GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Thursday assured businesspersons that the lifting of the austerity measure “will last.”
In a dialogue with members of the Marianas Business Network at 360 Beach Club in Susupe, the governor also addressed the concerns of a government vendor and answered a question regarding the ongoing Beach Road improvement project.
Travis Jones, owner of Last Shot Bar in Chalan Kanoa, asked for an update regarding the restoration of the 80-hour payroll for executive branch employees.
The governor reduced their working hours to 72 in 2023 but lifted the austerity measure during the early voting period in November 2024.
Jones on Thursday said the austerity measure affected customer spending.
“[My customers] went from [coming] two nights a week to one night a week, from coming out as a couple to coming out as a single, and it’s all dependent on austerity,” Jones said.
He asked if the lifting of austerity will “definitively” last.
“It will last,” Palacios responded. “We’ve made that commitment and we’re seriously working with it with the Legislature. … We’re going to get to work right in the first week of [the lawmakers’] inauguration. We’ve got the proposal to continue that and sustain that. … We will do everything we can to sustain an 80-hour payroll.”
Delayed payments
Donna Krum of Paradise Dental Spa mentioned the concern of government vendors.
“Every two weeks for nine years we have had to stress over being able to meet payroll. That gets old,” Krum said. “That is a very stressful situation to be in. A business owner has taken their last $250,000, they’ve thrown it into their business and they can’t wait months and months and months [to be paid by the government] because our landlord isn’t going to listen to that.”
The governor said he “fully understand[s] the cash crunch that small businesses go through when payments from the government are late. When things are processed out of the budget things get ground up, and by the time things come out on the other end it’s different.”
This reporter asked for an update on the Beach Road Improvement project, which affects business customers, delivery drivers, motorists and pedestrians.
The governor said based on his latest conversation with the Department of Public Works, the construction will be completed “by February.”
“It’s been challenging for the contractor,” the governor said. “We’ve had an unusual long season of rain. There are small businesses that are struggling. … I called [DPW], and said, ‘You guys have to talk to the contractor to make sure they don’t have to dig the whole strip if they’re not able to move fast on that.’ ”
As for the vagrants who sit outside business establishments, potentially driving away customers, the governor acknowledged that it “is impacting businesses.”
“There’s obviously a bigger problem than just taking them off the area because they do come back,” he added. “There are other underlying issues that we need to take a look at.”
He said the problem will need to be addressed through a wide variety of community programs.
“That is an issue that we all see and we need to begin to address it whether it’s a housing issue. What can our [Northern Marianas Housing Corporation] do? What can other nonprofits do? What are the required resources that we need to address or are there other underlying issues we need to address?”
Accompanying the governor at the MBN dialogue was outgoing House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, who also served as the event moderator.
Gov. Arnold Palacios, left, sits next to the event moderator, outgoing House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, at the Marianas Business Network dialogue at the 360 Beach Club in Susupe on Friday.
Donna Krum of Paradise Dental Spa speaks at the Marianas Business Network dialogue with the governor at the 360 Beach Club in Susupe on Friday.
