Previous Story
WTF to let go of some personnel
|
Posted on Feb 03 2006
The Fitial administration is letting go of clerical personnel at the CNMI Water Task Force who earn between $35,000 and $40,000 a year, acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez said yesterday.
According to Villagomez, there are currently three administrative staff members at the task force who are doing the job of one person. They are receiving an annual salary ranging between $35,000 and $40,000.
“We will be downsizing the task force. We will remove some clerical staff and let the agency use the pool of administrative staff from other agencies,” Villagomez, who now chairs the task force.
He said that the agency should remain a task force, focusing on planning, designing, and constructing water infrastructure. It should not engage in the permanent government employment.
Villagomez said that Commonwealth Utilities Corp. employees are now being assigned to assist the task force. Aside from saving on personnel costs, the practice allows the task force to serve as a training ground for the utility firm’s workers.
Furthermore, the administration does not plan to hire a replacement for former project manager Don Smith, who will return to his position prior to his appointment to the task force.
“I should run the task force. I am the chair, and as an engineer, I think I have the qualifications to do the job,” Villagomez said.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has assigned Villagomez, a former CUC executive director, to handle infrastructure-related agencies such as the utility firm and the Department of Public Works.
Former lieutenant governor and Water Task Force chair Diego T. Benavente had asked the new administration to keep the agency intact and complete its projects, which are estimated to cost an additional $58.3 million.
Benavente had also asked Fitial to maintain the WTF’s structure.
