Mayor Donald G. Flores is asking for $1,548,974 which is $362,480 lower compared to the FY 2010 submission of $1,911,454.
His proposal includes $1,163,921 for personnel and $395,053 for “others.”
But the mayor’s proposed budget is still higher than the amount reflected in the budget bill introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan.
The bill proposed $1.047 million for the Saipan mayor’s office, which includes funding for 45 full-time employees.
Flores is requesting additional funding for 16 FTEs to “provide productive and efficient assistance and services to the public.”
He said his office is authorized to employ 62 FTEs but he is “only financially capable” of employing 46.
“Needless to say, the office cannot function or effectively carry out its constitutional and statutory mandates,” with only 46 FTEs, he said in a letter to the governor’s Office of Management and Budget.
The programs Flores cited to justify his proposed budget submission included:
• Improvement and establishment of community development programs.
• Provide adequate service and programs to children, adults and elderly.
• Maintain registration and licensing for activities formerly exercised by the chartered municipalities of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
• Regulation and licensing of domestic animals.
• Establish and/or sponsor local public recreational programs not provided by any other government entities.
• Licensing of activities such as cockfight and bingo.
• Establish other consumer protection activities as may be authorized by law.
Flores said his office is also responsible for repairing, improving and maintaining all secondary roads and routes leading to farm areas, tourist scenic sites and other remote public areas.
