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Suspension of power disconnections, late fees during payroll delays sought
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Posted on Aug 12 2011
The House of Representatives asked Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to request government agencies to suspend power and water disconnections and waive late fees and penalties on tax payments during instances when the government is delayed in its payroll.
House members asked the governor to request the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to suspend for a period of 10 days any disconnections during partial payless paydays.
They also asked Fitial to request the Division of Taxation and Revenue and the Division of Customs to suspend for a period of 10 days the late fees, penalties, and interests in the event of delayed government payrolls.
In adopting Speaker Eli Cabrera’s (R-Saipan) House Resolution 17-62, the members said many government employees are finding it difficult to make ends meet especially if payrolls are delayed.
They said the high costs of utilities such as power and water are adding to the burden faced by government employees who also have to contend with delayed payrolls and 16-hour work cuts every two weeks.
Since June 2010, the government has been having difficulty paying its non-critical employees on time. This year alone, the government has so far made only three timely payroll for these employees because of cash shortfall and the need to prioritize other expenses such as hospital supplies and utility payments.
“The members of the House of Representatives will continue to work with the administration on legislation in finding additional and new resources that will greatly assist our Commonwealth out of this economic depression,” the members said.
