With no lifeguard on St. John legislators were concerned about the public’s safety as vacancies were left unfilled by the Department of Sports, Parks, and Recreation, which was heard in testimony at Tuesday’s hearing during the Committee on Budget, Appropriation, and Finance.
DSPR’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 General Fund Budget is $10,094,218, of which 52 percent is for personnel services totaling $5,286,222. Personnel service is broken down into classified positions at $4,257,692, unclassified positions at $919,030, overtime at $70,000, night differential compensation at $19,500, and other differentials at $20,000, said Commissioner of DSPR Calvert White.
With a total of 130 positions, 15 exempts, and 105 classifieds, the department has 10 vacancies that need to be filled. Of the positions, three are Groundskeepers, one Administrative Officer I, two Administrative Officer II, one Administrative Officer III, one Youth Community Coordinator, one Recreation Leader II, and one Lifeguard Instructor need, according to the testimony.
Sen. Javan E. James Sr. inquired about the filled positions of lifeguards by district, which led to the commissioner momentarily denying having any oversight on any beaches on St. John. Chairwoman Donna Frett-Gregory pressed for clarity, and White stated that Oppenheimer Beach was under their jurisdiction, which does not have a lifeguard present.
Turning the question over to Deputy Director of St. John, Elroy Hill, who clarified that “most of the beach is privately owned entity and the lifeguard is on duty when events are hosted.” Concerned for the responsibility for any liabilities that may occur at Oppenheimer, Frett-Gregory posed the question regarding safety.
Signage is posted by the department, such as “swim at your own risk,” and there is an access gate to the beach that the department assured lawmakers that they do lock for safety measures. Frett-Gregory urged the department to look into further minimizing the liability risk.
In terms of risk minimization, the department’s proposal for Fringe Benefits is $3,052,033 and is broken down into employer contribution retirement at $1,192,536, Federal Insurance Contribution Act at $327,746, Medicare at $76,650, Health Insurance Premium at $1,393,498, and worker’s compensation premiums at $61,603, said White.
Among the other cost, the supplies budget includes operating supplies at $82,833; vehicle supplies at $85,000; repair and maintenance supplies at $105,332; small tools and minor equipment supplies at $38,750; data processing system at $7,200, clothing and cloth material at $4,380 for a total supplies budget of $323,495. The other services budget is comprised of debris removal of $19,490, repair and maintenance of $118,297, automotive repair and maintenance of $51,882, rental of land/building of $29,079, training of $18,000, communication of $79,570.
Senators had several brief debates over discrepancies caused by the Office of Management and Budget “having listed a revisited budget.” Frett-Gregory made it very clear “The Legislature has not requested a revised budget.”
“According to the Legislature post-audit report from FY 2023, DSPR received $799,000 in utilities to move to a single-payer account,” however, the report from OMB does not reflect that. “We did not pass a lumpsum budget so they (OMB) do not have the authority to move money from categories to categories,” Frett-Gregory stated.
Senators addressed another low-hanging fruit, non-appropriated funds to DSPR Nonprofit subgrantees. According to the commissioner, “the department has been submitting correspondences and 15 out of the 44 nonprofits have yet to submit requests.” White explained that because a “majority of the subgrantees are recurring for over 5-6 years, some of them have misplaced documentation and the ball is in their court.”
While the nonprofits may have had the ball in their court, it didn’t take long for the V.I. Olympic Committee to steal the ball and score the winning shot. With the recent win of several Gold Medals, lawmakers inquired about the upcoming plans for the athletes in terms of recognition. On June 28, the U.S. Virgin Islands senior women’s national basketball team received their gold medals at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
White stated that the department, in conjunction with various agencies, is “currently planning a three-day event weekend for these ladies. One with a reception at Government House, the day after that a parade for the ladies, and the third day something social.”
Bringing home a second gold medal to the Territory on July 7 was Nicholas D’Amour in the men’s recurve individual division of Archery at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Government funds for the VIOC support 24 member Federations as well as provide support to elite athletes. Their operating budget has been over $900,000 per year for the past three years. Since then, operations have increased, and are foresee an increase in order to support staff for the next Fiscal Year. VIOC is requesting an appropriation of $400,000 for FY2024, according to testimony.
The 24 Federations use VIOC support to send coaches for further training. Athletes compete in archery, beach volleyball, bowling, boxing, equestrian, fencing, golf, sailing, swimming, tennis, and track & field. Team sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball also receive assistance.
Although 70 percent of VIOC funds come from grants such as the International Olympic Committee and Pan Am Sports to support operating funds, “Olympic Solidarity funds are strictly for the intended requests and the financial report must reflect such,” said Angel Morales, president of the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee.
“I am requesting that the funds appropriated in FY2022 of two million dollars still be available until expended as we need to cover the costs not associated to operating a shelter.” VIOC is in the process of getting a permanent home that will be available for non-Olympic Committee sport organizations, according to Morales.
“We have to give our athletes something to look forward to. We will have the discussion with the Olympic committee to see what is feasible. We are committed to moving a nongermane amendment as to what we can do from a monetary perspective to these individuals who have brought light to the Virgin Islands,” said Frett-Gregory.
Sens. Donna Frett-Gregory, Novelle E. Francis Sr, Franklin D. Johnson, Angel L. Bolques Jr, Carla J. Joseph, Javan James Sr, Marvin A. Blyden, Samuel Carrion, Dwayne M. DeGraff, Ray Fonseca, Alma Francis Heyliger, Kenneth L. Gittens, Milton Potter, and Diane T. Capehart were in attendance at Tuesday’s hearing.
