March 22, 2002 – The battle between Gov. Charles W. Turnbull and the 24th Legislature appeared to escalate Friday, as Sen. Emmett Hansen II threatened to "zero out" the Police Department's budget and transfer it and the police responsibilities to the separate V.I. Housing Authority Police.
Hansen's threat came after, once again, invited administration officials failed to appear at his Government Operations Committee hearing on St. Thomas. The same thing had happened at a Wednesday meeting of the panel on St. Croix.
Friday's hearing was to address a number of police matters, including VIPD problems cited in a recent audit report from the U.S. Inspector General's Office; administration initiatives to stem the gun-related crime; and administrative procedures for dealing with police officers who fair to follow procedures and file reports, thus causing cases to be dismissed.
The only police official who showed up was Housing Authority Capt. Gaston Tuckett, representing VIHA Chief Fitzroy Williams. Tuckett said his boss was off island.
Invited to testify along with Williams were Commissioner Franz Christian, Police Chief Novelle Francis, St. John Deputy Chief Angelo Hill, St. Thomas Deputy Chief Theodore Carty, and Attorney General Iver Stridiron.
"The governor and the attorney general have abdicated duty for politics, and this committee will not be held hostage by them," Hansen said. "It shows the administration doesn't care about the safety of the community, about crime."
Hansen, who sponsored recently enacted legislation imposing tougher sentences for gun-related crimes, added, "There were 68 guns reported missing from the evidence room in the audit report. That's more than was turned in in the amnesty last year."
He continued, "This is not a frivolous hearing. This is a question of life and death. If these people cannot come here to answer questions, then it says to me that they don't care about the people of this community."
A lone voice from the police sector
Tuckett, seated alone at the witness table, said the Housing Authority police force is in need of funding because its federal Housing and Urban Development grant has been eliminated. He said the VIHA police continue to ask for funds to stay in business. Vehicles need to be replaced, he said, and the staff needs to be increased by 30 officers. He said the force may get some funding from grants and VIHA capital funds.
In response to Hansen's questioning, Tuckett said the VIHA police force has a $2 million budget but needs $2,759,00 to operate. This provoked Hansen's notion about turning over the VIPD responsibilities and budget to the VIHA police. "Do you have any guns missing?" Hansen asked.
"We'll zero out the VIPD budget and send it to the VIHA. They should be given the tools."
Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole faced a similar scenario Thursday when no invited Planning and Natural Resources Department or Coastal Zone Management representatives showed up for a CZM permit hearing before his Planning and Environmental Protection Committee.
The no-shows came after Stridiron wrote to Senate President Almando "Rocky" Liburd on Monday citing a directive from Turnbull last August that no executive branch officials would henceforth testify before Senate bodies unless their appearance was cleared in advance with the Office of the Governor. The edict was the governor's response to the recurring incidence of administration officials being kept cooling their heels for hours in the Senate chambers waiting to be called to testify.
On Friday, Cole said, "I won't participate in this political stand-off. I am writing no letter to the governor to ask if government employees can come to my committee. The V.I. Code and the Organic Act [are] clear — the Legislature is empowered to summon government employees to testify."
He added, "These are political shenanigans, and I won't play."
With the exception of Sen. Roosevelt David, all of Hansen's committee members expressed distress or worse about Turnbull's action.
David told his colleagues, "I have nothing to ask about the VIHA, but I do have somebody to introduce to you — Miss Monica Charles, an Addelita Cancryn student."
David had the youngster say a few words to the senators about her ambition to pursue a career in athletics, after which he left the floor. The student was "shadowing" David for a day as part of a school program to allow young people to see how government works.
Sen. David Jones said, "It looks like we're caught up in a new paradigm here where we talk to each other, which serves no useful purpose." But, he added, "Crime is a very serious issue."
Jones suggested involving the clergy in developing a strategy to "arrest this vexing problem." Otherwise, he said, "the crime situation will negate a lot of economic development plans we are trying to put in place."
Calls for communication
Sen. Carlton Dowe called for some communication between the executive and legislative branches. "We don't need a standoff; we need a serious dialogue," he said.
Sen. Norma Pickard-Samuel said she had been told no government officials would attend the Labor and Veterans Affairs Committee meeting she has scheduled on St. Croix next week to hear labor matters dealing with Hovensa and its contractors.
"Labor Commissioner Cecil Benjamin had written me he would attend," she said, "and today I got a letter from him apologizing and rescinding his previous acceptance" because of the governor's directive, Samuel said. "This situation has gotten out of hand."
Pickard-Samuel said the clash is "all about the lump-sum budget." The governor has been trying with no success to get the Legislature to cancel the Fiscal Year 2002 line-item budget it passed, in favor of a lump-sum budget that would all for leeway in the expending of funds. The Finance Committee tabled indefinitely Turnbull's latest request for a lump-sum budget last week.
"I'm not going to participate in this," she continued. "I invited the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi to the territory, and I didn't have to ask President Bush's permission." She, too, said a meeting with the executive branch is needed.
Hansen read a letter Stridiron had written him earlier in the week citing Turnbull's directive in August, which had gone largely ignored by both branches of government until this week. Stridiron said neither he nor any other government official would attend any of the coming scheduled Senate committee meetings, including Pickard-Samuel's and one before Sen. Vargrave Richards' Youth and Human Services Committee next Tuesday.
"The governor requires only that the senators write to him in advance requesting the attendance of his employees so that he may make such decisions as are appropriate," Stridiron wrote Hansen.
Hansen said he has sent copies to the governor of all invitations for his past two committee meetings. "I have no problem with that," he said. "I have forwarded to the governor all my requests –but they have been ignored."
Meantime, unbeknownst to Hansen, Government House issued a press release Thursday night announcing Turnbull's approval for Stridiron, Human Services Commissioner Sedonie Halbert, Health Commissioner Mavis Matthews and Police Commissioner Christian to attend the Youth and Human Services Committee meeting Tuesday 26 on St. Croix — the same meeting Stridiron told Hansen no administration officials would attend.
The release stated that the governor "is pleased to continue to approve requests from Senate committees … as long as the procedure … is adhered to."
On a motion by Dowe, the Government Operations Committee voted to subpoena those who had been invited
to testify Friday to ensure their attendance at an April 4 meeting.
All committee members attended Friday's meeting: Sens. Adelbert Bryan, Cole, David, Dowe, Hansen, Jones and Samuel.
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