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Senate panel wants fewer govt positions
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Posted on Oct 08 2008
The Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee wants to lower the number of full-time employees the government can hire from the House-approved 4,200 to just below 3,800 positions.
Sen. Maria Pangelinan, chairwoman of the committee, said in a report that the 409 positions proposed for approval in the House-passed budget bill are currently vacant. She added that including them in the fiscal year 2009 budget “will not serve to control hiring.”
The largest cuts proposed by the Senate committee will affect the Executive Branch, from the House-approved 1,789 positions to 1,623, and the autonomous agencies that receive money from the central government, from 1,335 positions to 1,071. However, the committee also seeks to increase the FTE level for the Legislature from 240 to 290 employees.
Pangelinan said her committee came up with these figures after conducting a survey of all government agencies to verify the actual number of occupied positions. Most agencies responded to the survey and their FTE allotments were adjusted according to their reports. In the case of those agencies that did not respond, the committee reviewed the individual personnel worksheets in the governor’s budget plan.
She noted that the governor’s proposal included vacant positions that should be removed from the books, as required by law. It also included some currently vacant positions that were funded in anticipation of filling the positions. The Senate committee believes these positions should not be funded.
In an interview yesterday, Pangelinan said the Legislature should cut personnel costs wherever possible, and strive to fund operations to the maximum. “Funding services benefits all persons in the CNMI and, therefore, is a better option than supporting the economy through public employment,” she said.
The Fiscal Affairs Committee is expected to introduce its substitute bill on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008.
