Put It In Writing
Dawson said controversial measure was off the table but testifiers, Senators want to see it in writing
If Commissioner of Finance Angel Dawson thought a quick statement would make the 2007 property tax sale issue disappear, he was sadly mistaken.
Beginning with three testifiers from the VI Unity Day Group, and continuing throughout a morning of testimony before the Legislature’s Committee of the Whole that focused on the property tax issues facing the Virgin Islands, the message was the same – Put it in writing.
The VI Unity Day Group is an organization whose most recent visibility is an ongoing public campaign against the Administration’s plan to begin to collect property taxes. The group held a meeting this week on St. John as part of a public awareness campaign.
No property taxes have been collected since 2006 as the Administration has chosen not to collect any taxes pending the resolution of a court case on the issue. The court gave the Government permission to collect taxes at the 1998 rate pending settlement of the suit. The Government chose not to do so until recently, when the decision to collect taxes at the 1998 rate was made.
Part of the tax plan was a provision that would have allowed the Governor to sell the 2007 tax receivables to a third party, immediately receive the estimated $50 million in revenue those receivables are worth, and pay back the third party as the taxes were collected. This spawned concerns in the community that property would be at risk of being confiscated by a third party.
At the very end of his presentation seeking approval for an additional 250 million in borrowing authorization, Dawson mentioned, almost casually, that a decision had been made about the controversial property tax proposal.
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Loreli Monsanto, president of the VI Unity Day Group, began her testimony by pointing out that the written bill that was in front of the Senate on still contained the language concerning the 2007 tax sale, and that there was no document reversing that language that had been submitted to support Dawson’s words.
Monsanto said the current fiscal crisis was made more severe by the Administration’s practice of basing its budget requests on anticipated revenues from the contested rates related to the property tax assessments by the firm Bearing Point. She added that the Government’s decision not to send out tax bills at the 1998 level is at the root of the problem.
She asked the Senate to look at the requested borrowing and the tax situation closely before taking any action, and reiterated Senate President Louis Patrick Hill’s earlier proposal to have a summit of all government agencies before any more borrowing is approved.
She also challenged Dawson’s account of cost-cutting measures the Administration has taken to address the financial issues facing the territory.
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Myrtle Barry, chairperson for the real property tax committee for VI Unity Day Group, said the Government could take some lessons from the way the private sector is managing during the recession. She reiterated her discomfort with the Administration’s request to borrow more money.
She also expressed her concern that an item as critical as the consideration of sale of the 2007 taxes was communicated verbally by Dawson and had not been officially submitted to the Legislature for Wednesday’s hearing.
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She went on to express her concerns about the amount of authority the bill gives to the Governor to borrow money.
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She also cautioned that to continue down a path continued borrowing will weaken the Territory’s position if the economy fails to improve and that the Government needs to begin to operate in “survival mode.”
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Bishop Darryl Williams, Church of the Apostle’s Doctrine, chastised the Legislature for approving a request of the Governor to send out tax bills based on the Bearing Point document, in opposition to the court injunction; the imbalance between the tax benefits to large business compared to the tax burden of the local population; and the borrowing latitude proposed for the Governor in the bill before the Senate. These inequities for current and future residents of the Territory were a primary concern.
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And he ended by cautioning the Senators that they need to get back in touch with those they represent, as patience with the ongoing fiscal burden is getting short.
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The session was still in process at this writing.
I am listening to this hearing and I am sooooo sick and tired of these people especially that pompous twit Hill trying to be all tough about “i don’t think they realize we have a crisis so I think I’ll vote know and let them see.”
how desperately disingenuous – this whole thing is so fake and staged i can barely stand it. they haven’t put forth not one real significant cost cutting measure all day – not one – and wayne james wants us to go get bacardifor god’s sake.
send them all into the sea – except nellie and foncie and, ok, well, neville – but the rest of them be damned. and they can take these finance people with them.
The most recent external audit (independent) was completed for FY 2006.
The FY 2006 audit report is dated March 16, 2009.
The FY 2006 audit report is 271 pages long.
These facts taken individually signify incompetence; taken together is gross negligence.
@ ‘Clock’:
I,too,happened to have listened to a portion of the hearing and,
in addition to getting the feeling of it being a staged event,was
appalled (and I don’t mean to be unduly critical of anyone) that the senators seemed so incapable of formulating and verbalizing their own questions and ideas in putting forth their concerns and
suggestions re the crisis at hand.
Everybody seemed to be grandstanding….at least that’s how it came across to me.
But make no mistake about it,the government should have collected
property taxes at the 1998 rate when the court gave its O.K to do so.
True,there were community concerns of property being confiscated by a third party,but wouldn’t the government,as benevolent as it is,also ‘confiscate’ property for the non-payment of taxes?
That extra $50 million,I know,would have been ‘a drop in the bucket’,but at this stage of the game every dime counts.
@ ‘Whose at 1st’:
Does the Dept.Of Finance still put out a two-part Annual Report (financial and operating) on government operations?
@ soldier -
It’s time to bite the bullet. The Government needs to cut the fat and there’s plenty of it.
Everybody else has had layoffs and this crew should be no exception. There are hundreds of non-functional government workers and everyone knows it. They’ve deliberately procrastinated for years in installing and utilizing the most basic technology and have avoided doing any focused retraining efforts or real creative planning around alternative industry.
And if they approve this, knowing that they are relying on fictional revenues from the Diageo deal, then they get what they deserve. Did you listen long enough to hear them say they are anticipating a $267 million deficit already for 2011?
I want to see some real cuts and then see where we are. Frankly, I don’t believe it is as critical as portrayed. I’ll bet if there wasn’t an approval on this there would be some magical fund that appeared to solve the problem.
We shall see. I dare not predict.
@ ‘Clock’:
Hey,had that ‘bullet’ been bitten and digested a long,long time ago the government (and the V.I.by extension) wouldn’t be in the predicament in which it now finds itself.
No administration,irrespective of party affiliation,wants to be
remembered as the one which had to lay off emplyees.Not even the deadwood among them.You kidding me? But reality has a way of knocking us upside the head and I predict it’s only a matter of time before the downsizing will take place.
No,I hadn’t listened long enough to hear about the prediction of
a $267 million deficit for the year 2011.
For your sake (and that of your fellow Virgin Islanders) I truly hope the situation is,as you seem to think,not nearly as bad as others seem to think it is.
Hang in there my friend.
@ soldier,
will do. I hope people are watching and listening. If we don’t know how critical this upcoming election is, shame on us. That legislative chamber should have been packed today and tomorrow.
In any case, we’ll all just have to stay tuned.
What really got me upset was when the IRB Director and Finance Commissioner was unable to answer if tax refunds are being processed and issued. They are all bogus and now trying to act like the government broke. A gang of bandits. Angel Dawson needs to keep his sarcastic mouth shut. He had to put a double period to everyone response.
Once again, the crack finance team appears with no real numbers of where we are at TODAY. Last numbers submitted were February and they are there with their hand’s out for more borrowing.
The veiled request by King Hill for a ‘summit’ is about a year late.
Dawson and his cost cutting measure of no government vehicles on personal time is a joke. How many do you see driving around after hours and on the weekends?
Time to lay off the workers who bring nothing to the table. Other states are doing it, it is time we do the same. And no, no one in their right mind is going to lay off teachers, police……so stop the fear tactics.
Let’s start with consultants like the two that were there testifying with finance, and all the contracted employees who are employees to actually do the work of those government workers (?) who are in positions that CANNOT do the jobs they are hired to do.
Get rid of the government cell phones, pull all gas vouchers, stop the travel, stop the free lunches within the government…….all adds up to big bucks.
I really enjoyed when Monsonto challenged each senator.
She did have a point……they should not have had to be there testifying…..we have ELECTED OFFICIALS to represent OUR interests.
Time to reevaluate who we vote for in November.
@ Anon 6:29
I agree with you!
The main reason why Ms. Monsanto and many of us are uncomfortable with the gov’s request to borrow $250 million more is because we know that this administration has leadership that CANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH MONEY!!! It’s been well documented.
I wish we had the kind of senate that would take over the budget spending (line item) and enact a temporary 15% cut on all salaries over $85 thousand, including their own. This is an election year, and they would all look better if they did this. They need to stop supporting an administration that has lost the people’s confidence.
Mr. Crab,
I’m not sure about the DOF reports, but I revisited the FY 2006 external (independent) audit and here is some more information:
Audit findings & internal control breakdown’s constitute 152 of the total 271 pages of the report.
Audit Findings (including prior year) defined as “reportable conditions, material weaknesses, fraud, illegal acts, violations of provisions of contracts and grant agreements, and abuse”; totalling:
No. of Findings
FY 2004: 32
FY 2005: 35
FY 2006: 26
Ernst & Young also qualified the activities of the lottery and workman’s compensation program due to a lack of “sufficient audit evidence”.
The entire audit report, prior year reports and audit reports of the Public Finance Administration can be viewed at:
http://www.dacbond.com (free subscription required)
Look under the Bond Issuance (there are several bond issuances that also include economic projections/information submitted in support of the bond issuance(es)] of: “Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Revenue Bonds (Virgin Islands Matching Fund Loan Note), Series 2004A (Senior Lien), $94,000,000 Dated: December 1, 2004″
My question is: If you don’t know where you are then how do you know where to go?
I bet the finance team starts to make the rounds on the talk shows again.
Redfield is so in the tank….they will probably start off there.
Head’s up to Holland….make sure your mike is OFF when commercials are running. When a caller is on hold, we hear you collaborating with the finance clowns on how to spin the presentations to the audience. Not that we didn’t know that already….just confirms you are a party to the administration’s cover-ups.
Last time I was on hold, you were bragging about your FREE ticket to Taste of STX. Way to support the community Redfield. You of all people should be able to afford the $85 donation to a worthy cause. Makes sense the day the tickets were on sale you walked right into Premier ahead of hundreds of paying citizens in line. Disingenuous jerk.
And please, stop the ‘when I was senator’ crap. You are no longer in the senate and we are in different times. You and Chuckie need to go away and do something useful…like maybe fix the sewer system that you two did not get done ‘when you were a senator’.
Watch and listen….the finance team will be out in full force defending the borrowing. We are only putting off the inevitable until the election is over. Start the layoffs NOW to stop the bleeding. If we wait, we will have layoffs and an additional massive debt hanging over us.
Please lay off of Angel Dawson. What do you expect of someone that is drinking the Kool Aid and being told it is Tang? He loves the microphone don’t you see? He has to clarify everything the Senators says and must have the last word. When he thinks he’s made a good point he has to repeat it for emphasis as if he forgets that the whole thing is being recorded. He thinks he is the brain of the Financial Team and wants the Governor to think he is working so hard. We know he is just a figure and we also know the people at Finance who are really doing the work.
Let Mr. Dawson continue to delude himself into thinking that he is a “Financial Guru.” This is his moment of glory and that is why he must always “hog the microphone.” Nathan Simmonds could hardly get a word in.
Dawson would have been fired from the bank if he didn’t land the job in the Wolf pack.
Wasn’t it Senator Hill who,not too long ago,suggested the cost-cutting measure of reducing senators salaries back to $65,000?
What ever happened to that idea?
He said he was going to donate the differential to the homeless, but changed his mind when pressed by Senator Donastorg to actually go through with it.
“The Clock Is Ticking on April 14, 2010 at 11:01 pm
@ soldier -
It’s time to bite the bullet. The Government needs to cut the fat and there’s plenty of it.”
No truer words have been spoken. Why do we still have so many senators when a few years back we had a referendum to reduce the number of senators to 9?
If anyoone needs a reminder please see the link below.
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2001/06/01/guam-voters-reduced-own-senate-98
They of course ignored the will of the people and will continue to do so until we vote these thieves out of their government jobs with their free SUV’s, government holidays, pension plans, $1m staffs etc etc etc.
Oh boy,the games that are being played.
When I left government in the mid 80′s it was already having difficulty meeting its payroll and other obligations.
Then came Governor Farrelly who,despite the economic woes,opened the floodgates by drastically raising salaries for department heads and other executive officers from the mid $30,000s to $65,000,and which has since escalated to $85,000.
The problem is; revenues were not increased to the same extent nor was waste,fraud and mismanagement curtailed.
How can any government balance its budget given those set of conditions?
The reason there was no reduction in the senate was because it was an initiative by the Legislature. If the initiative was brought by the people and then voted on by us, they would have had to do it. We need to look over the VI Code as it relates to the power of the people. It was really just a pole.