By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

VICE Speaker Justo S. Quitugua said on Saturday the administration should now plan how the steadily declining revenue of the government will be distributed in fiscal year 2008.
Quitugua, D-Saipan, said the administration should submit the proposed FY 2008 budget by April so that it can be passed by the Legislature no later than July.
The new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.
Government offices are being shut down every other Friday under the austerity holidays law.
The first shutdown of government offices was on Sept. 8, 2006, and it included the offices of the governor and the lt. governor.
The move reduces by eight hours the biweekly payroll of all government employees, except those who salaries are “constitutionally protected,” which include the governor, the lt. governor, lawmakers, justices and judges.
The austerity holidays this year are: Feb 23; March 9 and 22; April 5 and 20; May 4 and 18; June 1, 15 and 29; July 13 and 27; Aug. 10 and 24; Sept. 7 and 21.
But Quitugua said the austerity holiday law should not be extended to FY 2008 because it has too many exemptions.
“We should have an alternative,” he said.
Among the alternatives he suggested is the consolidation of government offices with similar functions.
He cited as an example, the Saipan Mayor’s Office and the Department of Public Works, which are both involved in maintaining roads around the island.
The lawmaker said the administration should decide which of these offices should take care of repairing roads to reduce the cash-strapped government’s operational costs.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed a $193.5 million budget for FY 2007 — which is down by $20 million compared to the $213 million budget of the previous fiscal year.
THE good news is that the government’s budget cut will no longer amount to $30 million, thanks to the “savings” that will be generated by the austerity measures.
But the administration last week revealed that the government will face a $14.6 million revenue shortfall, which means that the governor must submit to the Legislature a revised budget reflecting this amount.