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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesVOTERS WANT EQUAL ALLOTMENTS FOR SENATORS

VOTERS WANT EQUAL ALLOTMENTS FOR SENATORS

In the second weekly poll conducted by the Source, voters expressed, by nearly 10 to one, their desire to see majority and minority senators get the same allotments.
Of the 342 votes cast, 302 were in favor of all 15 senators getting the same amount of money.
As of publication Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd had not released the exact figures on the Senate budget, though reports in January had him allotting minority bloc senators $100,000 to run their offices, compared to "$200,000-plus" for majority bloc senators — a 100 percent-plus increase. Of the 302 votes in the Source poll, only three — or 1 percent — were cast in favor of majority bloc senators getting a 100 percent increase over minority bloc senators.
Liburd in January justified the disparate allotments by saying the $100,000 for minority senators was only $70,000 less than minority senators in the 23rd Legislature received. However, Sens. Lorraine Berry and Roosevelt David said Liburd's numbers were misleading. The $170,000 allotted to minority senators in the 23rd Legislature was only for staffing. They received another $20,000 for operating expenses, widening the difference between what minority senators got in the two legislatures to $90,000.
Thirty-one votes were cast in favor of majority bloc senators getting a 25 percent increase over minority senators; six favored a 50 percent increase.
This is not intended to be a scientific poll. But as a rough gauge of how Source readers feel about issues confronting the territory, we think you will find the results interesting and worth considering — and we hope you will vote in this week's and future polls.
Poll question: Should all senators get the same allotment? If not, what should be the additional amount for majority senators?
1. Yes, they should all get the same amount.
STT(235) STX (62) STJ (5); Total (302), 88.3 percent of all respondents.
2. Majority senators should get 25 percent more.
STT (22) STX (9) STJ (0), Total (31), 9.03 percent of all respondents.
3. Majority senators should get 50 percent more.
STT (5) STX (1) STJ (0),Total (6) 1. 75 percent of all respondents.
4. Majority senators should get 100 percent more.
STT (1) STX (2) STJ (0), Total (3) .87 percent of all respondents.

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