“THERE are a lot of things that we can do without,” Department of Public Safety Administrative Director Kaye Inos told the House Ways and Means Committee, adding that “we…accept…the governor’s [budget] proposal in its entirety.”
“Where is the commissioner? Why is he not here today?” Ways and Means Chairman Donald Manglona asked, referring to DPS Commissioner Robert Guerrero.
Inos said he had a “prior scheduled meeting.”
Joining her in the budget hearing were Bureau of Motor Vehicles Director Juana Leon Guerrero and DPS Human Resources Manager Esther Delos Reyes.
Of the $4.8 million that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres proposed for DPS for fiscal year 2023, $54,753 will go to “all others” or operations.
In FY 2022, the DPS budget amounted to $4.2 million.
For FY 2023, DPS originally requested over $1.9 million for “all others.” Of this amount, $1.2 million would be for police operations; $408,000 for utilities; $268,000 for administration; and $44,000 for the commissioner’s office operation.
“How can you operate when the governor’s proposed budget for your operations is nowhere near the amount you requested?” Manglona asked Inos.
“You know,” she replied, “we understand that the CNMI government is not making a lot of money now, and there are a lot of things that we can do without. For example, personnel training. We want it but if they don’t have money for it, we won’t have it.”
She added that whatever leftover funds they have, “we kind of stretch them out. If there is a request that we see as more of a luxury than need, we don’t approve it.”
If the government cannot provide DPS funds for travel, for example, “then there is nothing we can do,” she said.
But one of their biggest concerns, Inos said, is the payment for fuel, utilities and communication services.
Manglona said he recognizes the importance of gas money for the police, but he also wants to make sure that DPS has adequate funds for “keeping our officers trained.”
Inos told him that DPS has $350,000 in federal grants for certification training, along with other federal grant monies.
Inos said DPS also has “a little remaining money” from service fees that they have been collecting over the last three years.
DPS, in addition, has “small” special accounts that help them pay their water bills, office and other supplies.
As for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, it has about $131,000, Inos said.
BMV expenses, however, have increased because of the “real ID” system which cost $60,000 a month to maintain, she added.
Department of Public Safety Administrative Director Kaye Inos, center, appears before the House Ways and Means Committee with DPS Human Resources Manager Esther Delos Reyes, left, and Bureau of Motor Vehicles Director Juana Leon Guerrero on Tuesday in the House chamber.
