Reyes suggests way to divvy up budget

If he will have his way, NMI Retirement Fund Karl T. Reyes will accommodate the $206 million budget for this fiscal year by dividing them into eight categories.

Reyes, a congressman in the 10th Legislature and House Ways and Means Committee chair in the 11th Legislature, suggested Friday that lawmakers divide up the available resources in this manner:

* Personnel salaries (for 5,200 employees): $143.1 million;

* Employer’s retirement contribution: $34.3 million;

* Public School System: $15 million or $800,000 per school;

* Executive Branch: $5.3 million;

* Legislature: $3.3 million;

* Judicial Branch: $1.1 million;

* Northern Marianas College and other programs: $1.9 million; and

* Public Law 8-31 for retirees’ cost of living allowance, special annuities for past governors and lieutenant governors, and Group Health and Life Insurance: $2.3 million.

“If you it all add up, you’ll get $206 million, which is what they’re saying is the available funding for FY 2006,” said Reyes.

He noted, though, that the employer’s contribution payment only accounts for 24 percent, not 36.7 percent as currently implemented.

He agreed that “if it’s 36 percent, there’s no more budget left since it takes away $52.5 million.”

The personnel budget, which represents 70 percent of the total funding, would cover all government employees.

Likewise, the retirement employer’s contribution also includes all employees from the central government and autonomous offices.

Reyes noted that in more than a decade of the CNMI government history, only three budget plans were passed.

“Not a very good record,” he said, noting that the last budget passed was in 1992 prior to the passing of another budget during his chairmanship in 1999.

After his term, the next budget passed was in 2002 for fiscal year 2003.

Since then, no budget has been passed yet.

Reyes said he made his own budget computation to share it with the Legislature, if possible.

“I’ve been making suggestions. This is my latest budget proposal,” said Reyes.

The House of Representatives endorsed last month $206.5 million as available resources for FY 2006.

The House approved House Concurrent Resolution 14-3 which sets at $217.4 million the total identified budgetary resources for this fiscal year.

Of this amount, $11.2 million is taken out to pay off the following obligations: Public School System bond repayment, $2 million; capital improvement project $60 million bond repayment, $5.2 million; Marianas Public Land Trust remittance to Northern Marianas Housing Corp. (Public Law 12-27), $1.3 million; and Land Compensation bond repayment, $2.7 million.

The net amount of $206.2 million is increased to $208.5 million in view of additional $2.3 million in additional resources from earmarked tobacco settlement fund ($122,389), Tobacco Control fund balance ($509,950), and Tobacco Control collection ($1.7 million).

The total revenue and resources available, however, goes back to $206.5 million due to the $2 million (1 percent) deficit reduction.

The remaining amount of $206.5 million would eventually be down to $152 million level in view of the $50 million funding for PSS and $4 million for the CNMI Scholarship Office.

The concurrent resolution is now at the Senate.

Meantime, the PSS bill, which carries the $4 million scholarship appropriation, just passed the House and is now up for consideration at the upper chamber.

The House has not come up with the actual budget bill that would show the specific allotment of funding per agency or department.

The government currently operates on a $213 million continuing resolution.