Department of Corrections Commissioner Anthony C. Cabrera speaks during a budget hearing conducted by House Ways and Means Committee in the House chamber on Thursday.
DEPARTMENT of Corrections Commissioner Anthony C. Torres on Thursday shared with the House Committee on Ways and Means his plan “that will help us look beyond these challenges and concentrate on what we can control.”
For fiscal year 2025, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios proposed a $3.8 million budget for Corrections, which submitted a $9.2 million budget request of which $4.84 million was for personnel.
In FY 2024, Corrections was appropriated $4.3 million.
For FY 2025, the department requested 142 personnel. Under the governor’s proposal, Corrections will have funding for 139 personnel.
Joining Torres in the budget hearing were Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Wiggins and other Corrections officials. Also attending the budget hearing was Special Assistant for Management and Budget Vicky Villagomez.
Committee chair, Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, vice chair, Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao, and members Reps. Roman Benavente, Manny Gregory T. Castro, Marissa Flores, Patrick San Nicolas, Thomas John Manglona were also in attendance.
Torres said it is crucial to focus on resourcefulness and innovation despite limitations in resources.
He said he considers challenges as opportunities.
“When you say you can’t do whatever it is that I ask of you, I will encourage you to challenge your thinking and reframe it into, ‘We just haven’t tried it before. So let’s give it a shot because anything is possible,’ ” he said.
Torres said Corrections will continue to assess its current resources, and aim to understand what they have at their disposal and identify any areas where improvements can be made.
They will continue to define specific goals based on the resources available, he added.
He said Corrections will also continue to encourage creativity and initiative among its staff members. They will foster a culture of collaboration and open communication, and ideas for improvements are welcomed, he added.
They will likewise focus on training and development and continue to explore technological solutions that can streamline processes and improve efficiency, Torres said.
He said this may include implementing an inmate management system, staff scheduling and software for a digital records keeping system.
They will also continue to forge relationships with community organizations, educational institutions and other agencies to “leverage” their external resources, Torres said.
He said they are committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the correctional facility.
They will encourage feedback from staff and inmates, monitor performance matrix and adopt strategies based on outcome to maximize efficiency, he added.
They will continue to optimize the allocation of their resources based on their priority needs by regularly reviewing and reallocating resources to areas that have the greatest impact to ensure efficient use of limited resources, Torres said.
They will also continue to utilize risk management by identifying potential risks and challenges that may arise due to resource constraints, he said. They will continue to develop contingency plans and mitigation strategies to address these challenges proactively, he added.
Moreover, they will continue to celebrate success by acknowledging and celebrating achievements both big and small, with their team and staff, Torres said.
By following this plan, he said, “we can lead our department and be a model to other local agencies in our Commonwealth with a focus on resourcefulness and effective utilization of available resources, ultimately driving positive change and improvement within our organization in the CNMI.”
