TINIAN Sen. Karl King-Nabors is asking the House Committee on Ways and Means to support the override of Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’s line-item veto of the allotments for the utility costs of Rota, Tinian, Saipan and the Northern Islands in the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriation Act.
During the budget deliberation, the House and the Senate agreed to let the central government pay for the utility costs of Rota, Tinian, Saipan and the Northern Islands. But when he signed Public Law 23-9 or the FY 2024 budget, the governor disapproved the provision because, he said, it would “strap onto an already underfunded executive branch utilities account the additional obligation to cover any budget shortfall for the utilities of the judicial and legislative branches, and the municipal governments.”
King-Nabors reached out to Ways and Means Chairman Ralph N. Yumul and other committee members on Monday, asking for their support to override the governor’s veto because it was the “original intent” of the House and Senate to make the central government pay the utility bills of the government departments and the municipalities.
“We all understood that even though we were facing unprecedented financial hardships and constraints, it would be impossible for the municipalities of Tinian and Rota to shoulder the payment of utilities for the eight executive branch departments without any appropriation of funds,” King-Nabors said.
He said over the past month, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan has sought assistance from the governor and Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita, “but both requests have gone unanswered.”
The senators said it was assumed that with the reprogramming authority granted to the governor by the FY 2024 budget, the American Rescue Plan Act funds held by the administration, and the $20 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would allow the governor to assist with the payment of utilities to ensure that essential public services will continue to be provided by the municipalities.
Unfortunately, King-Nabors said, “today we face the consequences of our actions, or inactions, of not properly funding the executive departments on Tinian and Rota.”
He said the Tinian Aging Center’s prepaid meter will expire within 16 days. Once the power is disconnected, the Tinian municipal government will be unable to provide service to manamko’, and within 30 days, the office of the Department of Labor resident director on Tinian will also lose power and will be unable to serve the public.
King-Nabors said the resident directors of Labor and Community and Cultural Affairs are also reaching out to their respective department secretaries to request for assistance as they do not have a revolving fund or any other means to pay for their utilities.
He said if the department secretaries are not able to assist, “then these will be the first two departments on Tinian that will shut down until power is restored.”
In an interview, Tinian Mayor Edwin Aldan said his office is in the process of finding out how much revolving fund, if any, the Tinian departments still have.
He said not all departments have a revolving fund.
Aldan said he will also ask assistance from the governor, adding that the ARPA money that Tinian received from the central government is running out.
Karl King-Nabors
