THE CNMI Office of Grants Management was able to draw down nearly $1 million in federal monies in two weeks, according to Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita.
“This success was an indication that the same opportunity can and should be afforded to other trained federal program managers,” she said in a memorandum earlier this week, in response to financial consultant Shalee M. Davis’ letter to Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.
According to Davis, who has already left the CNMI, OGM “has poor communication and management practices regarding grants.” She said she recommended limiting OGM to only submitting grants and transferring the drawdown function to Finance’s Financial Services to ensure that grant management was handled effectively.
In her memorandum, Norita said they want to expedite the drawdown process to speed up federal cash reimbursements.
Since November 2023, Norita said Finance’s federal section has taken a cautious approach in conducting hands-on training, developing training manuals, and conducting test runs with OGM.
During this pilot period, she said OGM was able to draw down nearly $1 million from 26 grants in a span of two weeks.
Norita said during the Government Finance Officers Association conference last year, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands representatives cautioned the CNMI about the challenges of decentralizing the process. In response, Norita said “we have implemented controls in our process to mitigate potential risks.”
Norita said their only decentralized activity is the preparation of necessary paperwork to request a drawdown, allowing federal program managers to service their programs in a much more efficient timeframe.
“This decentralized process is still early in its implementation to determine its full effect, and DOF leadership will continue to exercise caution and evaluate results,” Norita told the governor.
She reiterated that OGM has demonstrated expertise in grant management and involving them in the drawdown process will give them first-hand experience and knowledge of how to support other agencies during the transition process.
