RECIPIENTS of the Building Optimism, Opportunities, and Stability Together or BOOST program will get notice of suspected violation if they break the rules, BOOST Administrator and Bank of Saipan President John Arroyo told the House committees on Judiciary and Governmental Operations, and Ways and Means.
During the continuation Tuesday of the joint hearing on BOOST, House Ways and Means Chairman Donald Manglona asked Arroyo if the Bank of Saipan has the authority to recoup BOOST funds that are not spent in accordance with the business plan presented by the applicant.
Arroyo, with guidance from legal counsel Matthew Gregory, said that at this point in time, they don’t know who would recoup the BOOST payments from violators but “we definitely would file a notice of suspected violation” with the Office of the Attorney General and the secretary of Finance.
Arroyo said one of the conditions in the notice of award is that the recipient must keep invoices and other documents that pertain to the use of the funds for a period of five years.
The Bank of Saipan will review the recipient’s business plan and see if it matches those indicated in the documents. Their site visit, he added, will visually confirm that a recipient has used the funds as indicated in the recipient’s business plan.
Arroyo said the Bank of Saipan will monitor and conduct site inspections of the business establishments or activities of BOOST recipients.
He said the purpose of the BOOST program is for emergency or immediate need. If it appears to them that the recipient is holding onto the BOOST money for two years or three years, it would show the recipient’s need is not immediate.
“So, we basically would question them why they are not spending the money immediately, why they are holding their money for an extended period,” Arroyo said.
Provided by the Office of the Governor, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Commerce, the BOOST program is administered by the Bank of Saipan and is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
BOOST aims to “support the viability of those businesses and the employment opportunities they offer residents of the CNMI, to further the government’s goal of a diverse economy, and to increase Commonwealth tax revenues.”
John Arroyo
