THE Office of the Public Auditor is proposing a fiscal year 2025 budget slightly lower than its current spending level.
Temporary Public Auditor Dora I. Deleon Guerrero submitted to the Office of the Governor a $1.7 million FY 2025 budget proposal on Monday. The amount will be used for OPA’s personnel and operations expenses.
In her letter to Special Assistant for Management and Budget Vicky Villagomez, Deleon Guerrero said OPA’s budget proposal in FY 2025 is $163,000 lower than its FY 2024 budget, which amounted to over $1.8 million.
Deleon Guerrero said as in previous years, “OPA has reduced operational costs at all levels to aid with the financial burdens of our government.” She said OPA will continue to evaluate its resource needs to ensure that it is able to execute its mandates efficiently and effectively with available resources.
With a reduced budget for FY 2025, Deleon Guerrero said OPA will submit to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs a proposal for a technical assistance grant that will support personnel training costs and replace outdated equipment.
If OPA is awarded the grant, Deleon Guerrero said their FY 2025 budget would be reduced accordingly.
An independent agency, OPA’s duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
1) Conducting audits of Commonwealth agencies, activities, contracts and grants.
2) Preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse of public funds.
3) Enforcement of the Government Ethics Code Act.
4) Enforcement of the campaign finance disclosure provisions of the CNMI Election Law.
