FLASHBACK – Jan. 21, 2012

CPA board OKs budget supplement[/B]

The Commonwealth Ports Authority board has approved a supplemental budget amounting to $66,264 to carry out capital improvement projects on Saipan, Rota and Tinian. Of this, some $42,264 will go to the airport while $24,000 will go to the seaport. This include additional funding for the expansion of West Tinian Airport amounting to $33,822. The ports authority had earlier approved a total of $11.10 million budget for fiscal year 1999. This include an appropriation of some $9.73 million for the airport operation, an 11 percent decline over the previous year. At least 58 percent of the airport budget goes to salaries and wages of personnel.

A bill pending at the House of Representatives will seek the creation of a government office to oversee public parks on the island and impose fees on the use of the sites for repair and maintenance of facilities. The proposed office will still be part of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources which, under the existing law, is the lead agency supervising various parks in the CNMI. The Division of Parks and Recreation will be provided authority to undertake landscaping, beautification of these parks, while assess fees to generate its own revenues, according to the measure proposed by Rep. Oscar Babauta.

MVA seeks $8 million budget for 2001[/B]

The Marianas Visitors Authority is seeking an $8 million budget for fiscal year 2001, a $2.2. million increase from this year’s budget. MVA board chair David M. Sablan has expressed hope that the proposed budget will be approved by the Legislature without cuts so that they can effectively market the CNMI as an ideal destination in the Pacific. He warned that continuous budget cuts may affect current efforts to revive the ailing tourism economy. MVA has been planning to tap its alternative markets —Hong Kong and Taiwan but the money for promotion is not even enough to pursue Japan and Korea, its main source of visitors.

The University of Guam has agreed to offer its business administration courses on Saipan through the facility of the Northern Marianas College. Since last week, NMC began offering Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with accounting major, according to continuing education Dean Edward Camacho. The college has also started extending courses on managerial communications, management of organization, basic business finance and applied statistics. The agreement was reached following over six months of negotiations between officials of the University of Guam and the Northern Marianas College.

‘Road works better left to mayors'[/B]

In an expression of support for the administration of Saipan Mayor Juan Borja Tudela, House Rep. William S. Torres said the local government should be empowered to take full responsibility over the repair of secondary roads, which it currently shares with the Department of Public Works. Torres said this in an interview at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, where he attended Tudela’s inaugural ball Saturday night. “We would like the mayor to assume responsibility for the repair of secondary roads,” Torres said. “At the present time, this responsibility is divided into the mayor and the [Department of] Public Works. We would like the mayor to assume the entire responsibility.”

In the face of the continued economic downturn, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce is taking a bolder move in an effort to increase its membership and satisfy current members: A 30- to 50-percent cut in annual dues to take effect immediately. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce has over 140 members, making it the largest private business organization in the CNMI. The chamber offers various types of benefits that companies will be able to obtain for being a member, said Chamber Executive Director Carlene Reyes-Tenorio. She said a central benefit of Chamber membership “is the voice that dues buy, a voice that is dedicated to overcoming impediments to the conduct of commerce in the Northern Marianas.” The organization provides collective representation with the CNMI government via the Chamber’s government relations program, said Reyes-Tenorio.