Nov. 24, 2008 — Help will be on the way for the territory's ailing roads if a bill that passed muster Monday with the Legislature's Rules and Judiciary Committee makes it through the full Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, dedicates the money in the Transportation Trust Fund to road repair. This was the bill's original intent, but over time the money has been used for various other purposes. Currently the money goes into the General Fund.
"Its impact on the General Fund would be significant," said Budget Director Debra Gottlieb.
Nelson, a non-committee member pushing hard for the bill, said potholes are so bad on St. Croix that drivers are getting hit with numerous repair bills.
"We have real bad craters opening up every day," he said.
Dedicating the Transportation Trust Fund to road repair would give the Public Works Department the ability to plan ahead.
Gottlieb suggested that to dedicate the anticipated $16.5 million from the Transportation Trust Fund to road repairs would make it harder for the government to meet the $21 million biweekly government payroll. However, Sen. Celestino White observed that taxpayers who didn't work for the government but drove on the roads weren't benefiting. Gottlieb countered that those government workers serve the public.
The money in the Transportation Tax Fund comes from fees paid for drivers' licenses, vehicle registrations, highway users' tax and fines.
The bill would take effect Oct. 1, 2009, giving the government ample time to prepare for the loss of the money from the General Fund, Nelson said.
Three of the four senators on the floor — White, Raymond "Usie" Richards and Carmen Wesselhoft — voted yes on Nelson's bill. Sen. Carlton Dowe, committee chairman, voted no.
After getting a late start because some of its members went to the morning funeral of George "Bagoon" O'Reilly, the Rules and Committee approved seven nominees to posts on the V.I. Taxi Commission.
Six of the seven received approval by all the members voting, but White said no to the nomination of Westin Resort and Villas Manager David Yamada.
At issue for White was the Westin's guest-only ferry service from Crown Bay and the V.I. National Park dock at Red Hook, both on St. Thomas, to the St. John hotel.
"We utilize a tour company that uses V.I. Taxi to transport guest from the airport to the point of departure," Yamada countered.
Nominee John E. Fleming, a taxi driver, complained that although the Westin guests use taxis to get to the Westin's ferry docks, the drivers would get more money if they took guests all the way to the Red Hook ferry. Yamada then pointed out that the National Park dock was at Red Hook.
In addition to Yamada and Fleming, the senators also approved the nominations of Chantal Richards Figueroa, a deputy commissioner at the Tourism Department; Horace W. Graham Jr., assistant director at the Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department; Ulric Pilgrim, who is retired from the V.I. Police Department; tour operator Sweeny J. Toussaint Jr.; and taxi driver and car rental company owner Camile Paris Jr.
After listening to Julien Harley testify on his nomination to the V.I. Water and Power Authority board, the Rules Committee went into a 10-minute recess without taking a vote after Richards broke the quorum. No mention was subsequently made of Harley's nomination, and Dowe adjourned the meeting without the senators voting on it.
"I'm not worrying about it," Harley said later.
Harley, a former St. John administrator and firefighter, left the meeting without waiting for the vote. He said he was told he could leave.
During his testimony, Harley said he would like to do away with the levelized energy-adjustment clause, which allows WAPA to raise or lower rates depending on what it pays for oil. Instead, he'd prefer that should be included as a cost of doing business for WAPA.
If he were approved for the board, Harley said, his main thrust would be to lower electric prices to consumers.
In other action Monday, the senators approved a bill to pay the $15,000 that Public Works owes ESA Management and Engineering Consultants. The company was a consultant when Public Works bought handicapped-accessible buses.
A bill exempting non-profit groups such as rescue organizations from paying road tax got the nod from all the committee members at the meeting.
A bill limiting civil liability for people involved in equestrian activities also passed, with all four senators on the floor voting yes. The bill was amended several times. One amendment called for the Government Employees' Retirement System to form a commission to work on annuity issues related to the retroactive pay owed government workers.
Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone and Sen. Alvin Williams didn't attend the meeting. Sen. James A. Weber III was on hand for the earlier part of the meeting, but missed the later votes.
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