Tinian Local Ordinance 12-01 will appropriate funds to assist qualified island citizens pay their Commonwealth Utilities Corp. bills.
The funding source is the island’s casino revenues.
According to the ordinance, “Wages and salaries continue to be stagnant or decrease, while the prices of commodities continue to rise, thereby making life on Tinian a real financial challenge.”
Citizens who want to have electricity restored to their homes or stave off any threatened disconnections can apply for financial assistance from the mayor’s office.
Applicants must meet certain criteria based on financial need.
The mayor of Tinian will be the expenditure authority for the funds appropriated by the ordinance.
Council chairman Antonio H. Borja, in his message during the session last week, emphasized the importance of the island’s casino industry.
“We, the people of Tinian, have established our island as the playground in paradise, with promises of a better tomorrow,” he said. “One of our goals is to ensure that the promises contained in our casino initiative are delivered. That’s why we will be entertaining a local ordinance to assist qualified citizens of Tinian with their electrical bills…that’s why we will continue to push for more scholarships and other assistance to benefit our people.”
But, he added, to make things happen on Tinian, a responsible local budget needs to be passed.
“It is important to look back before we look forward,” he said. “We must monitor our results to know where we are and where we want to be. That is why we will continue to work closely with the Tinian leadership and our community so that we can pass a responsible local budget.”
