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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Government Form Hearing Critique

The people stayed away in droves because few knew about the event.
In the future, hearings should be televised on public television channel 12, and heavily promoted in print and broadcast media.
As far as the current government "structure" that is in place, it is a mess in my opinion. A government house that is not a house governed: a bloated and corrupt environment. A V.I. Inspector General who can't inspect anything generally without fear of retribution. A government whose justice and police departments don't vigorously police themselves or pursue justice for fear of their pensions. A government employees' retirement system whose system should be retired and replaced.
What is needed for the Virgin Islands is what the federal government did to Washington, D.C., a municipal government. They put it completely in receivership, audited the books, cleaned out the crud and corruption, jailed politicians and then restructured it. It has worked nearly perfectly since then.
Dale Francis is correct when he proposes:
"…….the structure that would involve two counties – each with a mayor. Each county would have two districts represented by one elected councilperson. Each district would have a city manager and each county a county manger. These managers would be public administration professionals who are hired based on their qualifications – not elected.
"The Virgin Islands has never organized an efficient and effective system of government," Francis said. "In the absence of a real government it has muddled through years of political cronyism and mismanagement." Francis believes the municipal structure would remove politics from the management level of government and create accountability and responsiveness.

First things first—clean out the wound, bandage it and let it heal. Bring on the federal auditors and U.S. Marshals to the government house.
Dan Bostdorf
St John

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