We Wish You A Merry Christmas And A Payless New Year?
Is a payless New Year’s Eve on the horizon for government employees?
Sounds like that’s a distinct possibility…
Apparently, Commissioner of Finance Angel Dawson has written a letter to Gov. John deJongh informing him that unless funding appears quickly in the Virgin Islands treasury that the December 29th payday could be a payless one for government employees. December is a three payday month, with payroll scheduled to be paid on the first, fifteenth and twenty-ninth of the month.
But maybe Dawson is worrying for nothing.
Isn’t this the same Virgin Islands Treasury that is reaping the benefits of the recent 8% government payroll reduction? There must be some surplus floating around in there if your Good Governor can pay his new commissioners $130,000 a year and face the very real possibility that his other commissioners and eventually the senators will want the same!
It’s just inconceivable that with these activities in process that the government workforce, so recently subjected to a slashed paycheck, could greet 2012 with no paycheck at all.
Maybe Dawson is just overreacting and jumping the gun. History has shown us that the Office of Management and Budget Director Debra Gottlieb can make money appear out of nowhere when she wants to. Maybe she can manufacture a New Year surprise for her fellow government co-workers.
Then again, depending on what Dawson knows that we don’t – maybe not.
Merry Christmas!
OMB deals with BUDGETS. Finance deals with MONEY. Big difference! If the Finance Commissioner (who actually “signs” the checks) is not PUBLICLY grandstanding and fear mongering, but giving the Governor BEHIND THE SCENES warnings, there’s probably every reason to be very worried!
You know,it used to be a governor would meet and consult with his Budget Director, Commissioner of Finance and Director of the IRB on a quarterly basis (more often when necessary),to assess the rate and volume at which projected revenues were actually collected and compared to expenses being made.
Each official presented their latest set of figures for the governor to peruse and no document was more telling than that of the government’s Monthly Status Report….a report that outlines funds appropriated,alotted,
expended,encunbrances incurred and funds unalotted for each and evry line item in each and every agency and department.
A proper reading of those documents would give the governor a sense of where
collections are either meeting expectations,exceeding expectations or falling behind…..and more importantly,a guideline as to what futre expenses the government can and cannot undertake given the current figures set before him.
One gets the impression that this governor,if at all he’s presented with such facts and findings on a regular basis,holds himself above such trivialities and does whatsoever he pleases…….expecting his underlings
(the folks at OMB and Finance) to engage in creative shuffling to cover his
say so.
If that is what is going on,why even bother going through the motions of coming up with a budget and apperaing before the senate?
The point being,in the absence of regular annual financial reporting,nobody seems to know the true fiscal condition of the government and its actual deficit may well be times higher than what has been projected.