Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz disclosed yesterday the municipal government’s financial statement from Jan. 10 to Dec. 29, 2010.
According to the financial report, total payroll reached $1,772,959.38 which included $120,803.34 for the mayor’s office and $1,298,047.67 for the gaming commission.
Dela Cruz said “as our economy and financial resources worsen, it is increasingly difficult to address the needs of our people.”
He added, “When our revenue collections started to decrease, I made the difficult and very unpopular decision to cut work hours by 20 percent and terminate all professional service agreements.”
He said although he has maintained a full disclosure policy, “there are always those that strive to create rumors and innuendos to discredit” his administration.
“This is the ugly part of politics that serves no purpose but to simply waste time and limited resources,” he added.
To dispel such rumors, Dela Cruz said he disclosed the municipal government’s financial report.
He said he has tried to allocate resources in a fair and consistent manner.
“Given the enormous debt that my administration inherited, it is difficult for our people to understand the amount of our local resources that have to be used to service this debt,” he said.
The financial report showed that $285,824.45 was spent on past debt payments.
These included $90,000 for Tinian Dynasty, $1,000 for FPA, $2,000 for Michelle Corporation, $2,000 for IT&E, $1,000 for National Office Supply, $2,000 for Michael Dotts, $22,010.50 for Ray Quichocho which included payment for TMC, $115,881 for the Retirement Fund and $58,943.45 for A/L lump sum.
The mayor said he will not make any excuses for the current situation or try to place blame “as neither will help to resolve the situation.”
“I will pledge to communicate the municipality’s financial status on a more frequent basis to ensure full disclosure,” he said. “I know that some of my decisions and priorities may be questioned, but as the mayor of Tinian I will take full responsibility for all my actions.”
He said he will welcome comments, criticism and advice.
The report showed that the total revenue of $2,308,901.98 was taken from the following: $1,791,347.13 casino tax, $22,375 casino device fee, $4,250 casino employee fee and $490,929.85 casino license fee.
Expenses totaled $2,360,348.47 — $1,132.24 for dog control, $443,159.65 mayor’s office, $285,824.45 past debts, $44,292.29 public programs, $1,355,546.16 gaming commission, $12,578.14 legislative delegation, $32,743.48 municipal council, $171,259.28 municipal treasury and $13,812.78 youth center.
“I hope to learn from my experience in 2010 to better serve the people of Tinian,” Dela Cruz said in his open letter to the people of the island.
