Saying that maybe he's in the wrong profession, Virgin Islands Inspector General Steven vanBeverhoudt told the Senate Finance Committee Monday night that with his current staffing, it is impossible for him to cover all the requests he gets for audits.
In one audit of the Public Works Department, vanBeverhoudt discovered Public Works had spent $6 million for roadside cleanup over two years — with $5 million spent on St. Thomas alone, causing the IG to remark, "That is $6 million to cut bush. Maybe I'm in the wrong profession."
VanBeverhoudt met the governor's 15 percent mandated budget cut, leaving him with a budget for Fiscal Year 2000 of $668,000. This represents "a point-two [.2] percent share" of the government's $430 million budget, he said. It also leaves him with an unprecedented low of 13 staff members.
Sen. George Goodwin asked, "With all the malfeasance [uncovered by vanBeverhoudt's audits] is the Attorney General pursuing cases?"
VanBeverhoudt said he was working with the white-collar unit of the AG's office — a unit that is also underfunded. But "We're not getting the speed of attention I would really like."
"There's a lot of money out on the street and I don't feel we're doing enough to collect it," he added.
VanBeverhoudt did not disagree when Sen. Gregory Bennerson said, "We won't change some of our habits until people are held responsible for their actions."
Instead, the inspector general reminded senators of his recommendations to the recently passed Financial Accountability Act that an investigative arm of the IG's office be created.
But the investigative arm — a normal part of most IG offices elsewhere, according to vanBeverhoudt — was taken out of the bill, he said.
When asked if his recommendations over the 10 years he's been the IG have been implemented, he said the majority had not been.
Sen. David Jones remarked that the approximately $7 million spent for the audits over those 10 years could have saved the V.I. government $1 billion or more.
VanBeverhoudt said he was trying to address the issue with the current administration.
"I don't have the power to make anyone do anything," he said. But he hopes the governor will adopt his suggestion to require that all departments make quarterly reports on progress being made on the IG's recommendations.
As far as prosecution is concerned, vanBeverhoudt said it was up to the Attorney General to decide what cases to prosecute.

The Tuesday morning report shows Hurricane Gert has developed an eye and strength estimates have wind speeds reaching 90 knots. On a more positive note, the official forecast is shifted slightly to the north of previous forecasts.
The 5 a.m. location of Gert is reported at 16.7 degrees north, 43.9 degrees west and moving at 13 knots in a heading of 285 degrees on the compass.
The National Hurricane Center notes that these forecasts try to take into account the effects of Hurricane Floyd, which is subject to a good measure of uncertainty. Gert could still be a threat to the Lesser Antilles if the storm moves more to the west than currently forecast.
Local coordinates are 18.3 degrees north and 65.0 degrees west for St. Thomas, and 17.7 degrees north and 64.8 degrees west for St. Croix. A degree equals 60 nautical miles, or a little more than 69 land miles.
Editor's Note: For the latest updates on Hurricanes Floyd and Gert, click on the rainbow symbol in the upper left corner of the Source page.

Gov. Charles W. Turnbull just doesn't get it.
He doesn't understand that he can't hand out cushy raises and hire new people for non-essential positions when he's asking rank-and-file employees to make huge sacrifices to help put this government back on sound financial footing.
It's like waving a red flag in front of an angry, pawing bull.
It doesn't matter that some of the raises are attached to promotions. It doesn't matter that he supposedly has eliminated some of the positions that the promotees once held. If you're broke, you're broke, and you just don't have money for that kind of stuff.
You especially don't have money to hire or give raises to your own relatives, your top aides and the relatives of other top officials.
You especially don't have money to hire public relations people for individual departments. In fact, the governor ought to be consolidating the highly paid public information officers scattered throughout government into one efficient, productive operation — presumably in Government House itself — that could handle public information for all departments. That would save money, not cost the taxpayers more than we were spending before.
The governor, through his actions, has created a serious credibility problem for himself and his administration at a time when he desperately needs the public's trust and confidence.
People are apprehensive about the upcoming reorganization plan and what it will mean to them. They are fearful of rumored layoffs or a reduced workweek. And now they are angry that they are being asked to tighten their belts — forgo raises, forget retroactive salary debts, give up five holidays — when others are still getting favored treatment.
Gov. Turnbull just doesn't get it. But we hope those who do can sit him down and explain the facts of life. It's still possible to take corrective action before that angry bull charges.

Educator and author Karen Ellis has spent three years planning and building the Cyber Playground. It's now open for business and beta-testing. The crisp and clean playground walks technophobic teachers and parents through crystal-clear instructions. Sections are almost equally divided among instructions, curriculum and the mall. Readers might also consider joining the site’s interdisciplinary interactive list, Diversity University Collaboratory.
To sample the site, click on ALL AGES.

The Saint Croix Foundation has come to an agreement with the V.I. Police Department to temporarily locate its downtown office in the Sunday Market Square (Times Square) area.
The new substation, located at 35 King Street, is undergoing renovations and will be provided to the Department free of charge.
Peter Ross, president of the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association, has spearheaded a fund raising campaign and through contributions from hoteliers and merchants, has raised approximately $5,000 in cash and equipment to be used for renovations, including a storage area for the bike patrol.
However, renovations will require an additional $10,000 to make the space ready for police occupancy. As such, the Saint Croix Foundation calls upon the community to make donations for the completion of this project that will positively impact all of us.
The Saint Croix Foundation took the lead to keep a police presence in Christiansted because of the outcry heard from merchants and concerned citizens. Donations can be mailed to the Saint Croix Foundation, Suite 202 Chandler's Wharf, Gallows Bay, St. Croix, USVI 00820 or call 773-9898 for more information.

Work on the $1.7 million Christiansted boardwalk extension will begin in mid-October after the active part of hurricane season passes.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works continues to search for funding to repair damage done to the existing walkway almost a year ago by Hurricane Georges.
In July, the Senate Committee on Planning and Environmental Protection approved the government’s Coastal Zone Management permit to extend the boardwalk from where it ends in King’s Alley 1,450 feet west, toward the Holger Danske Hotel.
According to Neil Watson, special projects coordinator for the Office of the Governor, the project will cost approximately $1.7 million and be funded by the Federal Highway Administration. He said a contractor, R&R Caribbean, has already been approved and plans to start work around Oct. 11.
"In the interest of the contractor in the height of hurricane season, we didn’t want to expose $30 million worth of equipment out there," Watson said.
Maintenance and repair of the boardwalk is the responsibility of Public Works. After Hurricane Georges, however, business owners, not the government, put down plywood patches over gaping holes in the wooden structure. Almost a year later, the temporary patches are still in place.
Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson said the fund the department would use to cover repair costs was "pretty much depleted" for fiscal year 1999. The 2000 budget hasn’t been approved.
He said the department was looking to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for money.
"We are trying to get federal funding," Thompson said. "That’s the first option and we believe that’s a recoverable cost."
Don Siener, a King’s Alley business owner who put down the plywood patches, said that after Hurricane Georges tourists and passers-by were in danger of stepping into gaping holes.
"We covered it so nobody would break their ankles," he said. "People still tend to trip on (the patches)."
Siener said business owners hope the repairs will be addressed when work on the boardwalk extension begins.
"We’re talking about two hours and maybe $50 worth of materials," he said.
Work on the extension is scheduled to be completed in February, Watson said. By then design work to extend the boardwalk still further west should be completed, he said. Phase II of the project would extend the wooden walkway from the Holger Danske Hotel to the seaplane building near Watergut.
"The design is approximately 90 percent complete for Phase II," Watson said. "We’re close to the point of submitting it for funding."

Sheets of rain and gusts of wind cut through the middle of the 15th annual Texas Society Chili Cook-Off for about 15 minutes Sunday, but otherwise, a hot time was had by all on the sands of Sapphire Beach, in more ways than one.
Cecil Mallet's Red Throat Chili emerged as the judges' favorite, which would normally mean Mallet would be off to Terlingua, Texas, in November to represent the territory in the annual Chili Appreciation Society International cook-off.
However, Mallet was one of four visiting Texans taking part in the cook-off who came to St. Thomas strictly for that purpose. As only a local resident can represent the Virgin Islands, runner-up Dale Maxwell will take his (and VitelCellular's) Go Chili to Terlingua.
Four of the local cooks were former winners, and their chili concoctions were also judged in a separate "Champion of Champions" competition – with Dennis Murphy and his Senator Berry's Berry Best Chili taking top honors.
In the separate showmanship judging, first place went to John Satko and Gregory Jackson of Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort.
This 15th annual Texas Society of the Virgin Islands Chili Cook-off, to use its proper name, attracted a record 36 entries — 14 returnees, 18 local first-timers and the four Texas visitors. What attracted the Texans was not fun in the sun but a chance at adding to their points to enhance their national standing. Much like race car drivers, hard-core chili cooks travel around a "pot of red" circuit, collecting points for each competition in which they place.
There were almost as many judges — preliminary judges, final judges, showmanship judges and champ of champs judges. The eight whose assignment was the most arduous were the final judges — who weren't called to the table until around 2 p.m. but were under orders not to pre-taste any of the chili being dished up for everyone else from noon on.
Twenty of the entries were eliminated in preliminary judging before the final judging panel ever got a taste – a procedure intended to help preserve relative purity of the final judges' palates, or something like that. In truth, judging overseer Georgeanne "Pepper" Peters confessed as the finals were about to begin, the first round served to "weed out the ones that were mainly tomato sauce."
Those that made the cut were that and a lot more.
Judges had no idea whose chili was before them as they spooned out tastes from containers identified only by numerical codes. They were not allowed, by word or by body language, to convey their opinions to colleagues. And the winners were announced by name, not by number – so the individual judges had no idea whether their personal choices were the ones that emerged on top.
Things the judges did talk about included the following:
A displaced Texan commented, after requesting a cold Dr. Pepper to drink, "When I get to the airport back home, I head for the nearest Taco Bell and a Dr. Pepper. It's really hard to find here."
Two restaurateurs confessed that "This is the only time of the year that I eat chili."
The "no body language" rule was inadvertently broken on a couple of occasions. One jurist was seen mopping her brow after an aftertaste of Chili No. 7, which was laced liberally with an alcoholic ingredient. As cup No. 8 made the rounds, someone commented, "We're halfway through," provoking nervous laughter around the tables.
Each judge awarded a composite numerical ranking of 1 to 10 covering five categories – aroma, red color, texture consistency, taste and aftertaste.
Most cooks opted to use the free beef provided by a sponsor, shredding or dicing it, but a few supplied their own ground beef. To at least one judge, as the cups were passed, the countless cubes afloat in seas of seasoned sauce took on more and more the look of premium canned dog food. But the smells and the tastes were something else.
"The entries are the best this year that I've tasted at a cook-off," one veteran judge said. "There is some really mean chili here."
While the judges pontificated in air-conditioned comfort, the sweating masses consumed chili pretty much all afternoon under the sweltering sun. And quaffed cold beer, water and sodas. And tried their luck at watermelon seed-spitting, jalapeno eating and a tug-of-war. And bought T-shirts. (Only the early-birds got the crop-top model, which was new but proved so popular that the four dozen ordered were history in the first hour, Peters said.)
This year, cooks were instructed to prepare more chili than in prevous cook-offs — at least four gallons each. As a result, very few scraped the bottom of the pot until at least mid-afternoon.
And the winners were:
Chili – 1. Cecil Mallet, Red Throat Chili; 2. Dale Maxfield, Go Chili (VitelCellular); 3. Kay Mallet, Cajan Kay; 4. Donna Leird; 5. Kevin Foley, Bend Over Chili; 6. Donna Rusher (Aramark Food Service at Roy L. Schneider Hospital); 7. Kathy Venneti, Miss Penelope's Chili (Wags to Whiskers); 8. Anna Clarke (Toad and Tart); 9. Michael Weak, Hemingway's; 10. Donna Smith (Polli's).
Champion of Champions – Dennis "Tex" Murphy, Senator Berry's Berry Best Chili.
Showmanship – 1. John Satko and Gregory Jackson, Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort; 2. Barb McDonald and Greg Krivdo, U.S. Coast Guard; 3. Sisters Ashley, Shaina and Samantha Pomeranz and their mother, Doris Pomeranz, with Pomerosa Chili.
Funds raised at the event will be benefit the Queen Louise Home for the Aged, American Red Cross local chapter, Dial-A-Ride, Family Support Network, Kidscope, St. Thomas Rescue, St. Thomas Swimming Association, and V.I. Institute of Performing Arts.

Under a subpoena to appear before the Senate Finance Committee, Michael Bornn, acting Tourism commissioner, told an almost unbelievable story Monday of mismanagement and folderol that has resulted in a serious compromise of the opening of the first casino on St. Croix.
Kevin Rames, chairman of the Board of Governors of the V.I. Hospitality Training School, failed to show up for a Sept. 3 hearing and therefore the subpoenas were issued. He did not attend again because he was unable to fly from St. Croix due to the heavy rains on Monday afternoon, according to Sen. Lorraine Berry, committee chairwoman.
Bornn, who is also a member of the school's board of governors, told senators the only way St. Croix's first casino, slated to open in December, could do it would be to disobey the current law.
Under the Casino Control Act, the V.I. government was mandated to provide six months of training in "every facet of casino operations" to resident workers before any casino licenses could be issued.
The mandate was part of a protracted battle to legalize casino gambling on St. Croix in hopes of boosting the island's faltering economy.
A major part of the controversy involved the definition of resident Virgin Islander and therefore who could work in casinos.
But a full four years after the Casino Control Act was finally passed, not one Virgin Islander has been trained to work in a casino. And though funds were identified in 1997 to fund the hospitality school, which was also mandated, not one cent was received for training until "last Thursday," according to Bornn.
Amidst testimony by other subpoenaed members of the governing board, including Orville Kean, president of the University of the Virgin Islands, and Ruby Simmonds, commissioner of the Education Department, it was revealed that Divi Resorts offered to do the training for the casino gaming but was turned down in lieu of the government-run school.
The bill for the school, including training, consultation, a rebuilt facility and equipment, is approximately $200,000.
Of that, a full $40,000 is earmarked to "convert a shopping center to four classrooms," according to Bornn. There was no answer as to why or how this plan had been approved when both UVI and the St. Croix Vocational School could have provided space for the training.
Bornn made it clear to the legislators that the law was going to have to be amended if St. Croix was to have a casino open for the 1999-2000 tourist season.
"Divi is committed to hiring residents — it makes good business sense — but they have to have trained employees in order to open," Bornn said.
The highly regulated casino industry has very specialized training for dealers. The budgeted money would allow 130 students to be trained in five games.
But senators and testifiers alike weren't sure if the 130 applicants would even finish the training.
And another question was, would Divi hire them?
Grapetree Shores Inc. owns the resort and casino on St. Croix. Divi Resorts will manage the hotel. The casino will be leased to Treasure Bay V.I. Corp., an affiliate of Treasure Bay Corp., which owns a large casino in Biloxi, Miss.
The Casino Control Act states that at the end of the first year of operation, 65 percent of the employees must be residents; at the end of the second year, 75 percent must be bona fide residents; and at the end of three years the figure must be 90 percent.
The act defines a resident as someone who has been continuously domiciled in the V.I. for 10 years or native-born Virgin Islanders.
Bornn said the government failed in its responsibilities.
"Ÿou cannot open a multi-million-dollar business with roulette dealers who are wet behind the ears," he said.
Divi's goal to open in December cannot be accomplished under the current law, Bornn said, imploring the senators to act quickly.

Because of Hurricane Floyd's presence in the region, Carnival Cruise Lines has diverted its Carnival Destiny to a Western Caribbean itinerary this week, so it won't call at St. Croix on Wednesday or St. Thomas on Thursday.
As a result, Harbor Night festivities planned in Frederiksted have been canceled for this week.
The Destiny can accommodate 2,100 passengers.
According to a release from The West Indian Company Ltd., the Norway and the Grandeur of the Seas will call as usual at St. Thomas on Wednesday and the Emerald will be in port here on Friday as scheduled.

Because of Hurricane Floyd's presence in the region, Carnival Cruise Lines has diverted its Carnival Destiny to a Western Caribbean itinerary this week, so it won't call at St. Croix on Wednesday or St. Thomas on Thursday.
As a result, Harbor Night festivities planned in Frederiksted have been canceled for this week.
The Destiny can accommodate 2,100 passengers.
According to a release from The West Indian Company Ltd., the Norway and the Grandeur of the Seas will call as usual at St. Thomas on Wednesday and the Emerald will be in port here on Friday as scheduled.