The V.I. Waste Management Board convened Thursday to review a presentation on the utility’s 2024 audit, budget projections for the upcoming fiscal year and several ongoing projects.
Accountant George Willie from the firm Bert Smith and Company noted during his presentation to board members that the authority continues to struggle with a full accounting of its assets, including vehicles and other equipment, which may be obsolete or no longer working. Willie also flagged discrepancies between work the WMA contracted and work contractors billed for.
“I couldn’t get totally comfortable that we actually owe these dollars,” he said, adding that the cost of some jobs changed from one week to the next. “I think there has to be a definition of what a contract is, what a contracted amount is, what it is that you will not be paid for in excess of.”
Chief Financial Officer Daryl Griffith acknowledged later that Waste Management is still dealing with work that was performed without contracts after the 2017 hurricanes. The issue, he said, is that those contractors had expected to be paid by now.
“So when the auditor sends them the letter saying ‘how much does Waste Management owe you,’ they’re like, ‘well, we had settled on a contract for $5 million but it’s been five years. We want $7 million now,’” he said.
Griffith also noted that Waste Management regularly hires contractors on an emergency basis — particularly for wastewater issues.
During Thursday’s regular meeting, the board also approved a one-year, $367,770 contract with Falken USVI for security services at the territory’s landfills and treatment plants and approved the utility’s 2027 budget plan. Griffith estimated the authority will have an operating budget of $52.8 million for the next fiscal year. That sum includes approximately $39.5 million in government appropriations and a projected $4.5 million in tipping fees. Griffith said the authority also expects to bring in revenue through solid waste management fees and federal reimbursements.
