But the mayor’s office will “try to work something out” so its delivery of service to the community will not be severely affected, he added.
In June 2019, he said, when the 72-hour work schedule was implemented due to a decline in government revenue, the mayor’s office “managed its expenses.”
This year, “we will have to further cut down unnecessary expenditures” Apatang said. “No one [in the mayor’s office] can procure anything without my permission,” he added.
He noted that the novel coronavirus outbreak has significantly affected the CNMI’s second largest tourism market, China, which will result in a steep decline in government revenue.
