The 36th Legislature unanimously voted to override Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s vetoes of two bills Friday, effectively rolling back recently implemented pay raises for top government officials and putting increases to the minimum salaries for the Virgin Islands Government’s lowest paid workers back on the table.
The raises stemmed from a report by the V.I. Public Officials Compensation Commission submitted in August — two years after deadline. Lawmakers and the public grew increasingly frustrated after learning in January that the raises had quietly gone into effect — increasing Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s annual salary to $201,692 and Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach’s salary to $176,642, respectively, and raising the salary cap for other high-level government officials and department heads.
Bryan’s appointment of former VIPOCC Chair Haldane Davies to lead the V.I. Economic Research Bureau added to the frustration of lawmakers, who have maintained that the law prohibited commission members from holding public office for at least two years.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Bryan expressed his “profound disappointment” in the Legislature’s actions, calling the overrides a dangerous step backward that threatens to undo years of financial recovery and responsible governance.
“In overriding these vetoes, the Legislature has abandoned fiscal responsibility in favor of short-term political convenience,” he said. “These decisions were made without analysis, without stakeholder consultation, and with no regard for the long-term financial consequences they impose on our government and the people of the Virgin Islands.”
Bryan’s comments appear to reference Bill No. 36-0053, which calls for raising the salaries of the government’s lowest paid employees from $27,040 to $35,000 beginning in October. On Friday, Bryan repeated concerns that the measure was implemented without data or planning, and that the mandated raises could lead to harmful cost-cutting elsewhere.
“There is no financial analysis, no implementation plan, and no consultation with the agencies expected to comply with this law,” he said. “The Legislature imposed this mandate on entities outside its budgetary control, including the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and the two public hospitals.”
Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet, who introduced the legislation, pushed back on those claims in a call with the Source two weeks ago, saying the implementation date was timed to coincide with the end of the Legislature’s annual budget cycle in order to give lawmakers time to identify funding sources — like a targeted reduction in overtime expenses.
