Funding for retroactive pay eyed

Because the mandatory pay increase for government employees has been neglected long enough, the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee chair is looking at appropriating some funds from FY 2001 budget to settle this obligation.

Sen. Edward U. Maratita has asked the Office of Management and Budget to assess financial impact of meeting the retroactive pay increase to hundreds of government employees who have been waiting for their money since 1991.

Under Public Law 7-31 enacted nine years ago, all employees who had reached the maximum salary level would have received a 14 percent across-the-board hike — benefits that were granted due to budget surplus experienced by the government at that time.

While the Legislature had inserted provisions in the fiscal budget each year to ensure payment, the administration failed to implement such increase over the last few years.

Some select employees managed to collect the money due them during former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio, but many have yet to receive the payment until now due to the financial difficulties confronting the CNMI.

“This back pay entitlement has not been addressed uniformly,” said Mr. Maratita. “Some government employees have received the full amount due, some a portion and some none at all.”

Citing that over $175 million were appropriated by lawmakers to the executive branch in FY 99 alone, the senator complained that not a single penny was given by the Tenorio administration to settle its obligation to employees.

“Instead of settling the back pay obligations as mandated by law, even with nearly a decade to do so, the administration has, year after year, instead chosen to allocate the available personnel funding to new hiring and new pay increases for some government employees,” he said.

“How are we going to change this long-standing pattern of neglect of a legal obligation to our government employees,” asked Mr. Maratita.

The letter to Edward S. Tenorio, the governor’s special assistant for management and budget, specifically requested the finance official to come out with exact figure necessary to settle the retroactive pay.

“The Legislature simply will have to include unreprogrammable funds to pay at least part of this obligation as a line item in the FY 2001 budget so these persons can get their money without having to go to court,” the senator said.

Lawmakers are expected to begin deliberation soon on the projected $220 million budget for the next fiscal year. “We are asking this early what is the impact so that at least we can look for appropriate adjustment on how much each employee can get ,” Mr. Maratita told in an interview.