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Dela Cruz eyes relocation of Tinian Mayor’s Office
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Posted on Sep 02 2011
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Reporter
Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz disclosed yesterday that he plans to relocate the entire Tinian Mayor’s Office and its key departments to a new site to save on cost.
The municipality currently pays a private landowner monthly rental of $3,000-an amount he believes would only go higher in the future.
Dela Cruz wants to transfer his offices to either a government-owned facility or a private but less costly space.
“Although we’re current in our rental fee for now, we need to make plans on how we can generate savings. Relocating to a government-owned facility or moving to a private space but at a lesser cost.will greatly help our government,” he told Saipan Tribune yesterday.
He said the municipality is now assessing the potential cost if minor repairs are done on some government buildings on island.
The mayor said they will do a cost-analysis that will guide them to reach a sound and practical decision.
Tinian was appropriated a budget of $4.2 million this fiscal year. This is a steep drop when compared to fiscal year 2006 when revenue from casino operation stood at $4.9 million.
Since he assumed office, Dela Cruz said he had cut down the number of employees from over 200 to less than 100.
Since May, the municipality has never received its allotment for operations due to the central government’s cash-flow problems, Dela Cruz said. He estimates the operational deficit to reach over $200,000 by the end of this fiscal year.
Besides the workforce cuts, hiring and travel freezes were also implemented, and that includes the mayor’s trips off-island. “We’re struggling but we’re making good with whatever we have,” said Dela Cruz.
He also disclosed yesterday the relocation of the CNMI’s Department of Finance office on Tinian to the Department of Land and Natural Resources office. The transfer was due to the unpaid and increasing rental fees, amounting to $2,500 monthly. Dela Cruz said the government is behind in its rent for more than a year now.
“We moved it to the DLNR office today to stop the government bleeding,” he added.
