The senators also wanted to know how Finance communicates with its offices on Rota and Tinian regarding the payroll delays.
Agulto told the senators that the government’s projected collection in the first quarter of this fiscal year was short of $3 million.
She said the CNMI Treasury projected but failed to collect $33 million in the first quarter.
In an interview after the hearing, Agulto said the paychecks of the government’s non-critical employees will continue to be delayed. The government, she added, is not getting its projected revenues.
She said, however, that the amount of collection varies from month to month. “It could be different in December.”
Some businesses are expected to file tax returns this month.
“So we are going to realize those payments in January,” Agulto said.
This Friday, she said, only the employees in critical positions or those who are federally funded will get paid.
The rest of the employees may get their paychecks early next week, she added.
Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, said the shortfall in collection can be addressed by Senate Bill 17-45 which will require businesses to pay gross revenue tax on a monthly basis.
H.B. 17-45, which Taimanao authored, was passed by the Senate recently and is now with the House.
Taimanao believes her bill will help ensure enough cash for payrolls.
But she admitted that a “downsizing” of full-time employees is also needed to address the government’s cash flow problems.
Vacancies, except for critical positions, should not be filled, she added.
Taimanao said the shortfall will eventually affect government services.
She said this is why Finance is not only focusing on payroll but also on paying vendors that provide services to the government, especially those involving medical referrals.
Taimanao noted that on Rota, the paychecks of federally funded and critical service personnel are delayed.
She said the problem may be the limited flights to Rota.
Macaranas told Taimanao that Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos recommended the use of the direct deposit system when paying Rota and Tinian government employees.
For the first pay period next year, employees on those islands will get their salaries through their bank accounts, Macaranas said.
Taimanao said Rota employees are having a hard time hearing getting information from Finance regarding the release of their paychecks.
All employees should be informed on a timely manner if they will not get paid on a payday, the senator added.
In most cases, she said the employees had to rely on newspapers to know whether they would get paid on time or not.
