Nov. 7, 2007 — A bill calling for government departments and agencies to implement caller ID systems spurred a mish-mash of discussion Wednesday, including debate on the status of Innovative Communications Corp.'s pending bankruptcy proceedings.
However, Vitelco President and Chief Executive Officer David Sharp remained positive during the first half of Wednesday's Government Operations and Consumer Protection Committee meeting, telling senators that the company will "make it through" its court battles.
"I am here to stay, Vitelco is here to stay, and we will get through this," he said.
According to a monthly report generated by Stan Springel, the federal trustee handling the bankruptcy case of ICC's former Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Prosser, Vitelco is currently suffering from a "liquidity crisis." It is caused by "millions of dollars" in non-business expenditures at the "new ICC and Vitelco levels …," Springel reports, adding that the amount of money spent on non-business expenditures during the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings amounted to "tens of millions of dollars." (See "Prosser Trustee Finds 'Liquidity Crisis' at Vitelco.")
After hearing Sharp's statements, senators did not continue to dwell on the legal matters, but rather turned to discussing the bill, sponsored by Sen. Liston Davis. Mandating the implementation of caller ID systems would allow government departments and agencies to identify individuals who might be phoning in bomb threats, Davis said.
The phone company currently offers caller ID services to the government upon request, Sharp said. Implementing a larger system would be expensive and could invade residents' privacy rights, he said.
These statements were echoed in a letter submitted by Police Commissioner James H. McCall, who wrote, "caller identification would be a useful tool in the identification of perpetrators of prank calls, bomb threats and false alarms." He added, "However, the bill should provide funding for the upgrading of systems and equipment to handle the caller-identification function. We also must be cognizant of the effect such a system might have on those individuals who wish to report criminal activity or information anonymously."
Senators said they would hold the bill in committee to address the concerns.
Committee members moved quickly through the rest of their agenda, approving bills:
— directing the Department of Public Works to set up street signs, flashing yellow lights and speed-monitoring devices on all main roads surrounding the territory's schools;
— setting up an Office of Highway Transportation revolving fund, which will be administered by the Department of Finance and hold money given to the Department of Public Works by the Federal Highway Administration; and
— authorizing the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue valid identification cards at a cost of $25. (The cards are not drivers' licenses, but can be used as a valid form of government ID; all money garnered from the issuance of these cards will go toward covering the bureau's operating expenses.)
Present during Wednesday's meeting were Sens. Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Juan-Figueroa-Serville, Neville James, Shawn-Michael Malone, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Basil Ottley Jr. and Alvin L. Williams.
Davis, a non-committee member, and Sen. Celestino A. White Sr. were also present.
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