Rep. Marissa Flores, left, gestures as she talks to Rep. Vince Seman Aldan in the Commonwealth Utilities Cor. conference room during a break from a CUC board meeting Friday morning.
REPRESENTATIVE Marissa Flores calls on community members, including CUC employees, to speak up against “abuses and mismanagement” at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Flores spoke during the public comment portion of the CUC board meeting as a member of the community and “an elected advocate for the people of the CNMI.”
She said there’s “an obvious concern among members of this community on how the CUC board conducts its fiduciary responsibility….”
Flores said CUC board members should “look into your…bylaws which guide this body — its current language gives the chairperson authority to act as a management team member rather than as a policy maker that ensures the public corporation’s longevity [by implementing] policy that enforces high level governance, and most importantly… ensuring fairness in the organization.”
She said CUC’s management and board should meet the requirements of the federally stipulated orders. “No more excuses,” she added.
“The people [should] no longer suffer due to mismanagement because what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors. I urge ratepayers, citizens and staff of CUC to speak up against the board of directors and its management if you have any information or witnessed any injustice in areas of your salary and internal opportunity such as promotions in your field of expertise,” Flores said. She can be reached by emailing staff.floresm@gmail.com or marissah.flores@gmail.com.
“I would be more than happy to listen and visit with you because the laws of the CNMI and the federal laws protect you,” she added.
Flores at the same time thanked newly confirmed CUC board members Rufo Mafnas and Simon Sanchez “for taking on additional responsibility in their daily life to ensure a balanced and fair board of directors.”
She said, “The people of the Commonwealth are watching, [and] they [will] hold every member of this board responsible should any malice and injustice be evident….”
Flores said she and other lawmakers “will be watching and ensuring that the ratepayers and most especially the staff of CUC are afforded fairness and just processes in management policies and salary compensation.”
