approval next week in a back-to-back session just before the constitutionally-mandated deadline.

He maintained that other departments and agencies may receive higher allocation, but added it would only be a slight adjustment that will not affect the budget requests of other offices.

The committee is also expected to recommend granting of flexibility to department heads to reprogram their own funds for other more important needs so long as the shifting will not exceed the spending level.

“Hopefully we carry them until such time that the governor can give a supplemental budget… depending whether our economy recovers by next year,” Reyes said.

Due to continuos harsh economic conditions on the island, Tenorio pared down his proposed spending limit next year to $206 million, a decline of only about two percent from the FY 1999 revised budget of $210 million.