“Everyone should accept the cuts,” he said. “It’s time to be realistic.”
Tasked by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to oversee the government’s financial affairs, Inos said the administration will ensure that Rota, Tinian, Saipan and the Northern Islands are taken care of in the budget for FY 2012, which starts on Oct. 1.
The administration, Inos added, has until July 31 to make any changes to its proposed FY 2012 budget.
The budget amount, he said, could change anytime. As long as the gap will cause long-term implications, “we need to make a change,” he added.
Reducing exemptions from the austerity measure may prevent a further reduction in the budget amount, Inos said, but he admitted that it will be a challenge to make cuts for critical services like public health and safety.
“Do we want to cut down hospital technical staff by half just to save money?” he asked. “But we need to do something.”
Inos said he does not think Tinian and Rota should get less than what they contribute to the general fund as earlier proposed by Rep. Froilan C. Tenorio.
This is one commonwealth, Inos said, and the government is responsible for the welfare of the people of Tinian, Rota, Saipan and the Northern Islands.
“We have to help each other,” he added.
The resources are finite so “what we need to do is to go over the priorities, making sure that we take care of all the critical areas,” Inos said.
