Of the 62 employees of DPL, Babauta said, only six rangers working on Managaha will be reporting for work.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial yesterday issued a memorandum identifying the essential government offices that will remain open during a government shutdown as both houses of the Legislature remained deadlock on the budget bill.
Fitial advised all affected government branches, departments and agencies to begin preparing for the shutdown
He said only positions delivering essential services related to the health, safety and welfare of the people of CNMI will remain functioning.
During the shutdown, only the employees who are essential and have worked will be paid.
All departments and agencies on the list of essential services must submit a work schedule for the next two weeks along with the list of employees and positions no later than 4 p.m. of Sept. 30 so the Department of Finance can process the payroll, Fitial said.
“It is regrettable that this memorandum needs to be issued,” he added.
Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos said the shutdown may be “a blessing in disguise” because it will result in some savings for the government and may show that it can still operate.
“But we can’t make that determination until we actually cross the bridge. At this point, we are only trying to ensure the continuation of critical services during the shutdown period,” Inos said.
The Legislature is not included on the list of the essential services provided by the governor.
House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, questioned the governor’s authority to determine which positions are essential in the legislative and judiciary branches.
“The last time I look, there is separation of powers between the branches of the government,” Benavente said.
He said in the absence of law identifying essential services in case of a shutdown, the governor has no authority to identify what are the essential services in the other two branches of the government.
He believes it should be the heads of the other two branches of the government to determine what the essential positions are in their respective branches.
The essential services on the governor’s list are the timekeepers of all branches, departments and agencies; one associate judge and one clerk in the judiciary; two parole officers; all Commonwealth Ports Authority personnel; all Commonwealth Utilities Corp. personnel; the secretary of Commerce; social workers of the Department of Community and Cultural Affair’s child protection unit; a counselor; juvenile correction officers and social workers of the Division of Youth Services; a caretaker, officers, a social worker, family support service supervisor of emergency shelter; captain, lieutenant, cadets, corrections officers, custodial sergeant and director of the Department of Corrections; key staffers of Customs, electronic data processing and postal services; quarantine officers of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources; most of the Commonwealth Health Center’s healthcare personnel; one physician and nurse at Rota Health Center; key staffers of the Tinian Health Center; enforcement officers of the Department of Public Safety; communication operators, response and recovery staff of the Emergency Management Office; instructional and support staff of Northern Marianas College; all Public School System personnel; one assistant public defender, one assistant attorney general and a probation officer.
The positions in federally funded agencies that will continue to operate include those with the Coastal Resource Management Office, the Commonwealth Development Authority, the CNMI American Recovery and Reinvestment Act office and the Military Integration Management Committee in the Department of Commerce, the Nutrition Assistance Program, the Division of Environmental Quality, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Women, Infant and Children Program, the Energy Division and the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.
