FROM THE PUBLISHER ’ S DESK
Publisher Mar-Vic Cagurangan publisher @ pacificislandtimes . com
It was quite amusing if not woeful to watch . Gov . Eddie Calvo tried all sorts of scare contrivances to convince the skeptical senators that the sky was falling .
First , the Guam Memorial Hospital ’ s accreditation was supposedly at stake — a claim that Speaker Benjamin Cruz and Sen . Dennis Rodriguez briskly whacked . The Joint Commission report “ is not an issue of funding ” and had “ nothing to do with any infrastructure plan that they want to implement ,” the speaker said . “ If you want our help , tell us the truth ,” Sen . Rodriguez said .
Then , there was S & P placing GovGuam under credit watch , affecting about $ 10 million in general obligation bonds and $ 177 million in certificates of participation . While the rating agency noted the $ 67 million revenue hole created by the federal tax cuts , it didn ’ t fail to cut and paste the mainstay footnotes from its previous credit reports . “ Guam has a history of structural imbalance in its general fund , including recurring deficits , a very large negative general fund balance , and massive long-term liabilities ,” S & P said . Which explains why GovGuam is susceptible to self-sabotage . Even if there was no federal tax cuts to point to as the culprit , GovGuam is prone to financial meltdowns .
How the administration managed to switch — in the Orwellian fashion — the figure for federal tax cuts-related revenue shortfall was a puzzle to Public Auditor Doris Flores- Brooks . Speaking as a panelist at the recent Guam Women Chamber of Commerce ’ s tax forum , Brooks recalled that the Office of Public Accountability ’ s estimated shortfall for the remainder of the fiscal year was pegged at $ 47 million – not distant from the $ 48 million projected by Budget Director Lester Carlson before it curiously bloated to $ 67 million in a matter of weeks .
Then came the other monsters : furloughs , 32-hour work week , police precincts and fire stations shutdown , all accompanied by hollow-ringing governmentwide cost-cutting measures .
To wit : Freeze hiring for vacant positions . If these positions have been vacant for a while , that means there is no current cost attached to them , ergo , there is nothing to cut . If an agency has been surviving without filling these vacant positions , then perhaps , they can be done away with after all .
Elimination of nonessential positions . Why is the government appropriating funds for nonessential positions to begin with ?
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The anthem
Implementation of the Energy Conservation Plan “ beginning April 1 .” If there was such as plan , why has it not been implemented before ?
Travel restrictions — except when necessary . Who defines “ necessary ” and what are the parameters ?
Some of these cost-cutting strategies , ironically , only reveal how GovGuam becomes a financial blackhole .
The governor ’ s initial proposal to raise the business privilege tax from 4 percent to 6 percent was greeted with legislative resistance , bringing about the usual political histrionics — a made-for-voters show in this election year . Senators had stalled action for as long as they could before finally passing a compromise measure to raise BPT to 5 percent and impose a $ 2 sales tax on all goods and services .
Despite its passage , the new tax law remains a work in progress . Sen . Regine Biscoe-Lee has filed an amendment bill to exempt certain commodities . Sen . Michael San Nicolas is the new law ’ s repeal before it rolls into effect . Thank democracy .
The saga will continue . As S & P said , financial crisis in GovGuam is a recurring theme . It is Guam ’ s national anthem .
For the first in our Q & A series toward the November elections , we asked each of the gubernatorial candidates how they would manage a fiscal each if they were governor . Frank Aguon would overhaul the government and prioritize spending . Carl Gutierrez would eliminate nonessential political hires . Dennis Rodriguez would institutionalize public-private partnerships . Ray Tenorio would outsource certain government tasks that the private sector can do better . Lou Leon Guerrero did not respond . ( See full story on page 15 )
Some of these cost-cutting strategies , ironically , only reveal how GovGuam becomes a financial blackhole .
Editor Bruce Lloyd editor @ pacificislandtimes . com Associate Editor ( Pacific Note / Palau )
Ongerung Kambes Kesolei okkesolei @ gmail . com
Palau Bureau Chief Bernadette Carreon carreon . bernadette @ gmail . com
Contributing Writers Vince Akimoto Jeremy Bevacqua Richard Brooks Zaldy Dandan Jayne Flores Joyce McClure Denise Mesa Mendiola Diana Mendoza Joseph Meyers Gina T . Reilly Johanna Salinas Gafaar Uherbelau Aline Yamashita
Editorial Cartoon Andrea Nicole Grajek
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