Sept. 14, 2007 — Even though the majority ruled during Friday's Finance Committee hearing, minority senators took a firm stance against a sheaf of budget bills up for consideration on the day's agenda.
A significant chunk of the bills either transfer money from various government funds into the General Fund, or make appropriations from those funds to government departments and agencies. A few of the bills also appropriate money from the General Fund to the government's semi-autonomous agencies or smaller divisions, which are not generally included in the overall fiscal year executive budget proposal.
While most of the bills passed the grade for majority senators, the minority questioned why many of the appropriations were passed in lump-sum amounts, without delineating exactly what the funds were going to be used for.
Rounding out the morning portion of the hearing, Sen. Carlton "Ital" Dowe made a motion to consider 15 of the bills in three blocks, with an overall debate time of six minutes for each senator. Dowe's motion sent the minority into an uproar, with senators saying that limiting discussion on the bills flies in the face of the government's responsibility to remain transparent and "accountable to the people."
One sticking point for the minority was a bill appropriating a little more than $1.4 million to the Public Services Commission to cover the agency's FY 2008 operating expenses. The funds come from the public services revolving fund, a pool of money derived from assessment fees the commission levies on the utilities it regulates. For FY 2007, the PSC's appropriation from the fund was $1 million.
Another bill approved Thursday calls for a $500,000 increase on the fund's cap, which would give the commission "more budgetary flexibility," PSC representatives have said at past Senate hearings.
Given the PSC's "controversial" involvement in a legal battle between Innovative Communications Corp. owner Jeffery Prosser and his creditors, however, any increase in funds given to the agency should be carefully scrutinized, argued Sens. Juan Figueroa-Serville, Neville James and Ronald E. Russell on Thursday.
"It's clear that the PSC has not been delivering the goods," James said.
Russell added that approving lump-sum appropriations and rushing blocks of bills through the committee should be considered in "bad taste."
"We can't continue to give the PSC a lump-sum budget to spend against the people's best interest," he added. "ICC is in bankruptcy court and the PSC is taking stances — that's not the best picture. We need to manage the money by giving them a line-item budget, so we know what's being spent and how — so we can account for the people's money."
Despite the opposition, majority senators also stayed together in a tight unit, causing the vote on most of the bills to stay consistent at four in favor and three against. The majority members also kept their speeches short, some only leaning forward in their seats to say, "Mr. Chair, I rise in support of all the bills in this block."
Reminding the minority about years past, Sen. Liston Davis pointed out that last year's majority — of which Figueroa-Serville, James and Russell were a part — also ushered the FY 2007 budget quickly through the committee and mark-up process.
Others, such as Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, explained that the majority — in sticking close to the original draft of the FY 2008 budget proposal — intended to give the new administration the "benefit of the doubt."
"It was my intention today to go through the budget bill by bill," Nelson said. "But I supported (Dowe's) motion because I saw that our discussion was quickly decaying, and I wanted to leave the chambers with some semblance of a cordial relationship. I do share some of the sentiments of the minority senators, but through discussions with the governor, his financial team and other members of the new administration, we decided that we're going to allow them some freedom — but not without checks and balances."
FY 2008 budget bills approved during Friday's meeting:
— appropriate $4.7 million from the anti-litter and beautification fund to the Waste Management Authority;
— appropriate $1 million to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to cover operating expenses;
— appropriate $1.8 million from the business and commercial properties revolving fund to the Department of Property and Procurement to cover salaries and other operating expenses for the Business and Commercial Properties Administration;
— appropriate $6 million from the Caribbean Basin initiative fund to the Department of Finance for projects and other expenses;
— appropriate approximately $2 million from the government insurance fund to the Department of Finance and the Department of Labor for salaries and other expenses;
— make a lump-sum appropriation of $2.3 million from health revolving fund to the Department of Health;
— makes a lump-sum appropriation of nearly $6.2 million from the indirect cost fund to cover operating expenses with the Office of Management and Budget, Division of Personnel, Property and Procurement and Finance;
— appropriates $11.7 million from the interest revenue fund as a contribution to the General Fund;
— appropriates $775,000 from the union arbitration award and government employees' increment fund to the Public Employees Relations Board and the Labor Management Committee to cover operating expenses;
— appropriates $1.1 million from the from the sewer waste water fund to the Waste Management Authority to cover various operating expenses, including parts, supplies and maintenance costs associated with the control and regulation of the public waste water and sewer system;
— appropriates nearly $2 million from the tourism advertising revolving fund to the Department of Tourism and Waste Management Authority to fund various festival cleanups and to the Office of the Governor and Bureau of Economic Research to conduct traveler exit surveys;
— appropriates $16 million from the transportation trust fund as a contribution to the General Fund;
— appropriates $29.5 million to the University of the Virgin Islands to cover salaries and other operating expenses;
— appropriates $4.5 million from the General Fund to WTJX Public Television System to cover operating expenses;
— appropriates $588,714 from the taxi license fund to the Taxicab Division within the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs;
— appropriates $28.5 million from the General Fund to the Waste Management Authority to cover FY 2008 operating expenses;
— appropriates $78.9 million from the Internal Revenue matching fund to the Department of Finance;
— appropriates $2 million from the Internal Revenue matching fund as a contribution to the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund;
— increases by $500,000 the maximum contribution the Division of Banking and Insurance can collect in assessment fees from insurers that it regulates;
— appropriates: $1.3 million from the General Fund to the St. Thomas East End Medical Center Corp. for the reimbursement of payroll expenses owed to the Department of Health; $24,789 from the General Fund to the Government Employees' Retirement System to pay the employer contribution for seven firefighters; $2.1 million from the General Fund for overtime payments to Bureau of Corrections officers; and $447,970 for unpaid salary increases for firefighters and their supervisors.
Present during Friday's meeting were Davis, Dowe, Figueroa-Serville, James, Nelson, Russell and Sen. James Weber III.
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