The Department of Finance\u2019s taking of $676,000 from the Tinian Mayor\u2019s Office\u2019s fiscal year 2014 budget to pay utility bills is \u201cin direct violation of the 2014 CNMI Budget Act,\u201d according to Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz\u2019s chief of staff, Don Farrell.<\/p>\n
The Inos administration said yesterday Finance will help facilitate talks between the Tinian mayor\u2019s office and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. so that the former can be reimbursed or credited such amount for future usage.<\/p>\n
Farrell, in an Aug. 22 letter to Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee chair Jovita Taimanao (Ind-Rota), said that taking funds from Tinian\u2019s general fund budget and depriving Tinian\u2019s line agencies of the funds allocated to them \u201cis contrary to the Budget Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrell cited Chapter VI, Section 601 or the utilities provision of the 2014 budget law. It states, \u201cThe amount appropriated for the payment of utilities shall not be reprogrammed, nor shall other appropriations be reprogrammed for the payment of utilities, except for the purpose of covering increased utility costs due to rate increases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result of the taking, our people are suffering,\u201d Farrell told Taimanao. \u201cWe need our legitimate budget back, with full reprogramming authority for the short period left in [fiscal year] 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrell\u2019s letter was sent a day after the Senate passed the 2015 budget bill with amendments. The House will hold a session this week mainly to vote on the Senate version of the budget bill.<\/p>\n
If the House rejects the Senate budget version, then a conference committee will be formed to hash out the differences between the two houses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that your committee is now busy preparing the 2015 budget, but what good will result from your committee\u2019s best efforts if the Department of Finance will not respect them?\u201d Farrell asked Taimanao.<\/p>\n
Farrell also asked Taimanao\u2019s Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee to find out whether Tinian \u201cwas singled out for this CUC subsidy, or were other agencies treated similarly?\u201d <\/p>\n
In a separate Aug. 22 letter to CUC Tinian executive director Evelyn Manglona, Farrell thanked CUC Tinian for helping the mayor\u2019s office resolve its billings.<\/p>\n
Farrelll said they recognize that CUC probably doesn\u2019t have the cash on hand to reimburse the Tinian mayor\u2019s office for the transfer of some $676,000 from the Tinian mayor\u2019s office 2014 budget to CUC in April this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, we must rectify the problem and at least make an appropriate credit to our account. We would appreciate it if you would continue to work with our staff to resolve the MOT accounts in the near future,\u201d Farrell told CUC\u2019s Manglona.<\/p>\n
Finance paid CUC $676,000 for the Tinian mayor\u2019s office utility billings. It was later discovered that CUC erred in its reading of the Tinian mayor\u2019s office\u2019s power meter. Now, the Tinian mayor\u2019s office seeks reimbursement or future credit to its account.<\/p>\n
Acting press secretary Ivan Blanco, meanwhile, said yesterday that the reconciliation matter is now between the Tinian mayor\u2019s office and CUC.<\/p>\n
However, Blanco said, Finance will help facilitate dialogue between the two parties. <\/p>\n
Yesterday, Farrell said he does not know how acting governor Jude U. Hofschneider could tell the media that he is not aware of the Tinian finance problems when both newspapers reported it as early as April.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then, we have worked with Tinian CUC staff and discovered that our billings are bogus which led to our recent letter to Senator Taimanao. After all, the governor assigned the responsibility of overseeing Tinian\u2019s needs to the lieutenant governor when they assumed executive office over a year ago. And early this year, the lieutenant governor opened his own office on Tinian, fully staffed\u2014from what budget we do not know. How could he not be aware of the problem?\u201d Farrell told reporters. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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