The CNMI government has a cumulative deficit of $57.3 million from 1986 to Sept. 30, 1997, audited financial statements show.<\/p>\n
The deficit began to mount between 1986 and 1987, but Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, who was then into his second term, managed to hold if off at $27 million, from $15.98 million, when he left office. (Please see graph)<\/p>\n
The deficit took a huge leap in the ensuing years, notably during the gubernatorial term of Larry Guerrero. By then, the deficit made a steep climb, rising 226 percent.<\/p>\n
When Froilan C. Tenorio took office, he had to deal with a $44.6 million deficit. He made only token efforts to pare it down with two deficit-reduction outlays totalling $9.7 million in 1995. He, too, failed to rein in the deficit, which at the end of his term stood at $57 million.<\/p>\n
Public Auditor Leo LaMotte said slack implementation of spending rules contributed to the deficit accumulation.<\/p>\n
In 1997, for instance, an audit report repeated a bunch of ignored recommendations from a previous audit, which found questionable expenses of $11.8 million.<\/p>\n
“Of the 61 audit findings, 34 have been cited in prior year’s reports, for which no corrective actions have been taken,” LaMotte said.<\/p>\n
The auditor also attibuted $22.5 million of the deficit to overspending by agencies, including the governor’s office under the stewardship of Froilan C. Tenorio.<\/p>\n
In 1997, he spent $10 million more of his $16.5 million allocation, the auditor said.<\/p>\n
The three other agencies that exceeded their spending limits are:<\/p>\n
\u2022Department of Public Safety, $4 million;<\/p>\n
\u2022Department of Finance, $1 million; and<\/p>\n
\u2022Department of Public Works, $732,585.<\/p>\n
Other offices that overspent their budget:<\/p>\n
\u2022Tinian mayor, $1.3 million;<\/p>\n
\u2022Rota mayor, $243,992;<\/p>\n
\u2022Saipan mayor, $144,309; and<\/p>\n
\u2022About $3 million was spent for other government programs.<\/p>\n
Although 14 agencies did not exhaust their budget, their combined $16.4 million savings were too insignificant toward reducing the deficit, the report said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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