Lawmakers on Monday received sharply contrasting updates on two essential government services, as the Senate’s Government Operations, Veterans Affairs, and Consumer Protection Committee examined progress within the Office of Veterans Affairs and the deepening operational crisis facing the Waste Management Authority.

While Veterans Affairs outlined measurable gains in health care access, communication, and long-awaited infrastructure projects, Waste Management officials warned that the territory’s waste and wastewater systems remain at a breaking point after decades of underinvestment.

Veterans Affairs Director Patrick Farrell told senators the past year marked significant forward movement for an agency that has spent years trying to expand its reach and strengthen support to veterans. Farrell emphasized that “information is a lifeline,” pointing to an expanded outreach system that now includes a weekly radio show, stronger online platforms, and more consistent engagement through community media — tools that proved critical during the recent federal shutdown to reassure Veterans that local clinics would remain open.

He highlighted visible gains in recognition and community engagement, including the first Purple Heart Proclamation Ceremony, expanded Veterans Day observances, and a major increase in Virgin Islands women registering with the Military Women’s Memorial — from four to more than 50 after targeted outreach. “That growth represents a major step toward ensuring that the service and sacrifices of Virgin Islands women are preserved in the national archives,” Farrell said.

Health care access saw some of the most meaningful improvements. Through a partnership with Fly the Whale Airlines, veterans on St. Croix no longer pay airfare when traveling to Puerto Rico for non-service-connected medical appointments, and reimbursement under Act 8991 now covers up to two medically necessary trips to mainland VA facilities each year for eligible veterans and required caregivers. Farrell called the changes “one of the most substantial enhancements to Veteran health care access the Virgin Islands has seen in recent years,” crediting a local Veteran whose persistence helped bring the measure forward.

Infrastructure projects long stalled are also advancing. Work continues on the Clarence Beverhoudt Sr. Veterans Multi-Purpose Center on St. Thomas, envisioned as an emergency shelter, outreach hub, and new home for OVA offices. The agency is moving ahead with proposals to name the St. Croix and St. Thomas VA clinics after LTC David Canegata III and SFC Floyd Lake, respectively. Farrell added that the territory appears closer than ever to securing its first VA National Cemetery, with federal requirements completed and a proposed site in Kingshill ready to move forward once approval is granted.

When the Waste Management Authority took the table, the tone shifted immediately. While remaining positive, Executive Director Hannibal “Mike” Ware told lawmakers that the territory’s solid waste and wastewater systems are “in crisis,” operating far beyond capacity and burdened by aging infrastructure, limited funding, and consent decrees that have gone unmet for years. “This is a defining moment in our waste management history,” Ware said, noting that the pressures now visible to the public stem from decades of deferred investment.

Ware reported that both major landfills — Anguilla and Bovoni — are nearing capacity. The authority secured a $46 million grant to close most of the Anguilla site and expand the remaining quarter, providing roughly five more years of capacity while a new St. Croix landfill site is identified. Public meetings on potential locations will begin in January. On St. Thomas, expansion and compliance work at Bovoni are advancing, but the authority will require surrounding land to safely continue operations. Funding applications remain under review by the Housing Finance Authority, although expected reductions could affect the scope of the projects.

Illegal dumping, outdated equipment, and inconsistent bin-site use continue to strain daily operations. Several convenience center projects on St. Croix and St. Thomas are moving through design and environmental review, with construction expected to begin as early as January. Ware also previewed new technology for debris reduction and announced that the “Preserve Paradise Now” customer care portal is active, allowing residents to submit complaints and track responses.

The wastewater system, Ware cautioned, remains even more vulnerable. Collapsing lines, failing pump stations, and treatment facilities long past their useful life fuel “daily crises.” Emergency line replacements in Estate Two Brothers, Mon Bijou, and Frederiksted have helped prevent larger failures, but full system replacement is the only sustainable solution. Millions in new pumps and equipment have been procured for both districts, and large-scale sewer replacement will move through federally funded infrastructure bundles coordinated with the Office of Disaster Recovery, WAPA, and Public Works.

After testimony concluded, lawmakers advanced Bill No. 36-0208, recognizing U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo for his role in securing a historic increase in the rum cover-over reimbursement for the Virgin Islands. Bill No. 36-0190, requiring sign language interpretation at all government broadcasts and official functions, was held in committee for further work.

The Bryan administration says it is now processing minimum salary increases for government employees — an assurance that comes as Senate Majority Leader Kurt Vialet continues to criticize the executive branch for missing the law’s Oct. 1 implementation date.

The measure — Bill No. 36-0053 — raised government employees’ minimum salary to $35,000 a year, an adjustment affecting hundreds of classified employees whose pay previously fell below that threshold. The Legislature overrode Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s veto of the proposal on June 27, giving agencies the green light to begin preparing for the change months in advance.

In a statement Tuesday, Vialet said the delay has now gone far beyond what is reasonable. “This law was enacted months ago,” he said. “From June 27 to Oct. 1, there was more than enough time to prepare, process, and finalize these NOPAs. Yet here we are, beyond the implementation date, and employees still have not received their legally mandated raises. That is unacceptable.”

He noted that fewer than 700 Notices of Personnel Action are required to bring the workforce into compliance, raising questions, he said, about whether the continued slowdown is a matter of agency-level inaction, administrative bottlenecks, or something more deliberate.

Within hours, the Division of Personnel released its own update, confirming that NOPA actions are being processed as agencies submit them and that “several agencies” have already completed their transactions. But the division also pointed to one of the central complications behind the delay: although the law mandated a new minimum salary, it did not fund the fringe benefit increases linked to those salary adjustments.

Each agency has been required to identify those costs within its existing FY 2026 budget, a task Personnel says could not begin in earnest until the Legislature passed the final budget in September, weeks before the law was scheduled to take effect.

Personnel officials said they attempted to mitigate delays by issuing a joint memorandum with the Office of Management and Budget and the Finance Department in October, providing standardized NOPA language and documentation requirements. They also said they prioritized the minimum salary work during the recent federal shutdown, advancing all eligible agencies except the Education Department, which processes its own personnel actions. According to the division, wage adjustments will appear in payroll cycles once OMB approves the NOPAs and agencies complete the required submissions.

The friction between the two branches of government over this issue has been growing since the spring. Reporting by the Virgin Islands Source has chronicled the debate from the moment the bill was introduced: senators argued that no government employee should earn less than $35,000 a year, given the territory’s rising cost of living, while Bryan vetoed the measure, citing concerns about unfunded mandates and long-term financial impact. After the veto override, lawmakers pressed the administration for a concrete implementation plan, warning that slow NOPA processing and agency-level preparation would become choke points.

Personnel maintains it is “committed to transparency, timely communication, and ongoing support,” while Vialet says he will continue monitoring the situation until every employee sees the mandated increase reflected in their pay.