THE Saipan and the Northern Islands Municipal Council has submitted a $351,257 budget proposal for fiscal year 2026.
Of this amount, $150,100 will be allocated for operations and $197,682 will be allotted to personnel.
In her letter to Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council Chair Marian DLG Tudela said the budget request reflects the council’s enumerated duties and authority expressly provided for in the CNMI Constitution, “in addition to the progressive partnership initiatives taken by the Council identified in programs and projects aimed at improving the quality of life within the municipality.”
She said these municipal initiatives include the Chalan Kanoa Historic Heritage Park, the Kiosku solar-roof covered parking and flood mitigation project in Chalan Kanoa and the Ancestral Reburial Memorial Mausoleum.
Tudela cited the “historic groundbreaking” for the new Municipality of Saipan building as among the municipal activities this year. The 18th council’s completion of the million-dollar-plus federally funded building in Chalan Kanoa is the first since the 1954 Saipan Congress Building was demolished to pave the way for the construction of the U.S. Post Office, she added.
When completed, she said, the new municipal council building would accommodate the offices of the municipal council and the Saipan mayor as well as a satellite office for elected members of the Third Senatorial District in a town hall setting.
The FY 2025 budget allotted $124,961 for the Saipan municipal council. The sum of $123,724 was apportioned for its five personnel and $1,237 for operations.
