PSS, NMC, DPS, CHC ask House panel for at least $25M more

House Ways and Means Committee chair Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan) and other panel members now have the daunting task of deciding where to get or how much, if at all, will be given to four government agencies that have a combined request of $25 million more than Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s $102 million proposed budget for fiscal year 2013.

Basa’s committee wrapped up yesterday afternoon its budget hearings, before it could deliberate on the fiscal year 2013 budget.

The combined $25 million in additional funding are requested by at least four agencies: the Public School System, an additional $10 million; Northern Marianas College, an additional $3 million; the Department of Public Safety, $2 million more; and Commonwealth Health Corp., a government subsidy of $10 million.

In yesterday’s budget hearing, Education Commissioner Rita Sablan and financial consultant Ed Tenorio told lawmakers that the Board of Education approved a $40 million fiscal year 2013 budget for PSS. But the governor’s budget submission gave PSS only $30 million, meeting the maintenance-of-efforts requirements.

Sablan said PSS needs a lot more than $30 million to efficiently run the system, including payments to educators.

Tenorio said PSS will be able to negotiate a $36-million budget, as a result of aggressive cost cutting on the part of PSS. He said PSS is hoping that the Fitial administration will be able to remit to PSS $9 million in outstanding remittances for previous years.

NMC officials led by president Sharon Hart, in a separate budget hearing yesterday, asked for an $8 million budget, $3 million more than the governor’s proposal of $5 million.

Last week, CHC officials led by chief financial officer Alvaro Santos asked the House Ways and Means Committee to provide a $10 million annual subsidy to CHC for it to run efficiently and until it is able to stand on its own two feet.

CHC said this is on top of the $2.5 million that the governor submitted, and the proposed additional $7 million revolving line of credit for CHC from the Marianas Public Land Trust.

DPS officials led by acting Commissioner Ambrosio Ogumoro also asked for a $10 million budget for DPS, which is $2 million higher than the governor’s submission. Fitial gave DPS $8 million for 2013, which was already $2 million more than the 2012 budget of $6 million.