The administration has proposed a $158.4 million budget, but Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said the House Ways and Means Committee will reduce this to around $156 million to reflect the $1.7 million taken from the Marianas Public Lands Trust so that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. can rent generators from Aggreko.
“We need to take that down by $1.7 million for the power generators that we paid so that leaves us with $156 million,” he told Variety.
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr., in a separate interview, said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting today to discuss the FY 2009 budget plan.
Government offices had to shut down every other Friday during FY 2007 to save the CNMI at least 10 percent in payroll expenses.
No budget was passed for FY 2008, and this allowed the government to spend under the revised FY 2007 spending ceiling of $163.5 million.
In his latest budget proposal, the governor asked lawmakers to allow for the nonpayment of 14 holidays for FY 2009 and to reinstate 12 austerity holidays.
Projections for the FY 2009 collections are down to $169 million.
Of this amount, $11 million is for the government’s bond payments.
