Four years ago, he said, “the annual casino revenues to the municipal fund reached almost $6 million. Now it is half of that. And we are several million dollars in debt.”
Outgoing Mayor Jose P. San Nicolas is pursuing a $1 million loan from the Marianas Public Lands Trust, despite a Senate legal opinion that it is unconstitutional.
Dela Cruz said “there is only one way to begin rebuilding the Tinian municipal fund: that is rebuilding the Tinian hotel-casino-golf course industry.”
He vowed to immediately work with casino licensees on the island for a meeting on Tinian with their prospective air carriers “to make sure that we take the right direction with our federal funds.”
Dela Cruz said the incoming Tinian leadership “will define exactly what [the casino licensees] need to begin operations on Tinian — and get it done.”
“It is our goal to land the first jet full of guests for the Tinian Dynasty Hotel on Tinian before the end of 2010,” Dela Cruz said.
He vowed to immediately begin planting all kinds of flowering plants,
“This is an affordable part of our overall Tinian Island Beautification Program.”
According to Dela Cruz, “The right way to attack our municipal fund problems” is through a new and proper municipal budget, as stated by reelected Republican Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider of Tinian.
“This will include a mechanism to pay off the 14 percent salary adjustments that are still due, the debt to Dynasty, the payment of retirement contributions, and whatever other debts we may find,” Dela Cruz said.
He added, “I should mention that [on Tuesday] we all sought the advice of Speaker Arnold I. Palacios and Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, both of whom fully agreed with our plans.”
Hofschneider and Palacios are the GOP’s candidates for governor and lt. governor.
Dela Cruz said he and the island’s other newly elected officials “reviewed the pledges we made in our platform and agreed to proceed immediately with those that are financially viable, while completing plans for the larger projects.
He added, “I am assured by our new Tinian Legislative Delegation and our new Tinian Municipal Council that they will work aggressively toward passing a new budget with me.”
He said he would “take all their suggestions into consideration before establishing my transition committee.”
Dela Cruz said that after receiving his instructions, the transition committee “will complete the plan for establishing the new administration, which I will accept or modify before the inauguration.”
“Choosing the transition committee membership is difficult because the task is ominous,” he added.
Dela Cruz at the same time said he will “respectfully request the support of Mayor San Nicolas and his administration for a smooth transition and their participation in the transition inauguration ceremony on Jan. 12.”
As for the outgoing mayor’s flagship projects, like noni and abalone farms, and Natibu Park and seawall among infrastructure projects, Dela Cruz said his administration “will take a serious look at [San Nicolas’s] business plans with regard to all [his] projects and decide whether or not any of them are actually viable, then take the most appropriate direction.”
Dela Cruz strongly believes that “by building an economy that will provide meaningful employment to all who want to work, we will end the era of mayoral candidates using political jobs as weapons.”
This he said will “end the problem of people’s jobs being threatened during campaigns.”
“I believe that I want to renew Tinian’s spirit of cohesiveness, friendship and Tinian pride among our people.”
“When the time comes for me to be a candidate for re-election, I do not want to be put in the position of worrying about the loyalty of my employees or my supporters in private industry.”
“If I do my job well, there will be no need for change.”
Dela compared the recent election to a “typhoon that blew down old houses.”
However, “after a typhoon, we always come together to help each other build new houses.”
Dela Cruz said, “Now I call on all the people of Tinian, no matter what your past political preferences, to come together as one people to help rebuild our island economy.”
“We now know that even if we don’t have any money, we can come together to make a change. Join us in making great changes to improve the lives of all people who call Tinian home.”
