By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

ADMINISTRATION officials defend the new fees and fee increases authorized by the revised 2007 budget law, and warn the Legislature against passing the fee rollback proposal, saying it would jeopardize programs and services funded by these new revenues.
During last week’s public hearing, agency officials spoke in chorus, opposing Sen. Jesse A. Lujan’s Bill 154, which would repeal the revenue enhancement package authorized by Public Law 29-02.
They said the new revenue sources, which include 46 newly established fees and increased fee schedules charged by various departments, have equipped the government with tools and resources to deal with service and operational shortfalls without having to rely on the general fund.
“If the Legislature rolls back this new schedule of fees, then a new source of funding must be identified and put into place to enable this department to fulfill its mandates and prevent a revenue shortage and cash problems for the government of Guam,” said John Camacho, deputy director of the Department of Revenue and Taxation.
“It has been our experience that whenever there is a shortage in the revenues of the government of Guam, some government agencies are not able to pay their utility bills,” he added.
To fulfill their contracts with the bondholders, Camacho said, utility companies often resort to imposing surcharges on consumers. “In effect, this is an indirect tax on the consumers,” he said.
A report from the Guam Department of Labor projected that the department’s future collections from alien labor processing fees, up from $200 to $1,000, would raise the department’s funds for manpower development programs by 500 percent.
In 2008, GDOL is projected to raise $1.5 million for the apprenticeship programs, based on the $1,000 labor fee. If the fee is rolled back to $200, the department would raise only $300,000.
“GDOL sees the current fee of $1,000 as an investment in the island’s local workforce through apprenticeship and skills training,” acting Labor director Erica Unpingco.
“Today’s workforce needs are only an indication of the significant transformation that will take place as the military progresses. The demand for workers with specialized skills and training will continue to grow,” she added.
At the public hearing, James Martinez, executive director of the Guam Contractors Association, appealed to the Legislature to reduce the alien labor fee to $500, saying Guam companies cannot afford a 500 percent fee increase until the construction business actually begins to accelerate.
But Tommy Morrison, chairman of the Contractors License Board, said new revenues from fee increases have allowed the board to strengthen its investigating unit and upgrade its system and equipment.
“To revert to an archaic fee schedule is not in keeping with the huge demand on CLB to effectively sustain current levels of operation, as well as the anticipated growth of the industry,” Morrison said.