Challenge is where to cut close to $900K—Manglona
The challenging part in drafting the Senate version of the CNMI government’s budget for fiscal year 2024 is figuring out where to cut the nearly $900,000 that the bicameral conference committee had agreed will be the net resources for next fiscal year.
That’s according to Sen. Donald M. Manglona (Ind-Rota) yesterday, who said the other challenging part is to identify additional funding to address the proposed allocations for Tinian.
The bicameral conference committee adopted on Tuesday a concurrent resolution that sets the ceiling of the government’s projected resources for fiscal year 2024 at $163.4 million, which is $9.1 million lower than Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ proposed budget.
The conferees resolved that the actual revenue resources for appropriation is $106,357,955, but with the addition of suspended earmarks, the total resources for appropriation is $114,238,931.
The Senate’s and the House’s original versions of the concurrent resolution bring to $115,407,265 the net local revenue and resources available for appropriations.
Last Aug. 10, Rep. Patrick H. San Nicolas (R-Tinian) voted against passing the House’s fiscal year 2024 budget legislation because he believes that the bill does not fund the 108 employees needed by the Tinian Mayor’s Office.
At the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee’s budget hearing last Aug. 17, Tinian and Aguiguan Mayor Edwin P. Aldan said if the Senate passes the House’s version of the budget, he will be informing all 96 employees of the Tinian municipality by Oct. 1 that their employment contracts will not be renewed.
Manglona, who chairs the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, said yesterday that they will discuss allocations this week and that if they don’t have issues, they hope to adopt the Senate budget bill by Sept. 6.
The Fiscal Affairs Committee is done with the budget hearings for most agencies.
Budget
Donald M. Manglona
