Saipan mayor gets $500K from poker fees

Saipan mayor’s office yesterday received $500,000 in additional budget after local legislators voted to set aside part of revenues from license fees of poker and pachinko slot machines, becoming the first government agency to forego the recent 13.5 percent spending cut.

With the new money, the office is in effect getting more than the amount reduced from its initial appropriation of $2.4 million, which reached to some $325,000, for FY 1999.

The decision by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, however, may trigger conflict with the Tenorio administration which has identified the poker fees as source for matching millions of dollars in federal grants under the Capital Improvement Projects.

The cash-strapped government is hoping to use the revenues drawn from the recent fee hike on amusement machines from $6,000 to $8,000 to meet the matching requirement in an effort to spur the local economy.

But in yesterday’s session, the delegation adopted a resolution to split the income estimated at $1.88 million this year between the Office of the Mayor and the CIP matching requirement.

Saipan officials maintained the additional funds will cover shortfall in operational and personnel costs as a result of the slash in its second quarter allotment implemented last week by the administration to all departments and agencies.

The fund shortage apparently has been aggravated by the hiring of 12 additional full time employees that was authorized under a House joint resolution passed early last year.

Ana Teregeyo, SNILD chair for Ways and Means committee, said more than $235,000 is needed by the mayor’s office to retain their positions for at least another year when their contracts expire by the end of this month.

The amount includes the salary and additional 27 percent in fringe benefits extended to these employees.

Ramon Diaz, budget officer for the mayor’s office, warned members of the delegation that failure to infuse new funds will hamper its operations and force lay off of some employees in view of the spending cut.

“My problem is the 13.4 percent cut,” he told the session. “I will be in the hole by September 30 (at the end of the fiscal year) even if we terminate these people by January 31.”

While 11 members voted in favor of the resolution, other legislators felt the move was contrary to the austerity policy of Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio who has urged agencies to cut costs due to the deepening financial crisis of the government.

The Northern Marianas is reeling from the fallout of the economic recession in Asia, its main source of tourists and investments, forcing the government to cut back initial revenue estimate and implement cost-cutting measures.

“It’s kind of a merry-go-round here,” said Rep. Malua T. Peter, one of the three members who voted against it. “The government has asked us to cut the budget and here we are trying to re-appropriate the money.”

Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez, however, questioned, the absence of “check and balance” mechanism since the resolution does not require approval of the governor, saying it should come in the form of a legislation.

“The constitution states that all appropriation measures must be in a bill form. We can do re-programming through a resolution,” he told in an interview after the session, adding that he hoped the money will reach the intended beneficiary.

Meanwhile, SNILD also passed a resolution to allocate $488,000 into a trust fund to boost depleting coffers of the CNMI’s scholarship program.