Sonia L. Williams died on July 3, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Sonia is survived by her daughters: Hyacinth Armantrading, Zelma Williams, Tricia Williams Cepeda, Tacita Williams Lloyd and Suzan Hopkins; sons: Gary Jarvis Sr. and Kareem Williams; daughter-in-law, Lurene Canton; sons-in-law: Maxcess Armantrading Sr., Carlos Cepeda Jr. and Desmond Lloyd: and granddaughters: Chanda Joseph, Nickaya Armantrading, Nakia Bartlett, Nybriah Kelly Riley, Nefertahri Armantrading and Kaira Samuel.
She is also survived by grandsons: Nashon Williams, Vaughn Francis, Maxcess Armantrading Jr., Armando Armantrading, Kareem Young, Gary Jarvis Jr., Jerae Jarvis, Carlos Cepeda III and Kayo Samuel; great-granddaughters: Kylie Francis, Kamila Young, Kyra Young and Zuri Mason; great-grandsons: Ade Anderson and Zaire Mason; and sisters: Ruperta Romeo, Ineta Martin, Veronica Williams, Beverly Baptiste Williams.
Other survivors include brothers: Keithroy Chitticks and Tyrone Chitticks; nieces: Beverly Matthew Christian, Mechell Chitticks, Chakimba Williams, Nyscha Williams Charles, Nychak Joseph, Nataki Romeo, Cheneca Zetrenne, Chyka Benjamin, Cheneca Benjamin, Charlene Jameson, Cherrica Jackson, Rasheeda Romeo and Nataki James; and nephews: Raphael James, Achama Williams, Addis Benjamin, Michael Matthews, Donaldson Chitticks, Kwesi Fenton, Avery James, Rasheed Romeo and Shawn Romeo.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the viewing which is scheduled for 10 a.m. followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 1, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Interment will be at Frederiksted Cemetery.
Health insurance Annual Open Enrollment for active government employees and retirees will begin on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, and continue through Friday, Sept. 13, the Division of Personnel announced.
During this period, all staff and retirees can enroll in or make changes to their health insurance plan and life insurance and update their beneficiaries, according to the press release.
The Division of Personnel will host a series of Open Enrollment sessions territory-wide, in collaboration with the partnering healthcare providers, to ensure that active employees and retirees can learn more about their entitled benefits. Retirees are strongly encouraged to attend these in-person sessions as they now have access to Bentek. During these retiree sessions, staff members will provide hands-on assistance to all retirees regarding navigation and the utilization of the Bentek eligibility system, the press release stated.
Open Enrollment sessions are split between active employees, retirees and human resource officers, the release stated.
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Legislative Annex
New benefits and changes will take effect on Oct. 1 and can be viewed on Bentek, the comprehensive online benefits management system, the release stated.
For any questions or assistance, please contact the Group Health Insurance Unit at 340- 774-8588 on St. Thomas or 340-718-8588 on St. Croix, where staff is ready to help explain and navigate the new benefits, it said.
A St. Croix bicycle patrol officer was compensated $387,433 in 2023 — $12,567 less than the president of the United States salary. Most of it was in overtime payments that Office of Management and Budget officials hoped to curtail. (Photo courtesy V.I. Legislature)
The Office of Management and Budget has asked all U.S. Virgin Islands government agencies and departments to slash operational spending by five percent heading into the last three months of the fiscal year, officials said Tuesday, to help address a $91 million shortfall.
Kimika Woods, acting OMB director, told the Senate’s Committee on Budget, Finance, and Appropriations that several factors led to the shortfall, including pay raises promised by former Gov. Kenneth Mapp and followed through on by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and nationwide inflation that made everything more expensive.
Former OMB Director Jenifer O’Neal revealed the shortfall in a June Senate hearing shortly before her resignation after the revelation of an FBI probe of her and now former police Commissioner Ray Martinez. She said overtime in public safety agencies and other factors caused net payroll to rise from $195 million in 2019 to a startling $239 million in 2024. O’Neal said the police overtime issue had been a problem for many years. At the time, however, said no budget cuts had yet been considered.
Woods told the Senate Tuesday that the five percent cutback was her idea.
“One thing, as we go through fiscal year 2024, is overtime curtailment. So, we do have a level of conversation with our departments and agencies, of course, expressing the need to be conservative,” Woods said.
A huge chunk of the projected $90 million overspend, she said, came from the Virgin Islands Police Department’s overtime expenditures. OMB had created an overtime-curtailment task force months ago to address extra-hour spending, Woods said, but results were not good as yet.
At the top of the 100 best-paid USVI government employees in 2023, 57 are police officers. Many nearly double their salary in overtime. Some triple or quadruple it, according to government records. One St. Croix bicycle patrol officer pulled in $387,433 in 2023 — $12,567 less than the president of the United States’ salary. Reviews of records Tuesday confirmed the Christiansted bicycle officer was the territory’s highest-paid employee — raking in more than $242,107 in overtime pay alone.
Sen. President Novelle Francis Jr., himself a former police chief and police commissioner more than a decade ago, said overtime at VIPD alone was approaching $23 million this year — up from $8 million in his time at the department.
“And I got raked over the coals regarding that. Today we are talking about $23 million,” Francis said. “Everything else is impacted because of that. So it would behove us to make sure there is some control mechanism put in place. It breeds corruption more than anything else.”
The corruption element can set in when someone gets used to a lifestyle well beyond what their base pay might afford, he said.
“When we talk about this overtime and the fact that it’s a runaway train, we don’t have an issue with an individual making overtime when they can be accountable and they can be productive,” Francis said, urging VIPD and OMB to find a way to limit overtime expenses. “It’s very important that we’re able to save some individuals from themselves and put in a control mechanism.”
Shanisa Emmanuel, OMB’s strategic financial officer, said she’d met with VIPD and things were actually getting worse.
“I have been personally monitoring VIPD’s budget and have seen that instead of curtailment, they are increasing. It’s an ongoing conversation. I’ve made it a project. It is a part of our strategic plan to ensure we are curtailing overtime,” Emmanuel said. “We have advised VIPD to look into a scheduling software to reduce the level of manpower — the abuse.”
Another meeting was planned for mid-August to present VIPD with the hard numbers and analysis of their impact, she said. Emmanuel also planned to meet with the Bureau of Corrections and the Virgin Islands Fire Department to address their overtime issues.
Cristeen Rodriguez-Cox, OMB’s senior performance analyst, had also met with VIPD, addressing the department’s human resources and payroll divisions, amongst other related bodies, she said.
“We initiated a conversation with the union leads, the chiefs of police for both districts, as well as members of the commissioner’s office to kind of discuss the systemic issue that we face with overtime in the department. What we came up with were three solutions, so far, that we feel, if implemented, in the near future will have a great impact on the reduction of overtime,” Rodriguez-Cox said.
Two solutions involved changing laws and union contracts regarding overtime. A third solution was to onboard scheduling software that would help the department maximize workforce distribution, she said.
On Monday, acting police Commissioner Mario M. Brooks acknowledged the overtime problem and welcomed the scheduling software, should it be implemented.
Woods said the five percent reduction in operational spending would not affect payroll for government agencies but was to include every agency, regardless of size or budget.
“It is across the board. It is against operating expenses and the remaining miscellaneous items that have not been released to date,” she said. “We need to make sure that our mandated costs are paid and that we are not spending in excess of our necessities.”
Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory questioned whether five percent nearing the end of the fiscal year would be enough. Woods, however, did not have an answer ready.
Woods said she had not run a report on how each government employee had been compensated for overtime, only individual departments.
Frett-Gregory urged her to do so.
“I am going to make a strong suggestion that you all do it because it going put the same knot that I have in my stomach in yours. This issue that we have with this overtime in the Virgin Islands Police Department is extremely concerning. Please drill down further,” she said. “This situation that we have is real. Look at it. Take a look at it. Once you look at it you become very passionate about this situation that we have here with VIPD. Mmmkay? That’s my strong recommendation.”
Woods delivered a request from the Legislature for $9,983,712 to fund the OMB in fiscal year 2025, which starts Oct. 1. Later, Pierina Jacobs-Feldman, chairperson of the V.I. Public Employees Relations Board, proposed a 2025 budget of $1,686,909 for the board. PERB Executive Director Jessica Philigence said the additional request of $220,000 was needed to restructure the agency to bring it in line with sister agencies nationwide, meaning more personnel needed to be hired. Since the PERB was established in 1980, more employees and unions have been added to the government, she said. Yirah Tutein, executive director of the Virgin Islands Labor Management Committee, delivered its proposed 2025 budget of $200,000. The Labor Management Committee has four employees, two full-time and two part-time.
The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a tropical wave located east of the Lesser Antilles for possible cyclonic development later this week. (Photo courtesy NHC)
The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor the tropics for possible cyclonic development. A tropical disturbance is forecast to pass near the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday, bringing inclement weather to the region.
“A large tropical wave centered several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles is producing limited shower activity due to environmental dry air,” according to an update on Tuesday from the NHC. “[However,] conditions are forecast to become a little more conducive for development over the warmer waters of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, and a tropical depression could form late this week while the system is in the vicinity of the Greater Antilles or the Bahamas,” the NHC warned.
Infrared satellite imagery obtained at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. A tropical wave moving across the Atlantic may experience cyclonic development later this week. (Photo courtesy TropicalTidbits.com)
As of 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the chance of cyclonic development was moderate, at 60 percent. The National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico, explained that some current computer forecast models predict that the tropical wave may experience intensification after passing slightly to the north or northwest of the USVI and Puerto Rico.
However, the forecast can change quickly, and regardless of any development, the local islands may be impacted by rain, thunderstorms, gusty winds, and choppy seas starting on Wednesday. The unsettled weather may last several days.
“A wind surge and vigorous tropical wave [will arrive] by Wednesday and Wednesday night, respectively [and] will bring an increase in showers and thunderstorms across the islands with the potential for flooding impacts,” according to the NWS on Tuesday.
“Breezy conditions are expected on Wednesday due to winds up to 25 knots, [particularly during] thunderstorm activity through this weekend. This wind surge will also cause choppy seas between six and eight feet across portions of the Atlantic and Caribbean waters. A moderate risk of rip currents will continue to increase and persist for the rest of the week,” the NWS explained.
The National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico, expects inclement weather across the USVI and Puerto Rico beginning on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy NWS)
“Some areas will be impacted more than others, particularly in regions with previous rainfall activity and currently elevated stream flows,” the NWS stated. “Landslides and flash flooding events cannot be ruled out during this period, [and] for this reason, stay tuned for any advisories or warnings that our office may issue in the coming days,” the NWS advised.
The lawyer representing accused cop killer Richardson Dangleben, Jr. says expert witnesses are needed to ensure a fair trial. (Photo courtesy VIPD)
The lawyer representing accused gunman Richardson Dangleben Jr. is asking the court for more time to submit expert disclosures ahead of trial. Expert disclosures were supposed to be turned in by Aug. 5.
Dangleben is accused of fatally shooting Police Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. in Hospital Ground on July 4, 2023. A request to extend the deadline for expert disclosures was filed Monday by Federal Public Defender Matthew Campbell. Campbell told the court that five expert witnesses have been retained to help with pre-trial preparations.
Three of the five have completed their disclosures; two have requested additional reports or evidence before completing their tasks, Campbell said. “Completion of that consultation is necessary in order to formulate an effective defense to the serious charges Mr. Dangleben faces,” his lawyer said.
Areas where the defense deems expert review necessary include DNA evidence, firearms evidence, and chain of custody evidence; photographic evidence is also being given extra scrutiny, as is the evidence produced by the medical examiner.
Campbell is asking for a 90-day extension. Meanwhile, Superior Court Judge Denise Francois has set Aug. 20 as the final pre-trial conference in a second 2023 murder case where Dangelben is also the defendant.
Phipps’ accused killer is also charged with the fatal shooting of 68-year-old Keith Alfonso on Feb. 24, 2023. The Aug. 20 hearing before Francois was rescheduled from June 13.
There has been no indication about which of the murder trials will be first to proceed. If convicted of either or both offenses, the defendant faces life imprisonment.
Government department officials conduct a walkthrough of classrooms at Juanita Gardine Elementary School. (Screenshot from VIDE YouTube video)
The Virgin Islands Education Department (VIDE) is committed to transparency and keeping the community informed about the condition and readiness of all school campuses. To fulfill this commitment, VIDE has posted videos of the annual opening walk-throughs of each school campus on St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. These videos are accessible for viewing on the department’s official YouTube page.
These walk-throughs, held in preparation for the 2024-2025 school year, involved key inspection agencies, including the Health Department, Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Public Works Department, and Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Their participation was crucial to ensuring comprehensive inspections. Additionally, members of the Virgin Islands Board of Education, St. Croix Coalition, and various school PTA representatives were in attendance to observe and provide feedback, according to the press release.
Each walk-through was led by the district maintenance directors, who provided critical updates on action plans and next steps for each school site. The inspection process is thorough, requiring each school to be evaluated to ensure compliance with safety and operational standards. The VIDE is currently awaiting detailed reports from each agency, which will include findings, recommendations, and necessary approvals for each school’s opening, the press release stated.
The VIDE remains committed to completing all school repairs, ranging from minor fixes to significant campus projects. Ongoing maintenance efforts are in place to guarantee that all campuses offer safe and conducive environments for faculty, staff, and students. The department acknowledges that while some maintenance work remains at various school sites, it continues to be a priority. Parents, students, faculty, and staff can rest assured that maintenance teams are fully aware of each school’s needs and are diligently progressing on all projects and necessary work, it said.
VIDE is pleased to confirm that all school sites will be ready to welcome back students, faculty, and staff on Monday, Aug. 5.
For more information and to view the walk-through videos, please click here.
Cyclists who participated in the Buddhoe & Beyond Road Race on St. Croix in July. (Photo courtesy U.S. Virgin Islands Cycling Federation Facebook page)
For the first time, the Virgin Islands Cycling Federation will be hosting their “Rock City Road Race,” where cyclists will have the opportunity to earn cash prizes for completing a minimum six-mile course.
The VI Cycling Federation has existed for about 28 years, operating out of St. Croix. They have hosted many races on the big island, with participants from all over the territory and the British Virgin Islands competing. This coming Sunday, the Rock City Road Race competition will have a similar turnout.
“In the past, there’ve been discussions about doing a race over there, and once I became president, we stopped the talking, just got it done, we put it on the schedule and just made it happen,” said the federation’s current president, Mervin Mills. “We have cyclists over there and we just wanted to do something different. St Thomas comes over and supports us so we need to go over there and get it done over there, not always they coming over to take part in our race, which is still the Virgin Islands race, but we like different terrains, different features, a different venue.”
This year, the VI Cycling Federation will give out $2,500 worth of prizes. The races will begin at 6 a.m. and will occur between Yacht Haven Grande and Crown Bay. The shortest race is for the junior cyclists. It is a 12-mile race beginning at Yacht Haven Grande, goes to Crown Bay, and returns to Yacht Haven to complete the six miles. The Women’s and Master’s races will be 18 miles, the Sport race will be 24 miles, the Expert race will be 32 miles, and the Elite race will be 48 miles.
“We were trying to do two races over there but we ran into a couple little snags, but this one is happening, that’s the good thing,” said Mills.
With the work of his team, Mills said that they were able to provide the opportunity for cyclists to compete on St. Thomas. He anticipates between 25 to 30 cyclists competing for this tournament.
“St. Thomas can be a little bit challenging with some of the logistics, and I know the amount of cars on the road, and getting a good time to do it,” said Mills. “Hopefully future wise, for next year, we definitely going have two races on St. Thomas. That is the goal and that is what we will make happen.”
Mills added that once the organization can “recon the route” they can look for other areas on St. Thomas to host races.
The VI Cycling Federation has a schedule of races in which cyclists can compete in the territory. For more information about the organization or to get more information about the Rock City Road Race, contact 340-643-5050.
Race day registration will take place between 5:15 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. on race day Sunday. The registration fee is $5 for VI Cycling Federation members and $10 for non-members. Helmets must be worn for all races.
ISV Brielle Nestor spikes the ball in her match against Curacao at the CAZOVA 19U Volleyball Championships. (Photo by Sean Morrison)
The United States Virgin Islands girls dominated Curacao Monday, securing their spot in the semi-finals at the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association’s (CAZOVA) 19U Volleyball Championships in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
The first set was nip and tuck, with ISV nursing a slim 8-7 lead. Then Vernecia Caines totally took over the game, starting with a powerful kill from her outside position. She then stepped into the serving box and served the next 13 points, including four aces, three digs, and a kill from the back row. ISV won that set 25-12. Things did not get much better in the final two games as Curacao surrendered 15 aces in the match. ISV won those final frames 25-10 and 25-12. Jayden Gorman led ISV in scoring with eight kills and six aces. Mya Brown missed the first match due to illness, but she made her present felt in this win hamming out six kills for the winners.
The U.S. Virgin Islands boys fought hard but dropped a five-set marathon match 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 11-15 to the host Jamaica. As the close scores indicate, this match had the entire gym on pins and needles until the end. The match started great for ISV, with Team Captain Gabriel Rosa serving the first four points of the set. Jamaica came back and kept the game close, tying the score at 22-22. Jared Brown came through with one of his 14 kills and Rosa served the final two points of the set. Jamaica won the second set and was on the verge of winning the third, holding a 24-21 lead. ISV skywalker Logan Rogers jump served the next five points, including two aces, winning that pivotal set for USVI. However, the boys from America’s paradise could not hold on and lost the match in five sets.
ISV Logan Rogers spikes the ball in his match against Jamaica at the CAZOVA 19U Volleyball Championships (Photo by Sean Morrison)
The girls have a three-day break before they play their semifinal match on Friday. The boys will play in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Both teams’ opponents have yet to be determined.
Nicholas D’Amour of St. Thomas practices at the archery venue at the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris, France. (Photo by Kevin D’Amour)
Archer Nicholas D’Amour of St. Thomas faced off against Fumiya Saito of Japan in the men’s individual foil 1/32 elimination round Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Games.
In a close match, Saito prevailed over D’Amour 6-4 to advance to the 1/16 elimination round. D’Amour, who also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games, qualified for his second Olympic berth at the Americas Continental Qualifiers in Medellin, Colombia, in April.
D’Amour, 22, is joined at the Olympics by fellow Virgin Islands athletes Eduardo Garcia in the marathon; Kruz Schembri in fencing; and Max Wilson and Natalia Kuipers in swimming.
Garcia, 31, whose father hails from St. Croix, will be the last Virgin Islands athlete to compete when he laces up for the men’s marathon on Aug. 10, which will start at 2 a.m. Atlantic time. He qualified for the Games at the half marathon in Istanbul, Turkey, in April, with a time of 1:03.53 — a Virgin Islands record — that earned him a “universality place.”
Schembri, 17, of St. Croix became the first fencer from the territory to compete in the Olympics in 40 years when he faced off against Blake Broszus of Canada on Monday in the men’s individual foil. The final score was 15-8 for Broszus.
Kuipers, 22, finished fourth in her heat and 20th overall at the women’s 400m freestyle swim on Saturday with a time of 4:33.46. While she didn’t make it to the finals, Kuipers bested her time from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished in 4:39.42.
Meanwhile, Wilson finished first in his heat in the men’s 100m backstroke on Sunday with a time of 54.49. While it wasn’t enough to advance to the semifinals, with Wilson ultimately ranking 27th out of a field of 46, the 20-year-old bested his qualifying time of 56.65 at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Viewers here at home can follow the athletes on NBC, and at the official site of the Paris Games. The closing ceremony will take place starting at 3 p.m. Atlantic time on Aug. 11, when the torch will be passed to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Olympics.
Acting police Commissioner Mario M. Brooks said new software could reduce wild overtime payouts. (Photos by Alvin Burke JR., Mario Fonseca, Jamal Potter and Barry Leerdam, Legislature of the Virgin Islands)
A St. Croix bicycle cop is the U.S. Virgin Islands’ second-best-paid public employee, according to government records.
Sgt. Ricky Hernandez, the Christiansted Bike Patrol commander, had a base salary of $76,055.24 in 2023. But by working overtime at a rate of up to twice his normal pay, Hernandez peddled his way into $242,107.83 in overtime for a total take-home pay of at least $318,163 before taxes — more than 4.1 times his base pay.
When employer-paid benefits and a miscellaneous “other pay” category are added, VIPD paid the veteran officer more than $387,433 in 2023, according to government records.
It was not a one-time occurrence, and he is not alone.
Nine of the 15 best paid U.S. Virgin Islands government employees are police officers, another is a corrections officer with a base pay of $51,755.58 who did more than $137,249 worth of overtime in 2023, according to the government’s Open Finance website.
Scheduling practices at the understaffed police department allow some officers to triple their salaries in overtime alone. While a glut of money goes to a few police employees, the department has 62 vacant positions, some funded at only 50 percent, according to a report from the Virgin Islands Legislature.
Acting Commissioner Mario M. Brooks acknowledged the problem at the Senate’s Committee on Budget, Finance, and Appropriations Monday and said VIPD was working to onboard new scheduling software that would minimize overtime by advising which officers had met their work quota and which had not.
“We know this is where we are failing,” Brooks said. “We do have some senior personnel in the department that have six figures in their salary and they’re doing overtime. Let’s call it what it is. These are things that we need to address. We do recognize.”
Vast overtime allotments for an officer making $45,000 a year are potentially justifiable, Brooks said. But that should change for a lieutenant or a captain who’s making $105,000 or $110,000 who works the same amount of overtime.
“The difference is, that captain or that lieutenant, that salary could pay for maybe two or three additional officers,” he said.
Despite Brook’s sentiment, almost all of the 18 police officers on the list of the territory’s 30 best-paid public employees have a base salary of less than $60,000.
Government contracts with the union Law Enforcement Supervisors’ Union, which represents senior police officials as well as the Bureau of Corrections, allow for time-and-a-half overtime past eight hours a day and double-pay for more than 48 hours a week.
If an officer worked a 40-hour week of three 12-hour shifts and one four-hour shift, they would receive 12 hours of overtime — four hours for each day they worked more than eight hours. Each hour after 48 hours would be double pay.
In response to a question from Sen. Marvin Blyden, Brooks said VIPD expended $23 million in overtime payments and so far the department had paid out $17 million in 2024 for overtime. Brooks said VIPD uses federal grants to pay overtime, which seemed to rankle Sen. Kenneth Gittens, who said how the overtime was paid was not the root of the problem.
Committee chairperson Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory said the police department needed to figure out its scheduling or submit suggested legislation to remove the eight-hour overtime rule for regularly scheduled shifts.
“We can’t expect folks to work 12-hour shifts every day,” Frett-Gregory said.
Union negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association, which represents so-called rank-and-file officers, are scheduled for the third week of November. Negotiations for the Supervisors’ Union are scheduled for the second week of December.
Representatives of the Law Enforcement Supervisors’ Union and the Virgin Islands Police Department did not respond to multiple requests to clarify what was meant by “other pay” in payroll files.
Lt. Kim Steele, for example, had a base pay of $87,711 in 2023 but collected $120,670 in overtime and $21,127 in other pay. So far in 2024, the veteran VIPD officer has been paid $62,825 in salary, $77,340 in overtime, and collected $96,397 in other pay. This puts Steele third on the list of best-paid V.I. government employees so far in 2024.
The territory’s best-paid public employee draws almost all his earnings from the other pay category. How or why Carlos Ayolo has drawn nearly $293,994 in other pay as well as $60,573 in employer-paid benefits so far in 2024 remains a mystery. But the USVI had spent $354,568 on the St. Croix environmental enforcement officer for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Health Department, and Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department as of July 29, according to government records. Personnel Department records online list him making nothing.
Ayolo was charged with rape, assault, and other crimes in 2019. According to an article in the Daily News, Ayolo allegedly used his service weapon to silence his victim. Charges were quietly dropped in June 2020.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. asked the Legislature to appropriate $74,360,767 to the Virgin Islands Police Department for fiscal year 2025. The budget breakdown is as follows: $40,662,452 for personnel, $15,151,536 for fringe benefits, $4,486,641 for supplies, $11,941,822 for other services, $2,111,316 for utilities, and $7,000 for capital outlays. VIPD would also receive $405,355 from the Peace Officers Standards and Training Fund, $3,000,000 from the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund, and $6,716,242 from federal funds.
VIPD has long struggled with its overtime accrual. In August 2017, the department hoped to cap overtime at $4 million in fiscal year 2018, but by then in fiscal year 2017 had already expended $10.4 million in overtime. s
