UPDATE: Senate Defers Financial Discussion Until Tuesday, Asks Governor To Delay State Of The Territory Address; Hovensa Closure Cited As Reason

January 20, 2012

Update: After a three hour delay in the start of this pivotal meeting, Senate President Ronald Russell delivered this message from the Legislature in St. Thomas.

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This action not only defers resolution on the financial issues facing the Territory, but also disrupts the planned Operation Yellow Cedar demonstration that has been long planned for Monday night, to coincide with the annual State of the Territory Address, if the address is indeed postponed.

More as this story develops.

If there has been a more critical Legislative session, we can’t remember it.

Before all eyes turned to Hovensa and its impending closure, the issues of government terminations, fiscal mismanagement and the Alpine Energy Group proposal were top of mind. And Hovensa notwithstanding, those issues remain critical, may in fact be even more critical, in light of the events of the past two days.

The Hovensa closing was no surprise – it is inconceivable that the largest employer in the Territory only contacted your Governor the night before the closing – and it has devastated this already embattled community. But let’s not let the shock drive us into even more destructive decisions. This is no time to lose focus.

The deceptively brief agenda for today’s Legislative session states “BR-12-1287- The Employment Relation & Economic Recovery Act of 2012, and for other purposes.”

Other purposes indeed.

Here are the priorities as we see them:

  1. Borrowing Is Off The Table – it was never a good idea, but the departure of the Hovensa refinery, and the $60 million it contributed to the VI Economy, makes the Territory a risk no borrower will take. And in any case, $90 million won’t cover three months of payroll – and then what? Done.
  2. Freeze every single budget today – get all those agency heads in now and line item every single budget for the rest of the fiscal year. Period.
  3. Hovensa’s closing is no excuse to move forward with Alpine. The much publicized $20 a year payment is less than the tip of the financial iceberg. Additional fees. tax exemptions and contract provisions that will cost even more when we can’t produce the amount of trash we’ve committed to make the return on this investment zero for the Virgin Islands – and 200% for Alpine.
  4. Bring EDC recipients to the table and revise the tax exemptions for those who have them, and force collections on overdue loans – IMMEDIATELY.
  5.  No More “Public/Private Partnerships” – If the government would quit destroying the business environment, there are companies that would come into the Territory and build revenue-producing businesses with their own money – and not ours. Case in point?  Synergy Renewables who even now are petitioning the Public Services Commission to bring a waste-to-energy plan to the Territory at no cost to us.
  6.  New Taxes Are Not The Answer – the answer is to collect those outstanding taxes from businesses who have been allowed to shirk their responsibility. Suspend their business licenses and close their doors until they pay.
  7. Remove Alicia Hansen – As long as she illegally occupies a seat in the Senate, any action they take in which she has a part are effectively null and void. It was and remains an issue – and we’re not going to let it go away. The story on the street is that you’re afraid because she’s “got something on you.” The Governor got busted in the university parking lot – what could be worse and frankly, who cares?
  8. How about that $6.9 Million from the Senate Audit – yet another issue getting, as one of our bloggers put it “swept under the rug” in the shadow of the Hovensa closure.

There are more – many more options but one thing is for sure – the Governor’s agenda – dictated by the business community – is an approach whose time has passed.

Senators, we are watching you.

Readers, the live blog is open..

 Synergy Renewables Letter

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86 Responses to UPDATE: Senate Defers Financial Discussion Until Tuesday, Asks Governor To Delay State Of The Territory Address; Hovensa Closure Cited As Reason

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  1. Ban Ya on January 21, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    U-Turn @ 8:18… Check out this page on aruba and maybe it will give us and idea on what they did and focused to better themselves without the Oil Refinery. ??

    http://WWW.indexmundi.com/aruba/economy.profile.html

  2. ! on January 21, 2012 at 2:31 pm

    Yacht, many educated people have been fired by deJongh for not supporting him. While hairdressers and party planners get big bucks. The education thing is lost on deJongh. He failed twice in high school.

  3. Ban Ya on January 22, 2012 at 8:55 pm

    HELP ME….. I don’t understand Mr. Russell request to our “A$$ O” top negotiator John. deh fine money to pay me ? Soh, my jab secure den? som bady BS We.. wa really goin an ya.

  4. ! on January 27, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    “Cecile take off yor clothes and dance for me now. No? Then I will send people home”

  5. Anonymous on January 28, 2012 at 12:11 am

    Would that be a direct quote? Didin’t know Fats was into that sort o’ thing.

  6. F3 on January 28, 2012 at 1:34 am

    1. He is into sending people home. 2. He is into threatening to send people home if they don’t do his bidding. 3. eewww

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