June 21, 2003 – The 73rd Army Band of the Virgin Islands National Guard will be giving a free concert at noon on Tuesday, June 24, at the Cruz Bay bands stand, and everyone's invited.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
NATIONAL GUARD ARMY BAND CONCERT
June 21, 2003 – The 73rd Army Band of the Virgin Islands National Guard will be giving a free concert at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, at Buhdoe Park in Fredriksted, and at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at Sunny Isle Shopping center, and everyone's invited.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
NATIONAL GUARD ARMY BAND CONCERT
June 21, 2003 – The 73rd Army Band of the Virgin Islands National Guard will be giving a free concert at noon on Tuesday, June 24, at the Cruz Bay bands stand, and everyone's invited.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
NATIONAL GUARD ARMY BAND CONCERT
June 21, 2003 – The 73rd Army Band of the Virgin Islands National Guard will be giving a free concert at noon on Monday, June 23, at Emancipation Garden, and everyone's invited.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
The band is comprised of a traditional concert band, a calypso combo and a steel band combo, so there's something for everybody.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
TURNBULL STILL SEES BORROWING AS ANSWER
June 20, 2003 – In a statement from Government House on Friday night, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said he hopes the Senate will be "meeting again soon to consider my request to borrow" a total of $235 million, something legislators did not even consider doing in the two long days of a full Senate session this week.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice… click here.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice… click here.
TURNBULL STILL SEES BORROWING AS ANSWER
June 20, 2003 – In a statement from Government House on Friday night, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said he hopes the Senate will be "meeting again soon to consider my request to borrow" a total of $235 million, something legislators did not even consider doing in the two long days of a full Senate session this week.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice… click here.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice… click here.
TURNBULL STILL SEES BORROWING AS ANSWER
June 20, 2003 – In a statement from Government House on Friday night, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said he hopes the Senate will be "meeting again soon to consider my request to borrow" a total of $235 million, something legislators did not even consider doing in the two long days of a full Senate session this week.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice.. click here.
Instead, Senators approved borrowing $30 million from the Insurance Guaranty Fund, a move intended to allow the government to make its next two payrolls. (See "Senate allows tapping Insurance Guaranty Fund".)
But Turnbull said he would "not jeopardize the solvency of the Insurance Guaranty Fund" on the brink of hurricane season.
Turnbull announced in May that the government was facing a $115 million deficit for the current fiscal year, with a cash shortfall of $29 million expected at the end of June. He then sent a package of bills to the Senate calling for new and increased taxes and for borrowing $235 million – $100 million for operating costs and $135 million for capital projects.
As senators met with the governor and his financial team behind closed doors and as finance officials grappled with the numbers, the projected deficit rose to $152 million.
Turnbull said on Friday that the measures the Senate came up with this week for reducing the budget and raising revenues fall "far short of the $152 million comprehensive plan I submitted and which is required to solve the deficit."
The governor also expressed concern about the Senate's reduction of the overall Fiscal Year 2003 appropriations by $55 million – which actually amounts to a savings of $9 million on top of $46 million already cut through an allotment-withholding process early in the year.
"It will be particularly difficult to absorb an additional $9 million reduction only in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year without a significant impact on personnel – in short, laying off many government workers," Turnbull said. And that is something he has vowed to avoid.
The Senate initiatives include a plan to ask the Hovensa oil refinery to prepay up to $14 million of its property taxes. The governor said there is "no certainty" of this happening and, indeed, that it "may not come to fruition."
Turnbull also said in his statement Friday night: "While my financial team is still analyzing the total impact of the measures passed during the two-day session this week, it appears that the revenue-enhancement initiatives and expenditure cuts approved only amount to approximately $35 million."
This is not the first time Turnbull has asked to borrow money. In 1999, during his first year in office, the government, with the blessing of the 23rd Legislature, borrowed $300 million to pay vendors and overdue tax refunds in the belief that putting money back into the pockets of Virgin Islanders would stimulate the economy. Business leaders, however, were not convinced.
Noel Loftus, then St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, harkened back to former Gov. Roy Schneider's borrowing of $106 million under the same theory.
In October 1999 Loftus told the Source: "We tracked it, and it didn't even make a blip. It didn't even turn the economy for a week." He said people used their vendor payments and tax refunds "to pay off bills and set it aside."
John P. deJongh Jr., St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president at the time, said then that he wasn't against the $300 million bond issue. But he said that it was imperative for the administration to develop an economic recovery plan — which deJongh, as chair of a task force named by the governor, and his associates went on to produce.
Their "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" for the most part was never implemented. Many feel the government went on with "business as usual" – behavior predicted to bring the V.I. treasury to exactly the place it is today.
In 1999, Margaret Guarino, a financial consultant to the V.I. government, said business as usual would bring the territory's spending deficit to $954 million within 10 years. The deficit was $58 million at the time. Again last May, in confidential memo, Guarino told government officials to expect a "significant cash shortfall."
The "Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan" released in April 2000 predicted that "business as usual" would bring about a $114 million deficit "by year three" of the plan. That would be 2003.
As the governor has stated on many occasions, no one could have predicted the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and their financial impact, or the downturn in the mainland economy.
In his statement Friday night, Turnbull said: "The Legislature must continue to work together with the executive branch to boldly approve a complete package of reforms that will eliminate the projected deficit and restore fiscal balance without eliminating services or requiring employee layoffs."
Along with borrowing $235 million Turnbull's plan included:
– An increase in the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from 4 percent.
– A new 2 percent excise tax on imported food items.
– New "environmental excise taxes" of 2 cents a pound on items manufactured in the territory or imported for business purposes and of 20 cents a barrel for crude oil refined in the territory and petroleum products imported into the territory.
– A rental car surcharge of $5 a day.
– A hotel room surcharge of 2 percent.
The Senate rejected all of those measures but approved an environmental "user fee" of 2 cents a pound on Thursday on most items brought into the territory for business purposes.
It also approved a property tax amendment which will allow the territory to send out about $45 million in tax bills. This is predicted to bring $8 million into the coffers by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
The bill seeking approval to borrow $235 was not on the agenda for the Senate full session. Two weeks ago, all 15 senators told Turnbull they would not take up the measure unless and until he rolled back sizable salary increases he gave exempt government employees last year.
The governor's response a week ago was an offer to impose relatively small pay cuts, for the last six months of this year only, of 2 percent to 10 percent on a sliding salary scale. The Legislature has not responded formally to that offer, and the bond issue bill remains before the Finance Committee.
Turnbull said on Friday that "piecemeal solutions are unacceptable and unworthy of the trust and confidence placed in us by the people of the Virgin Islands who elected us to make necessary and difficult decisions."
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RIBBON CUTTING OPENS APARTMENTS AT LOVENLUND
June 20, 2003 – A diverse gathering of corporate investors, government officials, contractors, tenants and prospective tenants attended the ribbon cutting and open house on Friday for the first two Lovenlund Apartment buildings.
The two structures, located north of St. Thomas Dairies, contain 18 units, all of which will be occupied by July 15, according to Bernadette Crummer, property manager.
Crummer, who returned to her native St. Thomas as the project got under way, accumulated years of property management experience in North Carolina after Hurricane Marilyn forced her emigration in 1996.
The Lovenlund Apartments project was developed by Reliance Housing Foundation. Robert O. Jackson, Reliance president, was in attendance Friday with a large delegation of Reliance personnel, but he left the public-speaking duties to Brian McDonough, company attorney.
McDonough said that "strong support from the Virgin Islands government made this project possible. And because of that support, some 220 Virgin Islanders have been employed on this project and $16 million [has] been circulated into the local economy."
McDonough also applauded St. Croix architect Steve Hutchins and local contractors, saying that their abilities made the bringing in of outside builders unnecessary.
Cheryl Thomas, representing the first tenants of the complex, cut the ribbon on "her" building. Thomas, who will be moving into a two-bedroom unit on July 1, said she had been looking for an apartment for a while when she saw a Lovenlund ad in a newspaper. When she called for information, she was told that 300 people already had applied for the total of 99 units eventually to be built. She then asked how many had put down a deposit and was told only one had done so.
Thomas said she quickly placed her deposit to secure an apartment in the complex, which she described as "close to the beach" with "the amenities of a condo," including a pool, playground and community center.
McDonough explained the process that led to the project. A recent increase in the amount of federal low-income housing tax credits available to the territory made the amount of money available large enough to build a project of the size of Lovenlund, he said.
Clifford F. Graham, executive director of the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, said his agency allocated the credits to the project.
Completing the picture, McDonough said, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc. purchased the tax credits, providing three quarters of the financing needed eventually to make the 10-building complex a reality.
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The two structures, located north of St. Thomas Dairies, contain 18 units, all of which will be occupied by July 15, according to Bernadette Crummer, property manager.
Crummer, who returned to her native St. Thomas as the project got under way, accumulated years of property management experience in North Carolina after Hurricane Marilyn forced her emigration in 1996.
The Lovenlund Apartments project was developed by Reliance Housing Foundation. Robert O. Jackson, Reliance president, was in attendance Friday with a large delegation of Reliance personnel, but he left the public-speaking duties to Brian McDonough, company attorney.
McDonough said that "strong support from the Virgin Islands government made this project possible. And because of that support, some 220 Virgin Islanders have been employed on this project and $16 million [has] been circulated into the local economy."
McDonough also applauded St. Croix architect Steve Hutchins and local contractors, saying that their abilities made the bringing in of outside builders unnecessary.
Cheryl Thomas, representing the first tenants of the complex, cut the ribbon on "her" building. Thomas, who will be moving into a two-bedroom unit on July 1, said she had been looking for an apartment for a while when she saw a Lovenlund ad in a newspaper. When she called for information, she was told that 300 people already had applied for the total of 99 units eventually to be built. She then asked how many had put down a deposit and was told only one had done so.
Thomas said she quickly placed her deposit to secure an apartment in the complex, which she described as "close to the beach" with "the amenities of a condo," including a pool, playground and community center.
McDonough explained the process that led to the project. A recent increase in the amount of federal low-income housing tax credits available to the territory made the amount of money available large enough to build a project of the size of Lovenlund, he said.
Clifford F. Graham, executive director of the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, said his agency allocated the credits to the project.
Completing the picture, McDonough said, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc. purchased the tax credits, providing three quarters of the financing needed eventually to make the 10-building complex a reality.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
ALVIS CHRISTIAN HONORED AS AN 'UNSUNG HERO'
June 20, 2003 – By day he's behind the desk as deputy director at the St. John office of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, but when work is done, Alvis Christian, 53, moves on to his other role as community leader.
Christian's years of contributions were recognized on Sunday when the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation honored him as one of 15 Unsung Heroes across the nation. He received a plaque at the foundation's Spouses Weekend celebration.
"It is an added pleasure to have had Alvis receive such a well-deserved honor during the activities," Delegate Donna M. Chrisensen said in a release.
The delegate nominated him for the honor, Christian said.
Christian is the guiding force behind the John's Folly Learning Center, which provides educational programs for students primarily from the John's Folly area. He and fellow volunteers rehabilitated the long-closed Horace Mann School so that it could become the setting for the center.
He sees the learning center as an appropriate use for the building where he and many of the area's older residents went to school. "It was the first learning opportunity," he said.
Christian also serves as Sunday School superintendent and in other roles at Emmaus Moravian Church. He is a member of the board of directors of the Government Development Bank and of the University of the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute.
"There's a lot of positive in what he does," St. John Administrator Julien Harley said, adding that the community needs "positive" people such as Christian to do what needs to be done.
Born on St. John, Christian graduated in 1968 from Charlotte Amalie High School. He went on to study at the Monroe Business Institute in New York and earned an associate degree in accounting and finance from Mercy College in New York.
He has a son, Alvis Eric Christian Jr., 31, who lives in New York.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
Christian's years of contributions were recognized on Sunday when the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation honored him as one of 15 Unsung Heroes across the nation. He received a plaque at the foundation's Spouses Weekend celebration.
"It is an added pleasure to have had Alvis receive such a well-deserved honor during the activities," Delegate Donna M. Chrisensen said in a release.
The delegate nominated him for the honor, Christian said.
Christian is the guiding force behind the John's Folly Learning Center, which provides educational programs for students primarily from the John's Folly area. He and fellow volunteers rehabilitated the long-closed Horace Mann School so that it could become the setting for the center.
He sees the learning center as an appropriate use for the building where he and many of the area's older residents went to school. "It was the first learning opportunity," he said.
Christian also serves as Sunday School superintendent and in other roles at Emmaus Moravian Church. He is a member of the board of directors of the Government Development Bank and of the University of the Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute.
"There's a lot of positive in what he does," St. John Administrator Julien Harley said, adding that the community needs "positive" people such as Christian to do what needs to be done.
Born on St. John, Christian graduated in 1968 from Charlotte Amalie High School. He went on to study at the Monroe Business Institute in New York and earned an associate degree in accounting and finance from Mercy College in New York.
He has a son, Alvis Eric Christian Jr., 31, who lives in New York.
Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
CZM PERMITS OK'D FOR WATER TAXI FIRM, CONDO
June 20, 2003 – While the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection Committee approved two Coastal Zone Management permits at its meeting Friday on St. John, the lawmakers expressed concerns about some Planning and Natural Resources Department's CZM procedures.
At issue was an application from Gallows Point Condominiums to renew its submerged land permit for a 12' by 12' wooden swim platform and to build a 57-foot wooden walkway along the shore.
The Legislature's attorney, Yvonne Tharpes, and CZM attorney Julita DeLeon disagreed on whether Gallows Point needed a major land and water permit or a minor water permit. After bickering on and off the floor, the matter was resolved and the senators quickly approved the application for a minor permit.
DeLeon contended that because the value was under $75,000 a minor permit was sufficient. Tharpes argued that because the boardwalk was a land-based structure it needed a major permit.
"We need to be clear as to how we proceed," Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd said, noting that DPNR is quick to stop projects if there are permit problems.
The condo association plans to build the walkway along the shore with a ladder at the seaward end so its guests can enter the water off Gallows Point without having to go across a rocky beach. "It's an enhancement to make it easier for people to get into the water," Leonard Otley, Gallows Point manager, said. He estimated the walkway cost at about $35,000.
Gallows Point's permit for the swim platform expired in 1996. Otley said the renewal was delayed by changes in management and other matters at the condominium complex.
The condo association will now pay $3,000 a year for its submerged land permit, up from the previous rate of $400 a year. The permit is good for 10 years.
The committee also approved the renewal of a major CZM permit for Red Hook Marina Inc. The 10-year permit is for a 216-foot dock, a mooring area, replacement of pilings and occupancy of buildings on land leased from the government on St. Thomas's East End. The company has provided water taxi service from the site for many years.
Tharpes wanted vaguely worded financial references in the permit to be more specific. Red Hook Marina owners Per and Lynn Dohm had negotiated with CZM officials to defer an increase in their fee because of financial hardship and agreed to discuss the matter again in two years. They now pay $18,648 a year for their permit.
Tharpes said CZM can make the wording clearer before it issues the final permit.
Sen. Louis P. Hill, the committee chair, told DeLeon that he would like to have background information on CZM permit requests such as Red Hook Marina's oil spill plan included as part of the information sent to the Legislature.
Committee members present were Sens. Roosevelt David, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Hill and Liburd. Absent were Sens. Carlton Dowe, Shawn-Michael Malone and Ronald E. Russell.
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At issue was an application from Gallows Point Condominiums to renew its submerged land permit for a 12' by 12' wooden swim platform and to build a 57-foot wooden walkway along the shore.
The Legislature's attorney, Yvonne Tharpes, and CZM attorney Julita DeLeon disagreed on whether Gallows Point needed a major land and water permit or a minor water permit. After bickering on and off the floor, the matter was resolved and the senators quickly approved the application for a minor permit.
DeLeon contended that because the value was under $75,000 a minor permit was sufficient. Tharpes argued that because the boardwalk was a land-based structure it needed a major permit.
"We need to be clear as to how we proceed," Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd said, noting that DPNR is quick to stop projects if there are permit problems.
The condo association plans to build the walkway along the shore with a ladder at the seaward end so its guests can enter the water off Gallows Point without having to go across a rocky beach. "It's an enhancement to make it easier for people to get into the water," Leonard Otley, Gallows Point manager, said. He estimated the walkway cost at about $35,000.
Gallows Point's permit for the swim platform expired in 1996. Otley said the renewal was delayed by changes in management and other matters at the condominium complex.
The condo association will now pay $3,000 a year for its submerged land permit, up from the previous rate of $400 a year. The permit is good for 10 years.
The committee also approved the renewal of a major CZM permit for Red Hook Marina Inc. The 10-year permit is for a 216-foot dock, a mooring area, replacement of pilings and occupancy of buildings on land leased from the government on St. Thomas's East End. The company has provided water taxi service from the site for many years.
Tharpes wanted vaguely worded financial references in the permit to be more specific. Red Hook Marina owners Per and Lynn Dohm had negotiated with CZM officials to defer an increase in their fee because of financial hardship and agreed to discuss the matter again in two years. They now pay $18,648 a year for their permit.
Tharpes said CZM can make the wording clearer before it issues the final permit.
Sen. Louis P. Hill, the committee chair, told DeLeon that he would like to have background information on CZM permit requests such as Red Hook Marina's oil spill plan included as part of the information sent to the Legislature.
Committee members present were Sens. Roosevelt David, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Hill and Liburd. Absent were Sens. Carlton Dowe, Shawn-Michael Malone and Ronald E. Russell.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
