Saipan municipality proposes $1.3M budget in FY2010

The Saipan Mayor’s Office has proposed a $1.3 million budget for the next fiscal year, an amount slightly higher than its present allocation.

Tony Benavente, Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela’s public information officer, disclosed yesterday that the proposed amount will fund both personnel and operations of the mayor’s office in 2010.

Hesitant to provide the budget documents submitted to the Fitial administration, Benavente merely said the proposed budget covers 62 full-time employees.

“About $1.2 million of the proposed budget will pay for personnel while the remaining—about $100,000—will be used for ‘All Others’ and operation of the mayor’s programs,” he said.

All Others include supplies, gas, operations, and maintenance of programs.

Benavente said the budget proposal may change if the mayor sees the necessity to revise it.

Currently, the Saipan Mayor’s Office has an annual allocation of $1.2 million, a big bulk of which goes to personnel.

Excluded in the $1.2 million is the 5 percent cut mandated by the Fitial administration for all government agencies.

Tudela had warned in February of a possible across-the-board wage cut and furlough among his staff as a result of the limited budget.

Due to the dwindling economy and declining revenue and collection, the governor is planning to furlough government employees, which could hit most municipal employees.

The mayor said, though, that nobody in his office will be affected because, with the recent resignation and retirement of some personnel, he has enough funds to cover the cost of the remaining employees.

From 64 personnel, Tudela said that he has now only 50 employees in all divisions and programs. He said some 12 personnel or more either resigned or retired, saving his office a significant amount.

Benavente said yesterday that from 82 employees three years ago, the municipality now has 62 positions, of which 22 are vacant.

From the previous annual appropriation of $2.5 million for the Saipan municipality, the amount dropped this fiscal year, resulting in only $1.2 million for personnel cost.

Last fiscal year, a number of the municipality’s employees were issued termination notices and non-renewal of their contracts. Tudela, however, later reconsidered and kept them until the end of the fiscal year.

Tudela is serving his last term in office as Saipan mayor.