MVA employees face work-hour cuts, furloughs, layoffs on June 1

The Marianas Visitors Authority will be implementing what it calls a “reduction in force” effective June 1, in order to stay within the funding level for the rest of the fiscal year.

A reduction in force could mean a cut in work hours, long-term furloughs, reduction in staff and elimination of functions, according to Perry Tenorio, managing director of MVA, in a letter to employees.

“More than one type of action may be necessary. I anticipate that all employees, both management and staff, will be affected,” he said. The letter was also sent to Gov. Benigno Fitial, Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez, the Legislature, the Office of Personnel Management, the MVA board of directors and the Civil Service Commission.

There are close to 30 employees at the Authority, an employee said.

The Fiscal Year 2009 budget, passed by the Legislature in March after it overrode the governor’s veto, appropriated $955,597 for the MVA payroll of 36 employees and $5.72 million for non-personnel costs, totaling $6.68 million.

The MVA is one of the latest government agencies considering ways to cut costs.

Tinian Mayor Mayor Jose P. San Nicolas has said he is considering a two-month furlough for employees if all other austerity measures fail.

The Fitial administration earlier said thousands of government employees could be furloughed in order to stay within the $156.76 million budget without cost-reductions measures like unpaid holidays and austerity Fridays. Fitial has since said he plans on using approximately $8 million from federal stimulus funds to cover any deficit in payroll costs for the rest of the fiscal year.

Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor’s Office, said the reduction in force is an example of why Fitial vetoed the budget. MVA is an important agency to generate revenue, yet without austerity measures it could not be properly funded, he said.

The Legislature cut the budgets of government agencies as revenue declined, but it did not specify how each agency should reduce costs, instead forcing each department head to make the decisions, Reyes said.

“The legislators don’t want to make the tough political decisions,” he added.

The press secretary said the administration is hoping for the $8 million to cover payroll costs, but it’s important not to count the chickens before they hatch.

And, he noted, under the budget law new hires are restricted, so if employees are let go before the stimulus funding can come in, they might not be rehired.

Once the cost-cutting measures are determined, Tenorio said affected employees would be given as much notice as possible, but not less than 30 days.

“I understand that any of the reduction-in-force actions will be painful to those affected and I will be making every effort to minimize these actions to the best of my abilities. However, the reality is that, without additional funding becoming available, the Authority does not have sufficient funding to pay salaries for the remainder of this fiscal year,” Tenorio wrote in the letter.