According to the governor, acting Finance Secretary Robert Schrack and Special Assistant for Management and Budget Esther Fleming said austerity measures should be strictly observed.
“In order to minimize the adverse effect of the potential cost overrun, I direct your attention to the need to conserve whatever remaining obligation authority you may have in your account[s] for the remainder of the fiscal year,” the governor wrote in a memo circulated on Tuesday.
The new directive orders all executive offices to confer with the governor or Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos for the possible exemption of critical services.
“Accordingly, effective Sept. 1, 2009, all new obligations and expenditures against locally appropriated funds for the remainder of this fiscal year are hereby restricted. Obligations for bona fide emergencies affecting critical services may be exempted upon my prior approval or that of the lt. governor,” Fitial said.
The CNMI government’s budget in FY 2009 is set at $148 million under Public Law 16-32.
The Fitial administration recommended a budget of $150.5 million for FY 2010 which begins on Oct. 1.
