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Over $1M increase sought by NMC in FY 2006 budget
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Posted on Apr 03 2005
Northern Marianas College is pitching a budget that would increase appropriations by $1.2 million over the current fiscal year, including an average 6-percent salary hike for all personnel.
The $9.26 million proposal represents an 11 percent increase in the general operations funding and a 40 percent increase in vocational program funding.
In its FY 2006 appropriations budget proposal, NMC asked the administration for $7.58 million for general operations and $1.68 million for its apprentice programs, including nursing, education, construction, management, and hospitality.
NMC president Antonio Deleon Guerrero noted that institution-wide needs initially identified by the NMC Finance and Procurement Office exceeded by $2.7 million the college’s current $8.05-million appropriation.
“Considering the current CNMI-wide financial constraints, the college made a concerted effort to limit our request to that deemed critical to ensure the continuance and quality of educational programs and services it currently offers to the residents of the Commonwealth,” Deleon Guerrero said in a letter to Gov. Juan N. Babauta.
In an interview, the college president expressed hope, however, that the governor and the Legislature would consider NMC’s aim to implement the 1999 Compensation Plan, which would raise staff salaries by an average of 6 percent.
NMC needs a total of $387,651 to implement the salary scale.
“The board wants to make this a priority, as our faculty and staff have for a long time been understanding of the CNMI’s financial situation. We hope the governor and the Legislature will consider giving them this long overdue pay hike,” Deleon Guerrero said.
Aside from the pay hike, NMC is also asking for $332,576 to hire additional full time employees. The college also said it needs $227,283 for personnel now on board but whose wages and benefits are not funded under the current budget resolution.
Further, NMC is requesting funding of the mandatory 1-percent Office of the Public Auditor fee in the amount of $73,588, and funding of 2-percent deficit reduction fee in the amount of $147,176.
