Dec. 21, 2007 — A bill passed by both houses of Congress this week will mean budget increases for the territory's ferry boats, COPS technology program, VITRAN bus service, glaucoma screenings and V.I. Perinatal.
The appropriations were included under the Omnibus budget package that still needs approval by President George W. Bush. The president is expected to sign the bill, according to a news release from Delegate Donna M. Christensen.
The ferryboat operators stand to receive $750,000. The money would go for equipment purchases, said Christensen's spokeswoman, Monique Watson, via email.
The two companies that operate the franchised run between St. John and St. Thomas, Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures, threatened in November to stop service if they didn't get a subsidy to operate the service.
Claudette Ferron, a St. Thomas attorney who represents both St. Thomas ferry companies, was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for comment.
The companies, along with V.I. SeaTrans, which runs between St. Thomas and St. Croix, received an appropriation from the Legislature in mid December. The two St. John ferry companies will get $530,023, while SeaTrans will get $500,000.
A total of $58,000 will go to the COPS Technology program (Critical Technology Needed for Training of New Police Officers). The money will be used to install laptop computers, video camera recorders and fingerprinting devices in patrol cars; equip traffic and criminal investigating units with handheld computers; provide auto-ticket computers; acquire teleconference equipment; and implement an automated fingerprint-identification system.
VITRAN bus service, an arm of the Public Works Department, will receive $400,000 for new buses. A total of $317,000 will go for glaucoma screenings, and $307,000 will go to V.I. Perinatal for Healthy Families, Healthy Babies initiatives.
Watson did not provide any information on the glaucoma screenings or the V.I. Perinatal program.
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