Tinian lawmakers drain entire $246K allowance

Tinian lawmakers have drawn down their entire annual allowance for fiscal year 2008, getting nearly $250,000 in “unauditable” taxpayer funds, government records show.

A report from the Division of Finance and Accounting, a copy of which was obtained through an Open Government Request Act by a Tinian citizen, showed that Tinian’s three senators and sole representative had drawn down the maximum allowance permitted each lawmaker.

Rep. Edwin Aldan took $5,500 a month, or $66,000 for the entire year. Senators Jude Hofschneider, Joseph Mendiola, and Henry San Nicolas each took $5,000 a month, or $60,000 for FY2008. In total, the four lawmakers drew down $246,000 this year.

A lawmaker’s annual salary is $39,000.

The subsistence allowance is provided to House members from Rota and Tinian, and all of the senators. It was created to help them pay for travel and other expenses related to legislative business conducted away from their home island. Lawmakers are not required to account for the money and return what has not been used.

Information on the allowance disbursed to the Rota lawmakers is not available at press time. None of the current Saipan senators reportedly has claimed subsistence allowance.

Don Farrell, the Tinian resident who requested the data on his lawmakers’ allowance, has asked the federal government to look into the use of the legislators’ allowance.

“Because they all drew down every penny of their entire annual allowance, before the end of the fiscal year, without submitting appropriate receipts, it is questionable as to how much of these public funds have been spent in the best interest of the CNMI and how much has been spent for their personal business,” Farrell said in a letter to the Saipan-based representatives of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“These legislators are free to use these funds in any way they please: to pay their monthly CUC bills, to pay other people’s CUC bills, to buy gas for their cars, to pay their cable bills, to travel freely in any manner they please—in other words, for their personal use. Therefore, the allotment has become personal income in addition to their annual salary and benefits,” Farrell added.

He asked the DOI officials to forward the information to the appropriate U.S. federal agency to see if the legislators should be paying annual income tax on their allowance.

In an interview, Aldan said that, although it is not required, he keeps receipts of every expense paid with his subsistence allowance. He also said that he only uses his allowance for official business, such as traveling to Saipan for legislative meetings.

Aldan said the government is saving money from paying lawmakers a monthly $5,000 allowance, instead of paying them per diem plus expenses each time they travel from their home island.

“If we do this on a daily basis, it will cost more. For example, it is more practical for us to rent a house here than stay in a hotel each time we come to Saipan. Expenses like that come on top of the per diem,” said Aldan.

A roundtrip air ticket between Tinian and Saipan costs about $60. For a roundtrip between Rota and Saipan, a ticket costs about $200.

The central government pays employees a per diem rate of $85 a day for official travel within the Commonwealth.

The Office of the Public Auditor has questioned the lawmakers’ allowance for five years. In 2003, OPA made a recommendation for the Senate, in particular, to pass a law authorizing the subsistence allowance and justifying the amount given to the Senate members. Currently, the allowance is provided through internal rules adopted by the each chamber of the Legislature.

The Senate has refused to comply with OPA’s recommendation. As of June 2, 2008, the audit recommendation remains unresolved. OPA said the Office of the Attorney General is expected to issue an opinion on the legality of the issue.