Application for stimulus funds submitted today

The Fitial administration is expected to submit today the application for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is seen to bring in millions of dollars for education and government services to the CNMI.

Gov. Benigno Fitial earlier said the Commonwealth was expected to receive $43 million. Of that, 81.2 percent must go to education, while the remaining 18.2 percent can go to public safety and other government services, including assistance for elementary and secondary education and public institutions of higher education. It can also be used for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school buildings and higher education facilities.

Fitial said he would use the 18.2 percent, estimated to be about $8 million, to cover the payroll costs for government employees for the rest of the fiscal year.

Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor’s Office, said there had been a misunderstanding between the Public School System and the administration over the funds. Members of the PSS Board of Education had said they disagree with some of Fitial’s choices pertaining to the allocation and use of the money.

Fitial, along with the governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa, wrote to President Obama in March asking to let the Department of the Interior administer the stabilization funds, something BOE vice chair Herman Guerrero said he disagrees with.

But Reyes said it is a moot point because Obama did not grant the request, and the Department of Education will administer the funds.

“The governor wrote the letter, but it was never agreed to,” Reyes said. “There’s really no point in arguing over it now because we asked for it and we were not granted the request.”

The funds will be disbursed to the Governor’s Office, as stated in the law, not directly to PSS.

“This is one of the few grants where the Department of Education gives money to the government,” said Commerce Secretary Mike Ada, who has been coordinating the CNMI’s effort for stimulus funds. “We’ve been working hand in hand with PSS.”

He noted that if the governor did not need to sign off on the application, PSS would have already submitted it.

Guerrero earlier said he felt Fitial was going behind PSS’ back by writing the letter to Obama, asking for Interior to handle the money.

But Reyes said Fitial was acting within the scope of the Executive Branch.

Other funds

Ada said the CNMI is preparing to submit its first competitive grant application. The Community Oriented Policing Services grant provides money for the Department of Public Safety to hire additional law enforcement.

“It’s not necessarily an infrastructure project. It’s more a job creation type thing,” the Commerce secretary said.