The governor is proposing $102 million for fiscal year 2012, which starts on Oct. 1. This amount does not include the $18 million for the Department of Public Health which will become a public corporation this year.
The current budget amount is $132 million.
Basa’s committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. on Monday to discuss the administration’s budget proposal.
Members of the committee, Basa said, have already gone through the governor’s budget work sheets and are ready to hear the concerns and recommendations from the other House members.
Last year, it took Basa’s committee until August to come up with a budget bill. It was rejected by the Senate which led to the creation of a bicameral conference committee which failed to reach an agreement, resulting in an eight-day partial government shutdown.
Basa said some members of his committee may suggest changes to Fitial’s proposal, but “I’m going to push what the administration has submitted.”
Fitial’s proposal, Basa added, is based on the numbers and is balanced.
The other members of the House Ways and Means Committee are Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan; Rep. Trenton B. Conner, R-Tinian; Rep. Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan; Rep. Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan; Rep. Sylvestre I. Iguel, Covenant-Saipan; Rep. Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan; Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan; Rep. Teresita A. Santos; Ind.-Rota; Rep. Edmund S. Villagomez, Covenant-Saipan; and Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan.
More FTEs
The proposed budget worksheet Variety obtained showed that among the executive branch agencies, only the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Corrections will have additional full-time employees. The rest will get less.
From 42 FTEs in FY 2011, the AGO will have 49 in the next fiscal year.
From 96 in FY 2011, Corrections, which the Fitial administration plans to merge with the Department of Public Safety, will be allowed to have 125 FTEs in FY2012. The additional 29 FTEs will be for the juvenile detention center.
The Juvenile Detention Unit will get $409,060 with its 29 new FTEs each getting annual salaries ranging from $10,742 to $30,247.
The Offices of the governor and lt. governor are slashing the number of their FTEs from 140 to 118; Commerce from 32 to 23; Finance from 163 to 136; Community and Cultural Affairs from 88 to 32; Labor from 44 to 31; Land and Natural Resources from 98 to 76; Public Works from 129 to 87; and of Public Safety from 258 to 215.
There are no proposed FTEs for the Department of Public Health which currently has 485.
This department will become a public corporation in compliance with Public Law 16-51 and is no longer included in the FY 2012 budget proposal.
So from 1,525 FTEs in FY 2011, the executive branch will have 907 in the next fiscal year.
Less and more
The Public School System, which requested $35.8 million, will receive $27.9 million. It currently gets $31 million. The Board of Education is getting what it requested: $175,393.
Northern Marianas College is getting $4 million, almost half of the amount it requested which was $7.5 million.
The AGO requested $2.3 million but the governor is giving it $1.4 million only.
Corrections, which asked for $3.9 million, will receive $2.4 million.
The Finance secretary’s office requested $471,280 but is getting $334,159. Its accounting unit requested for $723,294 but will receive $611,047.
The Treasury is requesting $354,756 but is getting $199,589. Revenue and Taxation requested $1.1 million but will get $920,451. Procurement and Supply requested $408,911 but is getting only $229,722. Customs requested $2.1 million but will receive $1.1 million.
The Labor secretary’s office requested $474,172 but will get $229,050 only.
There are some offices that will get more than they requested.
The Department of Public Safety commissioner’s office requested $160,340 but the governor wants to give it $709,541, raising the personnel cost from $176,024 to $213,882 and “all others” from $11,550 to $495,659.
DPS requested $2.7 million for the police force and the governor allotted $2.8 million.
The Department of Lands and Natural Resources secretary’s office requested $236,313 but the governor proposes to give it $275,938.
