Housing allowance hangs fire while awaiting OAG opinion

The fate of the housing allowance of select Commonwealth Health Center employees remains in limbo until the Office of the Attorney General issues its legal opinion on the matter, according to Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. board chair Joaquin Torres yesterday.

Torres said that assistant attorney general W. Allen Hazlip of the Civil Division will be working on the case by reviewing employment documents and interviewing human resource manager Marciana Igitol.

Hazlip attended the special meeting of the corporation’s board last Thursday.

According to Torres, all documents and details of the employment contracts of affected employees will be provided to Hazlip and the OAG to allow them to issue a legal opinion.

“We have to resolve this once and for all. We have to provide them whatever is called for, either expressed or implied in the contract,” Torres told Saipan Tribune.

Torres noted that they will follow whatever opinion will be issued by the OAG because “it’s a legal obligation.”

He said the problem lies with where to get the funds to pay for the housing allowance “because we don’t have money for this purpose.”

Committee recommendation

During Thursday’s meeting, board member Anthony Raho reported on the recommendation prepared by Dr. Dan Lamar in consultation with the employee committee that was created to come up with a “compromise plan” on the housing allowance issue.

While the corporation acknowledges its obligation to the employees for the housing allowance, Raho said the corporation also has “dire” finances, which make the issue a “difficult situation to deal with.”

He said the employee committee recommended a housing allowance of $500 for unmarried employees and $700 for those with families-a $100 reduction from previous rates.

“The committee had thought that they would be willing to accept a reduction in the housing allowance if the balance were rolled into their salaries. I think that the committee is pretty adamant about honoring existing contracts, whether paper contracts or if it’s an implied contract,” added Raho.

The board argued that other alternatives should be considered as the corporation has a lot of obligations that are beyond its financial capability.

One option raised was to cut down on other expenditures, but it was pointed out that reduction-in-force is already being implemented

These alternatives include cutting down expenses and to review the current real estate market to reflect a more updated housing monthly rate standards. It was also noted that the corporation can find housing units for its staff that charge lower rates.

In the future, Torres said the corporation will try to do away with the housing perks.

“As an employment contract expires, we would negotiate with this individual the compensation package and just remove entirely the housing allowance,” he said.