NEWS BRIEFS

Igitol: Cuts may
sideline projects

Acting Saipan Mayor David Igitol has admitted the serious financial problem besetting the Mayor’s Office as officials try to find the best solution to save its operation. Due to the 13.4 percent budget cut, Igitol said the fund left for the Mayor’s Office is barely enough to pay for the salaries. He said many community projects have been temporarily shelved except those that are related to the hospital and schools. Igitol confirmed that the Mayor’s Office is still trying to weigh three options — 10 percent budget cut, seven-hour per day work and lay off. He gave the assurance that removing employees is the last resort which would be considered. To further save on money, the Mayor’s Office has decided not implement a salary increase. Sixty-five percent of the $2.4 original budget for fiscal year 1999 goes to salaries of some 78 employees at the Mayor’s Office. When the 13.4 million budget reduction was carried out, the Mayor’s Office was left with only $2.1 million. If a10 percent salary reduction would be adopted, the Mayor’s Office would be able to save some $167,831.55. However, some $208,290.50 would be saved if it chooses to implement a seven-hour work per day scheme. Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has urged various government offices to carry out various cost-cutting measures due to shrinking revenue brought about by Asia’s financial crisis. Tenorio has further reduced government revenue projections from $246 million to $216 million for fiscal year 1999. The Office of Tinian Mayor has already adopted a seven-hour work schedule last year to cope with the tight budget. Tinian Mayor Francisco Borja has said further reduction in working hours may be carried out if revenue collections continue to drop. Likewise, the Commonwealth Ports Authority had decided to cut down the working hours of employees from 80 to 72 hours per pay period starting April 1, 1999 to give the ports authority a saving amounting to $555,000 for one year. Last month, CPA board raised the seaport rates, charges and fees effective July 1, 1999. It also increased the airport landing fees and passenger rates starting March 1, 2000. (Lindablue F. Romero)

Body develops
coral reef plan

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Hulsen) — The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, which met on the Hawaiian Island of Maui last week, has approved a master plan for the protection of coral reefs in U.S. island areas, including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii. Guam Governor Carl T. C. Gutierrez, who also is President of the Honolulu-based Pacific Islands Development Council, said the meeting developed a list of “concrete proposals for coral reef protection in the (Pacific) islands” worth approximately three million U.S. dollars. Included are plans to expand coral cultivation, reef protection projects and various associated research activities. The Task Force will request that funding for the proposed projects be included in the U.S. Fiscal Year 2000 national operating budget.

Underwood calms
Internet users’ fears

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Hulsen) — Guam’s delegate in the U.S. Congress, Robert Underwood, has calmed the fears of his constituents over rumors that Internet users soon will be charged a per-minute long distance charge. Underwood, after conferring with representatives of the Federal Communications Commission, a government agency which is responsible for communications regulation in the United States and its territories, says no such plan exists. Underwood says FCC officials informed him that the Washington agency has no plans to change how consumers access the Internet, adding that service providers will not be permitted to assess users a per-minute long distance charge on Internet traffic originating away from local communities.

NASA to study
atmosphere from Fiji

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Hulsen) — The U.S. Embassy in Suva reports that National Aeronautic and Science Administration scientists have arrived in Fiji to conduct atmospheric experiments pertaining to the impact humans have on the makeup of the global troposphere. The troposphere is that part of the atmosphere that is below the stratosphere and extends upward from the earth’s surface about seven to ten miles. The project will study the chemical content of the tropical Pacific atmosphere during a period when sugarcane and other burning is less than at other times of the year. About 70 people will participate in the Fiji project, including representatives from Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S., and the University of the South Pacific. In conducting the study in Fiji, NASA will make use of specially equipped DC-8 and P-3B aircraft.