GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios said the over-the-cap salaries of the Office of Grants Management & State Clearinghouse Administrator Epiphanio Cabrera and Public Assistance Officer Patrick C. Guerrero are federally funded.
Last week, the governor issued certifications for annual salaries in excess of the $65,175 cap for Cabrera and Guerrero.
Cabrera receives $100,000 a year while Guerrero gets $77,000 a year.
“First of all, those individuals are federally funded,” the governor told reporters. Moreover, he said, Cabrera and Guerrero have been working for the government for years now.
Cabrera has been very productive over the years, Palacios added. “I think everybody knows that. We just don’t want to lose him,” the governor said, adding that it’s not the time to lose the “synergy” in securing more federal grants for the NMI.
“I [also] expect both of them to get things done in a very efficient and effective manner so they both know where I’m coming from, and they both know my expectations, and we’ll take it from there,” Palacios said.
He noted that Guerrero has been working very hard to get reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The governor said the CNMI was lagging behind with the implementation of federally funded projects, “and we kind of gave him an ultimatum,” referring to Guerrero.
“We don’t have the luxury of time anymore. We got to produce, or like what Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chairman Jose C. Ayuyu has said, if you can’t do it, we will courteously ask you to step aside and get somebody to get it done,” the governor said.
Palacios said there are other people who make more than either Cabrera and Guerrero, but OGM under Cabrera’s leadership brings in over $100 million in federal grants.
