Recent concerns over delayed government payments, hospital finances and the long-term sustainability of public institutions provided the backdrop Monday as Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. unveiled a proposal for a Financial Solutions Task Force aimed at addressing some of the territory’s largest financial obligations.
The proposed eight-member advisory body would develop potential bond-financing options and recommend structural reforms for the territory’s hospitals and health care centers, the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority and the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority — entities the administration says have accumulated significant financial obligations over decades while continuing to provide essential public services.
The announcement comes less than a week after University of the Virgin Islands officials told the Source that inconsistent government allotments, among other things, had contributed to cash-flow pressures cited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in placing the institution on show-cause status. At the time, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said the university’s funding challenges reflected broader fiscal pressures affecting the entire government rather than issues unique to UVI.
Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy echoed that assessment, saying General Fund collections have remained above prior-year levels but have not kept pace with the revenue assumptions used to develop the fiscal year budget. Combined with rising recurring expenses — including a 13% increase in government employee health care costs — he said the Department of Finance has been required to carefully manage cash flow and prioritize payments across government while continuing to work toward providing agencies and instrumentalities with their full appropriations.
Those same cash-flow concerns surfaced last week at the Humane Society of St. Thomas, which suspended animal intake and other government-contracted services after reporting it had not received funding for work already performed under its fiscal year agreements. McCurdy told the Source at the time that a $37,500 payment had been processed while the remaining balance was moving through the department’s review and approval process.
On Monday, Humane Society Board President Randy Knight confirmed the organization had received the $37,500 check but said it did not correspond to any of the five outstanding invoices totaling $181,250. Knight said the payment arrived without explanation and that the Humane Society still has not received fully executed Notices of Grant Award. Until the remaining $143,750 is paid, he said, government-contracted animal welfare services will remain suspended.
Later Monday, Government House Communications Director Richard Motta said approximately $31 million in vendor payments remains outstanding, with about $12 million currently being processed by the Department of Finance. Another $1.4 million in agency allotments — including funding for the Humane Society — is also being processed, he said.
“The Administration remains focused on moving those obligations forward as quickly and responsibly as possible while maintaining the government’s overall fiscal stability,” Motta said.
Against that backdrop, Bryan said the proposed task force is intended to move beyond managing immediate cash-flow concerns and instead develop long-term financial solutions for institutions whose accumulated obligations continue to place pressure on the territory’s finances.
“This is a proactive and timely opportunity for both branches of government to confront a challenge that has been allowed to grow for far too long,” Bryan said. “These institutions provide essential services, but their accumulated obligations continue to place pressure on the central Government, the Legislature and taxpayers. We have an opportunity to bring the necessary expertise together and develop a responsible path forward.”
Under the proposal, Office of Management and Budget Director Julio Rhymer and Sen. Novelle E. Francis Jr., chairman of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, would co-chair the task force.
Bryan said Francis has agreed to participate and recommended Sens. Kurt Vialet, Marvin Blyden and Avery Lewis to serve on the panel. The proposed executive branch members include Finance Commissioner Kevin McCurdy, Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority Executive Director Nathan Simmonds and Division of Personnel Director Cindy Richardson.
The administration envisions the task force as a collaborative advisory body rather than a legislative committee. Once formed, it would evaluate potential bond-financing structures while reviewing the operating models of the affected entities, including their expenses, administrative costs, executive compensation and revenue sources.
According to the administration, the review would examine uncompensated-care costs carried by the territory’s hospitals and health care centers, VIWMA’s long-term financial obligations and WAPA’s continuing restructuring efforts. The goal, Bryan said, is to pair any financial relief with stronger oversight and structural reforms designed to prevent similar debt from accumulating again.
“This cannot simply be an exercise in refinancing debt,” Bryan said. “We must also correct the conditions that allowed these obligations to grow. Public support must come with public accountability, and every entity receiving taxpayer assistance must demonstrate that its resources are being managed responsibly.”
The proposal builds on discussions held June 25, when Bryan, Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach and members of the 36th Legislature met at Government House to explore the use of bond financing to address legacy obligations affecting semiautonomous agencies, instrumentalities and component units of government.
Bryan said inflation has added urgency to the effort, noting that rising costs for energy, health care, equipment and other goods continue to strain both public institutions and Virgin Islands families.
“We are at a point where we have to move swiftly but deliberately,” he said. “The cost of goods, services, equipment, energy and health care continues to rise, and those pressures are being felt by these institutions and by families across the Territory. We must do the work carefully, but we must also recognize that delay carries a cost.”
The administration said it remains in discussions with Senate President Milton Potter regarding legislative participation and expects to finalize the task force’s structure and membership in the coming weeks. Any recommendations requiring legislative action would be submitted through the Legislature’s established procedures.
Once completed, the task force’s recommendations are expected to focus on reducing long-term debt, strengthening financial oversight, protecting essential public services and limiting recurring demands on taxpayers.
