‘All of $1.7M CW fund distributed’
Responding to queries on the expenditure of contract worker-related fees meant to spur the training of the local workforce, CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero shared a chart breaking down distributions approved for the local trades school and Northern Marianas College this year, revealing remaining funds at zero dollars.
The last drawdown to the Northern Marianas Trades Institute was for $155,898 on July 1, 2016.
The CW fund was appropriated $1.7 million this fiscal year.
Total drawdowns for NMTI are at $897,374. The 10 other drawdowns range from $30,000 to $87,000.
Labor said $193,000 was also approved for the Department of Commerce’s 2016 Prevailing Wage and Workforce Assessment Survey and $607,766 have been approved for the local college, which prepares and presents a report on the use of these funds every year.
The release of the CW fund disbursement monitoring sheet comes after Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan) wrote a July 5 letter to DeLeon Guerrero on the status of these funds, after hearing word that the depletion of funds may drastically reduce or cancel NMTI’s classes.
He had asked to delineate the expenditure of these funds from the beginning of the current fiscal year to date.
DeLeon Guerrero said yesterday that the provide chart showed “amounts I have approved however whether or not the exact amounts were transferred to the receiving institution as I had approved can best be provided by” the Department of Finance and/or the Office of Management and Budget.
Demapan, for his part, said the Labor secretary informed him Wednesday afternoon that she just approved the disbursement of funds to NMTI. This approval fulfills NMTI’s approved share of the CW fee funds, he said.
You have to be kidding me!!! How does NMTI get nearly $1million in money with absolutely no accountability? There are government agencies that could operate on less than that….what the heck has NMTI done in terms of graduation? I DEMAND TO SEE WHERE PUBLIC MONEY IS GOING!!!! Oh wait…because Auntie Agnes and Uncle Vic are all in good with the Governor and Lt. Governor. HMMM…OPA…do you smell some corruption???
actually, the survey on wages would help US workers because it establishes what are reasonable wages by job category, which is then required to be offered and paid, even if hiring foreign workers. No more minimum wage for accountants, for example. Also the bit about NMC filing a report is just poor sentence structure, I think. I don’t think that means the $607000+ money is for that purpose only, just that NMC gets the money, uses it, and is accountable and files a report.
Contrary to your statement, the previous prevailing wage study did nothing to improve wages in professional and skilled job categories. Minimum wage across the board was still practiced and still exists today. It is a useless report without legislative teeth to enforce.
the prevailing wage survey is essential. It has to meet certain standards to be accepted by US Department of Labor. It establishes prevailing wages so that local businesses who want H workers will have to meet those prevailing wages and offer them from the start, making jobs more attractive to US workers; and this means that local workers won’t be undercut by cheap foreign workers.
If it is indeed followed then it would be essential The problem was and is that it was never implemented.
imjustsaying should check before speaking. NMTI’s accounting is audited and totally transparent. NMTI has trained a lot of workers that are in the economy now. Might be good to check the facts first.
I’d rather see the money go to NMTI than spending it on a business like Latte Academy. Latte touts their AHLEI training. Has anyone bothered to check out the AHLEI website? NMTI is listed among the ranks of Kapiolani and Guam Community College, while Latte is listed in the back with the international group. NMTI does 230 hrs. of class sessions and another 240 hrs. of OJT. Latte Academy’s certificate is done in 8 hrs. period. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure this out. You get more out of NMTI’s certificate. Latte slit their own throats by only doing shadowing and students are complaining.
I urge people to do the research and not listen to this crap from “im just saying.” By the way NMTI has current audit figures for you ignorant folk.