Mayor’s woes

I remember the times when the Mayor of Saipan was operating full speed ahead completing each and every task the general public or certain individuals that request for services. Traditional and cultural events were entertained left to right to everyone’s expectations and satisfaction. It was a time when the Mayor had unlimited power and jurisdiction control over the island and its communities. From water deliveries to coral hauling and trash disposal, they were at your service. From control over Bingo to Batu and Cock fighting licensing to even having its own Municipal Treasury to conduct and budget their everyday operations and even their own payroll. Where has this well organized office gone to? Will we ever experience it again? What are the chances of operating the Mayor’s office the way it did forty to fifty years ago?

The answers to all the above lies in the hands of the general public. We, the people can bring all this power and resources back if we really want to. We can make this islands beautiful again by helping one another. We can have corals delivered to our homesteads at no cost just to start us up in building our dream house. We can have our roads repaired every time mother nature decides to tear it up. All this without the Attorney General getting in the way. Everything that the Mayor’s Office does for us in the past, is no longer a reality. It is illegal in the eyes of the Attorney General. I say let the people decide what is legal and not legal when it comes to business operations and functions done by the Mayor’s Office. Let’s exercise our rights and put it to as an initiative on the next General Election. Let us give the Mayor more power and flexibility so he can function and operate the way he used to for everyone’s benefit.

How many Mayors have come and gone and had to go to all the red tapes that the present Mayor has to go thru? To my knowledge none. The present Mayor is experiencing a nightmare in Afetnas Square due to budget cuts and obsolete equipment. From lack of manpower to restrictions from federal laws. His Fiscal budget has been cut tremendously, his resources are very limited and operating with what he’s got on hand, trying very hard to make ends meet. His request for additional budget is hampered by the present economic shortfall and the so called austerity measure. But, somehow he finds a why to survive on a day by day basis. Everyone is talking about the Mayor, the mayor is like this, the mayor is like that, but in the end it’s always the MAYORS OFFICE TO THE RESCUE.

Joey C. Cruz