The V.I. Port Authority won't contribute $4 million toward teachers' back pay unless it is assured the money will go to teachers and until the government floats a bond to replace it.
That was the unanimous decision Wednesday by the authority's governing board.
The $4 million is coming from funds set aside by the authority for the long-awaited marine development at Enighed Pond on St. John. The total price tag for the project is $16 million.
The Turnbull administration tapped the Port Authority along with other semi-autonomous agencies in an unsuccessful attempt to find enough money to stave off the teachers' strike that crippled schools last month.
Despite the teachers' rejection of Turnbull's offer, Government House has been trying to put together the cash. The administration has been negotiating an agreement with the Port Authority for the transfer of $4 million for more than a month.
Port Authority Executive Director Gordon Finch told the board Wednesday that the agreement should ensure that "our $4 million will not go into the black hole called the General Fund."
The government is headed for impasse mediation with the American Federation of Teachers union, said board member Iver Stridiron, the V.I. attorney general. If that doesn't work, the next stop is arbitration.
In the end, if the $4 million isn't needed for teachers' salaries, Finch suggested the government should give it back to the authority.
"Give it back from where?" asked St. John board member Robert O'Connor, Jr. "Where are they going to get it from?"
O'Connor complained that the draft agreement contains no guarantee that the GARVEE (grant anticipation revenue vehicle) bond will be floated or when.
Board member Kent Bernier, a new financial advisor hired by Turnbull, responded, "the GARVEE situation is pretty much on line." There will be two issues of bonds, he said, the first for $20 million to raise money for Enighed Pond and for improvements at Red Hook. The government plans to go to market in "early February-March."
Bernier suggested tabling the agreement so he and Finch could speak about it with Turnbull.
But the board went further, authorizing Finch and acting board chairman Monique Hodge to sign a final agreement if it provides that the $4 million contribution requires two triggers: the government's use of the money for teachers' salaries and the actual execution of the bond issue.
