Governor deJongh can end the “user fee” debate

In the name of transparency, Crucians in Focus invites Governor deJongh to produce a list of all vacant board positions in the territory. The importance of such an action is clear when it comes to the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority (WMA). Did you know there are 3 vacancies on the 7 member WMA board? Did you know that the newest of the 4 sitting board members is Darryl Smalls, Governor deJongh’s Commissioner of Public Works? Did you know that the Governor can end the Environmental User Fee (EUF) debate by simply appointing 3 competent individuals who understand the risk this fee poses to our economy?

We have compiled information from the WMA’s existing website (not the new/pending website) for the purpose of informing the public. See below:

• From WMA’s website – Present board composition and membership

‘The Board currently has four members sitting. The governmental member include: Commissioner Daryl A. Smalls (Member- Department of Public Works). There are two governmental positions to be filled under the de Jongh Administration, with one representing each district. The current non-governmental Board members are Winston Adams (Board Chairman-St. Thomas), J. Brion Morrisette (Vice Chair-St. John), and Llewellyn Reed II (Secretary–St. Croix). The remaining seats on the Board require an additional member from St. Croix and one from St. John. The public sector second seat for St. Croix also remains vacant.’

• VI Daily News article titled ‘Waste Management gives Cornwall 5-year contract and $10,000 raise’ (December 16, 2006 edition):

‘Cornwall’s current contract does not expire until September 2007, but because the board will lose three members – Gloria Canegata-Waterman, V.I. Public Works Commissioner George Phillips and Keith Richards – when their contract expires next month, chairman Winston Adams said members felt that the sitting board would be best qualified to review Cornwall’s job performance since she was hired in 2005.’

• STX Source article – Senators’ vote and position on WMA bill

“I think it’s a good day for the people of the Virgin Islands,” Hill said later Wednesday. “This is something the community deserves. I’m grateful for the senators who voted for the issue. I hope the governor will sign it and we can move into a new era.”

• STX Source article – Governor Turnbull’s WMA board nominees

‘To represent the government, Turnbull appointed Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood; Keith Richards, the governor’s assistant for capital projects; and Gloria Canegata-Waterman, his assistant for St. Croix.’

• STX Source article – Inaugural meeting of the original WMA Board

• From the Governor’s State of the Territory Address:

“The State of our Territory is troubling. Our financial condition remains precarious, and the fundamental problems are as they were. Our budget is structurally in deficit as general fund expenditures continue to exceed general fund revenues, and year after year the deficit exceeds 50 million dollars.”

“And the fragile financial condition of the Government mirrors the social conditions across our community. Thirty-five percent of our children are living in poverty. Our family incomes are a third lower than the poorest state in the Union, even as our cost of living is higher.”

• See §497 of Act #6638 for board composition guidelines

It is clear to us that the “Environmental User Fee” has caused a great deal of concern in the territory. St. Croix’s economy is significantly depressed and the Governor himself proclaimed the state of the territory as “troubling.” We urge Governor deJongh to step up to the plate and ease the concerns of the residents of the Virgin Islands.

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