NMASA proposes $486,665 budget

Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association is proposing a $486,665 budget for fiscal year 2013 to operate the Oleai Sports Complex and provide assistance to various sports federations competing in off-island tournaments.

A large chunk of the budget proposal-$150,000-will be used to fund off-island competitions.

“The figure budgeted for travel principally consists of funds for off-island sports travel. At a hearing at the Legislature earlier this year, NMASA was asked to take over the function of allocating funds for this purpose, so that the Legislature could avoid the necessity of dealing with, and possibly appropriating funds for, off-island travel by a large number of groups each year,” NMASA stated in a letter justifying the proposed budget.

For the past years, Team CNMI has been requesting financial assistance from the government through the Legislature every time it competes in regional events, such as the Micronesian Games, Pacific Games, and the Mini Games. Last year, due to budget cuts, Team CNMI failed to get any penny from the government’s coffers, forcing the Commonwealth’s athletes to shell out funds from their own pockets and request aid from the private sector. In 2010, during the Micronesian Games in Palau, Team CNMI received $60,000 financial assistance from the government after the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation made a re-appropriation from unobligated/lapsed funds.

“Once these funds ($150,000) are appropriated, the Legislature would no longer have to deal with those requests, and NMASA would be responsible for receiving and deciding upon requests for off-island travel expenses,” NMASA added.

$100K for personnel salaries

Under the proposed budget, NMASA will allocate $100,029 for salaries of four employees.

The NMASA executive director will get $40,000, which is also the current salary of the head of the Division of Sports and Recreation. The remaining funds will be for three staff members and the total cost for personnel wages is $129,265 (including SS, medicare, retirement, and WCC contributions, life insurance, and paid leaves).

For the past several years, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs through the Division of Sports and Recreation is managing the sports complex and has one director and four staff members in charge of the operation of the facilities in Oleai.

Under the proposed budget submitted by DCCA last month, personnel salaries for the Division of Sports and Recreation total to $107,025 and $8,544 for other expenses.

With NMASA asserting its claim over the maintenance and operation of the contested sports complex through Public Law 4-66, the Division of Sports and Recreation director and staff positions will cease to exist.

“We will have to sit down with the DCCA secretary (Melvin Faisao) for the transition plan,” NMASA president Michael White told the group’s members during their monthly meeting last Thursday, a day after he met with Faisao, a representative from the Attorney General’s Office, and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos.

White met with the three officials to discuss which group is mandated by CNMI laws to take care of the sports complex and according to the former, there was a concession that NMASA is responsible for the disputed facility and DCCA has no authority on running the affairs of NMASA. Last week, Faisao sent a letter to White, saying “effective immediately, all official matters dealing with NMASA administration and operation will now require my concurrence or approval.”

Meanwhile, the remaining $207,400 in the proposed budget will cover other operational expenses; $2,000 for communications, $40,000 for repairs and maintenance, $42,000 for cleaning services, $36,000 for grounds maintenance, $72,000 for utilities, $9,000 for vehicle, and $6,000 for equipment.

The NMASA budget was not included in the one presented at the Legislature on March 30, but the former submitted one to Inos and will also give copies to lawmakers.

“We have provided copies to the lt. governor and intend to work with the Legislature to have it included in the budget which they enact,” White said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

The budget for fiscal year 2013 must be approved by September this year.