“LET’S just admit it — the government alone cannot handle it,” Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Blas Camacho said last week, referring to governmental programs, projects and services.
During a budget hearing on Friday, Camacho told members of the House Ways and Means Committee about the “obstacles” his office had encountered in carrying out its activities to ensure a safe community and a clean island.
In getting rid of junk cars, for example, Camacho said the recycling center refused to accept more junk cars because it was already overpacked.
Luckily, there was another recycling center that opened recently so the Saipan Mayor’s Office was able to continue the task, he added.
Camacho said the presence of junk cars is a huge problem in the villages. In collecting junk cars in the villages twice a week, he said they were able to pick a total of 188 junk cars in eight weeks. It was fortunate, he reiterated, that someone else invested in a recycling center which allowed the mayor’s office to reactivate its collection of junk cars.
In repairing secondary roads in the villages, he said they have encountered a problem with quarry operators and the Department of Public Lands because the Saipan Mayor’s Office was being charged for the corals used to patch the potholes in the villages.
Since he was sworn in on Jan. 9, 2023, Camacho said his office has extracted 2,100 cubic yards of corals to repair roads island-wide.
“I’m just going to be straight forward. I am not selling the corals, so why should I buy the corals?” he said, adding that he believes the island is owned by the people, and the quarry is also owned by the people.
As for the Adopt-a-Place program of his office, Camacho said, “We need to entice the business community, non-profit organizations and families to adopt a place. Give them the ownership, beautify it and take care of the place so we all benefit from it — not just tourists but all us here on our island.”
He said since January, there have been six places “adopted” by businesses, a local family and a non-profit organization.
More places will be adopted, he added, because businesses, families and non-profit groups see the importance of the program.
Camacho at the same time urged lawmakers to “please support me financially in order for me to continue and expand these programs and let me do the work. I humbly ask to please consider the mayor’s office. With all these tasks…I need your help in order for me to…support our community here in our island.”
He also thanked the Ways and Means committee for giving him the opportunity to discuss the priorities and tasks of the Saipan Mayor’s Office.
Joining Camacho in the budget hearing were his chief of staff, Priscilla Iakopo; his financial officer, Terry Camacho; Dog Control Program Manager Martin Pangelinan; Human Resources Manager Juanette Sablan; and Field Operations Director Jojo Attao.
Aside from the committee’s chairman, Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, the other Ways and Means members present were Vice Speaker Joel Camacho, Reps. Blas Jonathan Attao, John Paul Sablan, Angelo Camacho, Joseph Flores, Denita Yangetmai and Thomas John Manglona.
The Saipan Mayor’s Office is requesting a $1.5 million budget for fiscal year 2024. In Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ budget proposal, the mayor’s office will get $802,135. The mayor’s office’s revised budget in FY 2023 totaled $817,031.
Ramon B. Camacho
