Fitial cuts Rota budget for 2013

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s budget plan for fiscal year 2013 includes a cut of some $180,000 from Rota’s budget while maintaining or slightly increasing the budgets of Saipan, Tinian, and the Northern Islands.

The governor told the four mayors during a closed-door governor’s council meeting yesterday afternoon on Capital Hill that he will be submitting his $102 million budget for fiscal year 2013 to the Legislature today, two days ahead of the April 1 deadline. This is the same amount as fiscal year 2012’s budget.

Fitial’s budget cut for Rota comes amid his spat with Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), who has accused the governor of not having an economic recovery plan and of playing politics.

Fitial had described Rota and Tinian senators as “stupid” for rejecting casino gaming on Saipan and that remark spawned a word war between the governor and Manglona.

Rota Mayor Melchor Mendiola was “disappointed” with the budget cut, said Rota Finance director Stacey Atalig, who accompanied the Rota mayor to the meeting with the governor.

“Even now, we’re already struggling with the fiscal year 2012 budget. To have a cut of about $180,000 is disappointing. Who is going to be happy about that?” Atalig said in a phone interview.

Rota and Tinian’s fiscal year 2012 budget was over $4.5 million each.

Atalig said that Rota’s budget under the governor’s plan will be reduced to almost $4.3 million, without a budget for the Rota Guesthouse as the mayor had asked the governor.

Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz, in a separate interview, said that Tinian got the same budget as last fiscal year.

“We understand the current financial situation, so we asked for the same level. However, for the mayor’s office fulltime employees, it was reduced by two, from 105 to 103. I have to let go of two of my employees,” he said.

Saipan Mayor Donald Flores separately said that Saipan got a “slight” budget increase of some $9,000, bringing it to $1.88 million in fiscal year 2013.

“I am happy that at least there’s a slight increase for Saipan,” he said.

Northern Islands Mayor Tobias Aldan was represented by his staff at the meeting with the governor.
The Saipan, Tinian, and Rota mayors all asked the governor for “flexibility” on where to spend the money budgeted for them; for example, from personnel to operation and vice versa.

“The governor gave the mayors flexibility as long as we keep the expenses within the amount allotted us,” said Flores.

Press secretary Angel Demapan said the 2013 budget proposal is “very similar to last fiscal year’s budget.”

“In fact, OMB [Office of Management and Budget] has worked closely with each mayor’s office during the budget call period. So there were no lengthy discussions on the figures,” he told Saipan Tribune.

‘Disaster’

In related news, Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) said the Retirement Fund crisis started when Fitial’s political party in 2006 passed and signed legislation to suspend government employer contribution to the Fund.

“That’s the beginning of the disaster,” Manglona told Saipan Tribune.

He said with a June 15 deadline by Judge Kenneth Govendo for the government to address the problems at the Fund, the governor still does not have a plan to help the Fund or at least a plan to work with both the House and Senate to address these concerns.

“We don’t hear the governor addressing the concerns of the Retirement Fund, CHC, CUC, CIP, and other critical issues. But we always hear him talking about politics. That is why I stand by my statement that if he cannot focus on critical issues and restore 80 hours for employees, he should just let Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos take over his post. Inos being a financial expert will at least focus on what’s more important than politics,” Manglona said.

Press secretary Demapan said it doesn’t make sense that Manglona is now “placing the blame on a 2006 law” because three years after that, in 2009, “the Senate president backed the Fitial-Inos tandem and campaigned in support of their proven leadership.”

“So which does he want people to believe now? He says we need to fix the economy, yet blocks any bill that would. He can’t make up his mind,” Fitial told Saipan Tribune in an email through the press secretary.

He said he has been working closely with the Fund to find solutions to help preserve it. This is why he is “strongly backing two initiatives-the Saipan casino and the fee simple sale of public lands currently occupied by major hotels and golf resorts.”

He believes the revenues the CNMI stands to generate from these two initiatives “would pump in millions of much needed dollars to alleviate the problems with the Fund.”

“I am looking at real long-term solutions because we cannot keep resorting to band-aid solutions. And yet again, Sen. Manglona refuses to support long-term solutions,” Fitial added.