The Department of Finance and the Office of Management of Budget have informed Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz that Tinian is facing a $287,913 deficit in budget for personnel.
This is besides the previous projected deficit that prompted Fitial administration to issue on April 4 a 7.58 percent cut which reduced the Tinian budget for personnel by $421,316 and operations by $49,171.
In his letter last week, Dela Cruz asked Gov. Benigno R. Fitial how Tinian’s Department of Public Safety and Tinian Health Center will operate for the rest of the current fiscal year which ends on Sept. 30.
Dela Cruz said the two departments have already been suffering from significant deficits.
The Tinian Legislative Delegation discussed this matter during its session on Thursday last week.
Dela Cruz noted that prior to the governor’s budget cut memorandum last month, Tinian was managing its budget as provided in Public Law 17-21.
He said since Tinian received the latest notice of deficit last April 29, the mayor’s office and the resident departments have not been able to process a single purchase order.
He said if the funds for DPS and THC personnel are already depleted prior to the end of the fiscal year, “will the employees in these essential departments be subjected to payless paydays or will the administration incur a deficit to allow the medical providers and police officers to continue to work?”
The mayor said he agrees with the administration that everybody should live within their means but he thinks it is “unreasonable and impractical” to assume that municipalities and essential departments can absorb the 7.58 percent cut for the rest of the fiscal year.
Dela Cruz said DPS should be allowed “to incur a deficit under the supervision of [the Department of] Finance.”
The only alternative, he added, would be a reduction in force.
