June 5, 2003 – Almost all of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's ideas for shoring up the territory's ailing finances met a brick wall at Thursday's Senate Finance Committee meeting as senators and business leaders dissected his proposals preparatory to a full Senate session scheduled for Monday.
And by the time the lawmakers called it a night around 10:45 p.m., it looked as if many of Turnbull's proposals will not make it out of the Finance Committee, by Monday or ever.
The senators are developing a plan of their own, but no details were revealed Thursday. Senate President David Jones, speaking off the floor, said only that their strategy is "to wait until the governor responds to our letter before we agree to borrow any money." He said the plan was still in the draft process.
The governor's six far-ranging bills include a provision for the government to borrow another $235 million and the enactment of a 19 percent increase in the gross receipts tax, an excise tax on food imports, surcharges on car rentals and hotel room charges, fees for containers shipped to the territory, an "environmental excise tax" based on weight on nearly all goods coming into the territory, and a per-barrel tax on crude oil refined in the territory and imported motor fuel.
The bills were taken up on May 22 at a special session called by the governor, 36 hours after they were delivered to the Legislature. After 11 hours of deliberation, the Senate referred them all to the Finance Committee. (See "Senators send governor's bills to committee".)
The bills have generated strong opposition, especially from the private sector but also from a number of senators, including Donastorg, who commented at the May 22 session that administration officials were "stone crazy" if they thought he was going to sign off on the measures as proposed.
The senators heard on Thursday from a gaggle of the governor's chief financial officers including Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull; Ira Mills, director of the Office of Management and Budget; Nathan Simmonds, director of the governor's Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation; Attorney General Iver Stridiron; and Karen Andrews, chief labor negotiator.
Simmonds took the heat as he dodged senators' inquiries about a letter they had written to the governor on Monday calling on him to rescind the hefty pay raises he granted exempt and classified employees last year via an executive order. Simmonds said the governor had gotten the letter and "would answer," but he didn't say when, to the annoyance of the senators.
He reiterated his statement of May 22 that the projected deficit of $115 million for this fiscal year announced by the governor on April 24 has grown to $144 million with the anticipated loss of property tax revenues as a result of a federal court moratorium on collections issued last month.
Spending cuts planned, but not laid out in bills
Simmonds also said that "the governor's plan has been unfairly criticized as containing no expenditure reduction initiatives." Some of the governor's initiatives do not require legislative action, he said, "and so no bill was submitted to this body."
He continued: "We have initiated spending cuts to the tune of $50 million in Fiscal Year 2003, and we have asked for your authorization to implement an additional $10 million in expenditure reductions."
These include, he said:
– Reductions totaling $46 million in the allotments of all branches of government, including a 10 percent cut, or $1.6 million, for the Legislature.
– A reduction in the government work force by 10 percent over the next five years.
– Increasing the employee share of health insurance premiums to 40 percent from the current 27 percent, which he said will save the government about $9 million annually.
Further, Simmonds said, the governor's proposals will close the deficit over the next year "without layoffs, reduction of salaries or the elimination of essential services."
He said the administration is holding firm on the proposed tax increases. But "the suggestion that no consideration was given to the impact these tax increases would have on the various sectors of our community is absurd," he said. The conclusion was that "it was the fairest way to spread the pain throughout all the community."
Business representatives who testified Thursday were articulate and adamant in their objections to almost all of the governor's proposals.
What's proposed not what was discussed
Cassan Pancham, St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce president, said: "These measures are a complete departure from what we had discussed in meetings with the governor's financial staff. The gross receipts tax, for instance, was to be raised from 4 percent to 4.25 percent, not 4.75 percent," as the governor has proposed.
Pancham, who also is president of the V.I. Bankers Association, objected as well to the governor's proposal to "increase by 50 percent the annual fees for bank licenses in the V.I." The idea, he said, is "an inappropriate and counterproductive proposal for many reasons and should be rejected."
Along with his criticism, Pancham offered an alternative plan. He said the bankers' group has been meeting with Lt. Gov. Vargrave Richards and his Banking and Insurance Division director, Deverita Carty Sturdivant, to develop a proposed comprehensive Financial Services Act and that the legislation is undergoing final amendments. He asked that any change in the present bank fee structure be postponed pending action on the legislation.
Alexander A. Moorhead, Hovensa vice president for government affairs and community relations, challenged the governor's proposed "environmental excise tax" of 20 cents per barrel on crude oil imported to the territory. He said the tax — which he calculated at $27 million annually — would violate Hovensa's agreement with the V.I. government, a point raised earlier by lawmakers and other business leaders.
In his testimony, Moorhead stated: "It should be obvious that the imposition of this large additional tax burden on Hovensa — even if it did not violate Hovensa's exemption, which it clearly does — would undo the company's efforts to keep expenses and revenues in balance and maintain a positive cash flow." Because of its own financial setbacks, he said, "Hovensa has … implemented an expenditure reduction program which includes the cancellation of merit and contractual pay increases and the postponement of capital projects."
Moorhead offered no room for compromise. "Senators," he said, "the continued operation of the refinery, the largest private employer in the V.I. and the main private industry sustaining the economy on St. Croix, would be placed in jeopardy by this tax."
Stridiron suggested an amendment in the nature of a substitute, which he claimed would resolve the situation. In part, the amendment would scratch the tax in favor of a "transitional environmental infrastructure user fee" of 20 cents per barrel of crude oil and refined petroleum products imported into the V.I."
Moorhead, who appeared with Hovensa attorney George H.T. Dudley, said it was the same thing under a different name. Stridiron, in earlier testimony, had said the government's legal research suggested the "fee is legal and permissible."
Expenditure problem vs. revenue problem
Pancham, speaking as Chamber president, objected to most of the tax and fee increases Turnbull has proposed. "It is the chamber's position that the corrective measures submitted by Governor Turnbull … are not in the best interests of the V.I. community and will result in severe hardship for many of the territory's businesses, especially smaller businesses, the labor force and all consumers," he said.
The chamber's opinion, he said, is that "the government has more of an expenditure problem than a revenue problem. There must be a substantial level of reduction in the public sector's expenditures." He added: "It is critical to note that government expenses have increased over $200 million in the past two years without any noticeable infrastructure improvement."
Pancham outlined a series of strategies for economic recovery that he said were developed by both of the territory's chambers of commerce and both of its hotel associations. He urged the immediate establishment of a working group with business, labor and government representation, including a member of the 25th Legislature, to develop "realistic solutions to our financial crisis."
After hearing from private- and public-sector representatives, but with no answer from the governor to the Senate's demand that he rescind raises granted exempt employees last year, the committee dismissed the administration financial officers until such time as Turnbull should respond. (See "Finance kicks administration officials out".)
The committee agreed to hear further testimony from the private sector in the afternoon.

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June 5, 2003 – Melissa Turnbull of St. Thomas has been named to the Dean's List of the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University for the Spring 2003 semester. Turnbull is a senior, majoring in psychology.
To qualify for the Dean's List, students must achieve at least a 3.4 grade point average on a 4.0 scale during the semester.
The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse offers more than 40 majors from 22 academic departments in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.

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June 5, 2003 – Government House released a list on Thursday evening of 75 executive branch employees authorized by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to use government vehicles at any time. There are 55 for the St. Thomas-St. John district and 20 for St. Croix.
Turnbull advised his department and agency heads on May 12 that he was going to cut back on the number of unrestricted authorizations as a fiscal austerity measure.
"It is estimated that the approved list" for use outside of normal working hours "has been reduced by 50 percent," the release stated.
The list includes all commissioners but no chauffeurs. And while it covers eight Public Works Department technical experts for St. Thomas-St. John, none are listed for St. Croix.
The release noted that the governor has provided his department and agency heads with a form for them to authorize after-hours use of vehicles by particular persons within their areas for particular activities. "These forms will be in the possession of authorized employees" during any such after-hours use of the vehicles, it said.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis announced on May 26 that police coming upon an unauthorized executive branch worker driving a government vehicle outside of regular working hours would from then on detain the driver, seize the vehicle or have it towed to a police holding area, and notify the head of the employee's department or agency.
The employee, he said, would be "held at a police facility until the commissioner of the employee's agency or department has been notified." And the commissioner, once notified, would be obliged to "explain the employee's action to that island's administrator."
Lewis said then that repeat offenders "could face criminal sanctions."
Those with unrestricted authorization on the list distributed Thursday are:
St. Thomas-St. John district
Office of the Governor:
Juel T.R. Molloy, chief of staff
Alric Simmonds, deputy chief of staff
James O'Bryan Jr., St. Thomas/Water Island administrator
Horace Brooks, confidential assistant
Julien Harley, St. John administrator
Agriculture Department:
Elvette Elliott, assistant commissioner
Office of Collective Bargaining:
Karen M. Andrews, chief negotiator
Education Department:
Noreen Michael, commissioner
William I. Frett, superintendent
Finance Department:
Bernice Turnbull, commissioner
Fire Service:
Ian Williams, director
Mervin Potter, chief
Glenn Francis, fire marshal
Brian Chapman, deputy chief
Health Department:
Lucien Moolenaar, assistant commissioner
Clarice Comissiong, director of nursing
Ethlyn T. Joseph, public health director
Housing Parks and Recreation Department:
Ira M. Hobson, commissioner
Stanley Smith, assistant commissioner
Human Services Department:
Sedonie Halbert, commissioner
Wynn John, transportation director
Moleto Smith, deputy commissioner
Office of Inspector General:
Steven van Beverhoudt, inspector general
Nicholas Peru, special investigator
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Louis Willis, director
Ervin C. Dorsett, deputy director
Justice Department:
Iver Stridiron, attorney general
Alva A. Swan, chief deputy attorney general
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department:
Andrew Rutnik, commissioner
Office of Management and Budget:
Ira Mills, director
Personnel Division:
Joanne U. Barry, director
Kevin Rodriquez, assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Claudette Lewis, assistant commissioner
Police Department:
Elton Lewis, commissioner
Bruce Hamlin, assistant commissioner
Elvin R. Fahie Sr., deputy chief
Angelo Hill, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Marc Biggs, commissioner
Randolph Latimer, assistant commissioner
Lawrence Sylvester, deputy commissioner
Lawrence E. Ottley, director of printing/public information officer
Daryl Lewis, program administrator
Public Works Department:
Wayne Callwood, commissioner
Eventon Gibson, project supervisor
James Jeffers, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Louis Camsel, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Shawn Brown, solid waste supervisor
Rasid Mu'Min, landfill supervisor
Steven Aubin, mechanical engineer
Lionel Olive, unspecified director
Campbell Francis, wastewater plant operator
Tourism Department:
Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant commissioner
Office of Veterans Affairs:
Justin Harrigan, director
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency:
Maj. Gen. (V.I.) Cleave McBean, executive director
Harold M. Baker, director
St. Croix district
Office of the Governor:
Gregory Francis, St. Croix administrator
Agriculture Department:
Lawrence Lewis, commissioner
Education Department:
Terrence T. Joseph, superintendent
Finance Department:
Valencio Jackson, assistant commissioner
Fire Service:
Roberto Santos Sr., fire chief
Alex Alexandro, fire marshal
Health Department:
Dr. Mavis Matthew, commissioner
Human Services Department:
Ferrynesia Benjamin, assistant commissioner
Jason Williams, administrator for maintenance/transportation
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Gizette Canegata, deputy director
Justice Department:
Cornelius Evans, deputy attorney general
Labor Department:
Cecil Benjamin, commissioner
Eleuteria Roberts, assistant commissioner
Personnel Division:
Kenneth L. Hermon, acting assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Dean C. Plaskett, commissioner
Police Department:
Novelle E. Francis, chief
Herminio Valesquez, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Felix Llanos, transportation coordinator
Public Works Department:
Robert Moorehead, assistant commissioner
Tourism Department:
Pamela Richards, commissioner

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June 5, 2003 – Government House released a list on Thursday evening of 75 executive branch employees authorized by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to use government vehicles at any time. There are 55 for the St. Thomas-St. John district and 20 for St. Croix.
Turnbull advised his department and agency heads on May 12 that he was going to cut back on the number of unrestricted authorizations as a fiscal austerity measure.
"It is estimated that the approved list" for use outside of normal working hours "has been reduced by 50 percent," the release stated.
The list includes all commissioners but no chauffeurs. And while it covers eight Public Works Department technical experts for St. Thomas-St. John, none are listed for St. Croix.
The release noted that the governor has provided his department and agency heads with a form for them to authorize after-hours use of vehicles by particular persons within their areas for particular activities. "These forms will be in the possession of authorized employees" during any such after-hours use of the vehicles, it said.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis announced on May 26 that police coming upon an unauthorized executive branch worker driving a government vehicle outside of regular working hours would from then on detain the driver, seize the vehicle or have it towed to a police holding area, and notify the head of the employee's department or agency.
The employee, he said, would be "held at a police facility until the commissioner of the employee's agency or department has been notified." And the commissioner, once notified, would be obliged to "explain the employee's action to that island's administrator."
Lewis said then that repeat offenders "could face criminal sanctions."
Those with unrestricted authorization on the list distributed Thursday are:
St. Thomas-St. John district
Office of the Governor:
Juel T.R. Molloy, chief of staff
Alric Simmonds, deputy chief of staff
James O'Bryan Jr., St. Thomas/Water Island administrator
Horace Brooks, confidential assistant
Julien Harley, St. John administrator
Agriculture Department:
Elvette Elliott, assistant commissioner
Office of Collective Bargaining:
Karen M. Andrews, chief negotiator
Education Department:
Noreen Michael, commissioner
William I. Frett, superintendent
Finance Department:
Bernice Turnbull, commissioner
Fire Service:
Ian Williams, director
Mervin Potter, chief
Glenn Francis, fire marshal
Brian Chapman, deputy chief
Health Department:
Lucien Moolenaar, assistant commissioner
Clarice Comissiong, director of nursing
Ethlyn T. Joseph, public health director
Housing Parks and Recreation Department:
Ira M. Hobson, commissioner
Stanley Smith, assistant commissioner
Human Services Department:
Sedonie Halbert, commissioner
Wynn John, transportation director
Moleto Smith, deputy commissioner
Office of Inspector General:
Steven van Beverhoudt, inspector general
Nicholas Peru, special investigator
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Louis Willis, director
Ervin C. Dorsett, deputy director
Justice Department:
Iver Stridiron, attorney general
Alva A. Swan, chief deputy attorney general
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department:
Andrew Rutnik, commissioner
Office of Management and Budget:
Ira Mills, director
Personnel Division:
Joanne U. Barry, director
Kevin Rodriquez, assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Claudette Lewis, assistant commissioner
Police Department:
Elton Lewis, commissioner
Bruce Hamlin, assistant commissioner
Elvin R. Fahie Sr., deputy chief
Angelo Hill, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Marc Biggs, commissioner
Randolph Latimer, assistant commissioner
Lawrence Sylvester, deputy commissioner
Lawrence E. Ottley, director of printing/public information officer
Daryl Lewis, program administrator
Public Works Department:
Wayne Callwood, commissioner
Eventon Gibson, project supervisor
James Jeffers, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Louis Camsel, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Shawn Brown, solid waste supervisor
Rasid Mu'Min, landfill supervisor
Steven Aubin, mechanical engineer
Lionel Olive, unspecified director
Campbell Francis, wastewater plant operator
Tourism Department:
Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant commissioner
Office of Veterans Affairs:
Justin Harrigan, director
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency:
Maj. Gen. (V.I.) Cleave McBean, executive director
Harold M. Baker, director
St. Croix district
Office of the Governor:
Gregory Francis, St. Croix administrator
Agriculture Department:
Lawrence Lewis, commissioner
Education Department:
Terrence T. Joseph, superintendent
Finance Department:
Valencio Jackson, assistant commissioner
Fire Service:
Roberto Santos Sr., fire chief
Alex Alexandro, fire marshal
Health Department:
Dr. Mavis Matthew, commissioner
Human Services Department:
Ferrynesia Benjamin, assistant commissioner
Jason Williams, administrator for maintenance/transportation
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Gizette Canegata, deputy director
Justice Department:
Cornelius Evans, deputy attorney general
Labor Department:
Cecil Benjamin, commissioner
Eleuteria Roberts, assistant commissioner
Personnel Division:
Kenneth L. Hermon, acting assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Dean C. Plaskett, commissioner
Police Department:
Novelle E. Francis, chief
Herminio Valesquez, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Felix Llanos, transportation coordinator
Public Works Department:
Robert Moorehead, assistant commissioner
Tourism Department:
Pamela Richards, commissioner

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June 5, 2003 – Government House released a list on Thursday evening of 75 executive branch employees authorized by Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to use government vehicles at any time. There are 55 for the St. Thomas-St. John district and 20 for St. Croix.
Turnbull advised his department and agency heads on May 12 that he was going to cut back on the number of unrestricted authorizations as a fiscal austerity measure.
"It is estimated that the approved list" for use outside of normal working hours "has been reduced by 50 percent," the release stated.
The list includes all commissioners but no chauffeurs. And while it covers eight Public Works Department technical experts for St. Thomas-St. John, none are listed for St. Croix.
The release noted that the governor has provided his department and agency heads with a form for them to authorize after-hours use of vehicles by particular persons within their areas for particular activities. "These forms will be in the possession of authorized employees" during any such after-hours use of the vehicles, it said.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis announced on May 26 that police coming upon an unauthorized executive branch worker driving a government vehicle outside of regular working hours would from then on detain the driver, seize the vehicle or have it towed to a police holding area, and notify the head of the employee's department or agency.
The employee, he said, would be "held at a police facility until the commissioner of the employee's agency or department has been notified." And the commissioner, once notified, would be obliged to "explain the employee's action to that island's administrator."
Lewis said then that repeat offenders "could face criminal sanctions."
Those with unrestricted authorization on the list distributed Thursday are:
St. Thomas-St. John district
Office of the Governor:
Juel T.R. Molloy, chief of staff
Alric Simmonds, deputy chief of staff
James O'Bryan Jr., St. Thomas/Water Island administrator
Horace Brooks, confidential assistant
Julien Harley, St. John administrator
Agriculture Department:
Elvette Elliott, assistant commissioner
Office of Collective Bargaining:
Karen M. Andrews, chief negotiator
Education Department:
Noreen Michael, commissioner
William I. Frett, superintendent
Finance Department:
Bernice Turnbull, commissioner
Fire Service:
Ian Williams, director
Mervin Potter, chief
Glenn Francis, fire marshal
Brian Chapman, deputy chief
Health Department:
Lucien Moolenaar, assistant commissioner
Clarice Comissiong, director of nursing
Ethlyn T. Joseph, public health director
Housing Parks and Recreation Department:
Ira M. Hobson, commissioner
Stanley Smith, assistant commissioner
Human Services Department:
Sedonie Halbert, commissioner
Wynn John, transportation director
Moleto Smith, deputy commissioner
Office of Inspector General:
Steven van Beverhoudt, inspector general
Nicholas Peru, special investigator
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Louis Willis, director
Ervin C. Dorsett, deputy director
Justice Department:
Iver Stridiron, attorney general
Alva A. Swan, chief deputy attorney general
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department:
Andrew Rutnik, commissioner
Office of Management and Budget:
Ira Mills, director
Personnel Division:
Joanne U. Barry, director
Kevin Rodriquez, assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Claudette Lewis, assistant commissioner
Police Department:
Elton Lewis, commissioner
Bruce Hamlin, assistant commissioner
Elvin R. Fahie Sr., deputy chief
Angelo Hill, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Marc Biggs, commissioner
Randolph Latimer, assistant commissioner
Lawrence Sylvester, deputy commissioner
Lawrence E. Ottley, director of printing/public information officer
Daryl Lewis, program administrator
Public Works Department:
Wayne Callwood, commissioner
Eventon Gibson, project supervisor
James Jeffers, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Louis Camsel, wastewater maintenance mechanic
Shawn Brown, solid waste supervisor
Rasid Mu'Min, landfill supervisor
Steven Aubin, mechanical engineer
Lionel Olive, unspecified director
Campbell Francis, wastewater plant operator
Tourism Department:
Monique Sibilly-Hodge, assistant commissioner
Office of Veterans Affairs:
Justin Harrigan, director
V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency:
Maj. Gen. (V.I.) Cleave McBean, executive director
Harold M. Baker, director
St. Croix district
Office of the Governor:
Gregory Francis, St. Croix administrator
Agriculture Department:
Lawrence Lewis, commissioner
Education Department:
Terrence T. Joseph, superintendent
Finance Department:
Valencio Jackson, assistant commissioner
Fire Service:
Roberto Santos Sr., fire chief
Alex Alexandro, fire marshal
Health Department:
Dr. Mavis Matthew, commissioner
Human Services Department:
Ferrynesia Benjamin, assistant commissioner
Jason Williams, administrator for maintenance/transportation
Internal Revenue Bureau:
Gizette Canegata, deputy director
Justice Department:
Cornelius Evans, deputy attorney general
Labor Department:
Cecil Benjamin, commissioner
Eleuteria Roberts, assistant commissioner
Personnel Division:
Kenneth L. Hermon, acting assistant director
Planning and Natural Resources Department:
Dean C. Plaskett, commissioner
Police Department:
Novelle E. Francis, chief
Herminio Valesquez, deputy chief
Property and Procurement Department:
Felix Llanos, transportation coordinator
Public Works Department:
Robert Moorehead, assistant commissioner
Tourism Department:
Pamela Richards, commissioner

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June 5, 2003 – After a relatively quiet morning, the Senate chambers suddenly resounded with outrage Thursday afternoon as the Finance Committee summarily sent home Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's financial team until the governor responds to a letter sent Monday demanding that he rescind pay raises given to exempt and unclassified government workers last year.
The vote to dismiss the administration officials was 5-1, with Sen. Louis Hill opposed and Sen. Roosevelt David absent for the vote.
Voting in favor were Sens. Norman Jn Baptiste, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Shawn-Michael Malone, Luther Renee and Ronald Russell
Speaking later, Hill explained his reason for opposing the motion. "The territory is in financial crisis," he said. "Both branches have a responsibility to resolve these issues. We cannot do so at the expense of each other."
The letter had set a 10 a.m. Thursday deadline for a response, the time the Finance Committee was scheduled to convene to consider the hefty and complex legislation sent by Turnbull on May 20 for consideration at a special session he called for May 22. At that session, the Senate sent all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration.
Nathan Simmonds, director of the governor's Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation, was on the hot seat all morning, fending off senators' questions about the governor's response. Time and again the lawmakers asked him what the governor was going to do. At one point the Finance chair, Donastorg, told Simmonds: "You guys didn't make any decision, because it affects you."
Simmonds maintained that "the governor has just received the letter and will be responding." That was an answer the senators weren't buying, and which predicated their later action.
The move came on a motion by Baptiste that the committee dismiss the governor's financial team until such time as the Senate receives an answer from the governor to the Monday letter. (See "Cancel executive order pay hikes, Senate says".) The motion called for the committee to break for lunch and reconvene to hear testimony from private-sector representatives.
Members of the governor's cabinet appeared shell shocked. Attorney General Iver Stridiron strode out of the chambers, stopping at the press bench to announce: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have one word: disgraceful."
It didn't take the administration officials long to regain their power of speech. "Ludicrous," "absurd" and "embarrassing" were adjectives immediately tossed about. They were, as one, stunned that the senators would further delay consideration of the governor's legislation to address the territory's fiscal crisis.
"This $145 million deficit bridge has to be corrected," Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull said, adding that the senators "are not on the governor's board. They can't give him directions. Time is of the essence."
"It's disgraceful, doing this," Karen Andrews, the governor's chief labor negotiator, vehemently agreed. "It's ludicrous," she said. "I'm ashamed to be a Democrat. It's a waste of the taxpayers' money. Obviously, they feel they can do anything."
Some executive branch officials charged that the Senate's Democratic majority was being led by the minority caucus. "The minority is leading the majority," Bernice Turnbull said. "They are not in control — it's absurd, it's embarrassing to me as a Democrat — the lack of direction of the Democratic majority."
Andrews agreed: "They are being led by the minority."
Baptiste is the sole minority member of the Finance Committee. Three other minority members, Sens. Carlton Dowe, Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Celestino A. White Sr., were part of the bipartisan caucus which convened before Baptiste offered his motion.
Simmonds expressed incredulity at the committee's action. "It is totally inappropriate in that time frame to respond to anything," he said, adding, "That is my personal opinion." Further, he said, "We were called here this morning to discuss the governor's legislation, not to discuss a letter the Senate wrote."
Joanne U. Barry, Personnel Division director, and Andrews were sharply critical of the senators' demand to rescind the exempt employees' raises. "Are you telling me that $2 million is going to resolve a $144 million deficit?" Barry asked. Andrews said, "You can't hang your hat on $2 million."
It was not clear what the $2 million figure referred to. According to the governor's proposed schedule of hundreds of pay increases last May, the raises would total some $2.3 million a year for upper-level employees and nearly $6.4 million a year for mid-level personnel.
Barry and Andrews both said they might not object so strongly to cutting the senior staff pay if "it were part of an overall plan."
Bernice Turnbull sparred with Donastorg, defending her position that the dismissal was out of order and "disgraceful."
As Andrews said to Turnbull, "Let's go; we've been dismissed," Donastorg retorted: "We expect you to go back to the governor and tell him we mean business."
Donastorg said he went along with Baptiste's motion in the belief that the Legislature needs to "put its foot down if it wants to control the government's purse strings" — a point he was making when Baptiste interrupted to make the motion.
Donastorg said if anyone was being disrespected, "it's the Legislature."
Dowe said there needs to a dialogue between the two branches of government. The governor, he said, "should have at least answered Sen. Jones (Senate President David Jones), not just ignored him."
All seven Finance Committee members were present for the morning deliberations: Sen. Baptiste, David, Donastorg, Hill, Malone, Renee and Russell. Also present were non-committee members Sens. Berry, Dowe, Liburd and White.

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June 5, 2003 – Lawyers representing a group of people charged in District Court with being part of a drug conspiracy complained at a status hearing on Wednesday that technical problems were hampering their ability to access evidence provided by the prosecution on CD-ROM disks, and thus, to defend their clients.
The defense was supplied with disks containing only ".wav" audio files that have to be opened and played in different ways depending on a computer's Windows operating system. In some cases, a conversion device is needed, and according to one attorney, the complexities involved can be "monumental tasks in nature."
And that, several defense attorneys told federal Magistrate Judge Geoffrey Barnard in the "discovery" proceedings, was making it impossible for them to share the information with their clients who are being held in a federal detention center in Puerto Rico.
The government lawyers said they want to share the evidence. But they added that once defense attorneys access the data, they don't expect to answer many supplementary questions.
To resolve the disk-access problems, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Sulzbach invited the defense lawyers to visit the U.S. Attorney's Office on St. Thomas to view and listen to the recorded data before the next scheduled hearing in the case, set for June 25. Barnard said arrangements can be made to fly the defendants in Puerto Rico to St. Thomas to take part in the discovery process.
Investigators collected evidence through audio and video surveillance as they built their case against defendants Andy Antoine, Jacquelyn Carr, Rafael Cintron, Rudolph Clarke, Elroy Dowe, Daniel Fleming, Craig Hendricks, Ranney Laronde and Russel Robinson. All nine are charged with conspiracy and intent to distribute cocaine.
Eight of the defendants were named in a grand jury indictment in April, although two were not identified publicly at the time the indictment was announced.
Carr's name was publicly connected to the case during the Wednesday hearing. According to Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Azekah Jennings, Carr, the only female defendant, was one of the defendants who were not named at the time the indictment was made public several weeks ago. He declined to describe her alleged role in the case but said further information may be disclosed later.
The grand jury charged that the group smuggled cocaine through an elaborate distribution network involving speedboats and a small plane bought with proceeds from previous drug sales. Information that was gathered by police and federal agents and presented to the grand jury spanned more than two years.
Sulzbach told Barnard that 90 percent of the physical evidence, taped evidence and videotaped surveillance relates to two of the suspects, Hendricks, described as the mastermind of the alleged conspiracy, and Dowe.
Lawyers representing other defendants said they wanted to be sure the evidence doesn't include any reference to their clients or describe any situations that might allegedly have involved them. Some asked for guarantees that nothing on the surveillance tapes would implicate their clients; prosecutors were reluctant to provide such assurances.
Sulzbach said the documented evidence includes nine videotapes, 27 CDs containing essential recordings and 53 audio cassettes.
Exchanging information about how the two sides will present their cases is part of the "discovery" process in legal proceedings. Lawyers with the U.S. Attorney's Office said they would not be willing to answer too many defense questions about their submissions, because to do so could reveal too much about how they believe the alleged drug conspiracy played out.
Also appearing before Barnard on Wednesday was Montclaire Guishard, a Planning and Natural Resources Department enforcement officer who was arrested a few days before the grand jury indictments were made public. Guishard, who is free on $25,000 bail, appeared in court and entered a not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy, unlawful acceptance of property, making false reports, and withholding information about criminal activity.
Attorney Judith Bourne, who is representing Guishard, said that she, too, had been having difficulty reading the CD-ROMs submitted by prosecutors in discovery.
In spite of statements made by prosecutors that Guishard's attorney received the same set of evidence as those of the other nine defendants, Jennings on Wednesday denied that there is any connection between the two drug-related cases.
Guishard was charged in April with taking a bribe from a suspected drug smuggler after having stopped a speeding motor boat in Benner Bay in January and having found quantities of cocaine and marijuana on board. He also was charged with filing a report misidentifying the man taken into custody on the boat, subsequently identified as Lester deCastro, 33.

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June 5, 2003 – After a relatively quiet morning, the Senate chambers suddenly resounded with outrage Thursday afternoon as the Finance Committee summarily sent home Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's financial team until the governor responds to a letter sent Monday demanding that he rescind pay raises given to exempt and unclassified government workers last year.
The vote to dismiss the administration officials was 5-1, with Sen. Louis Hill opposed and Sen. Roosevelt David absent for the vote.
Voting in favor were Sens. Norman Jn Baptiste, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Shawn-Michael Malone, Luther Renee and Ronald Russell
Speaking later, Hill explained his reason for opposing the motion. "The territory is in financial crisis," he said. "Both branches have a responsibility to resolve these issues. We cannot do so at the expense of each other."
The letter had set a 10 a.m. Thursday deadline for a response, the time the Finance Committee was scheduled to convene to consider the hefty and complex legislation sent by Turnbull on May 20 for consideration at a special session he called for May 22. At that session, the Senate sent all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration.
Nathan Simmonds, director of the governor's Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation, was on the hot seat all morning, fending off senators' questions about the governor's response. Time and again the lawmakers asked him what the governor was going to do. At one point the Finance chair, Donastorg, told Simmonds: "You guys didn't make any decision, because it affects you."
Simmonds maintained that "the governor has just received the letter and will be responding." That was an answer the senators weren't buying, and which predicated their later action.
The move came on a motion by Baptiste that the committee dismiss the governor's financial team until such time as the Senate receives an answer from the governor to the Monday letter. (See "Cancel executive order pay hikes, Senate says".) The motion called for the committee to break for lunch and reconvene to hear testimony from private-sector representatives.
Members of the governor's cabinet appeared shell shocked. Attorney General Iver Stridiron strode out of the chambers, stopping at the press bench to announce: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have one word: disgraceful."
It didn't take the administration officials long to regain their power of speech. "Ludicrous," "absurd" and "embarrassing" were adjectives immediately tossed about. They were, as one, stunned that the senators would further delay consideration of the governor's legislation to address the territory's fiscal crisis.
"This $145 million deficit bridge has to be corrected," Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull said, adding that the senators "are not on the governor's board. They can't give him directions. Time is of the essence."
"It's disgraceful, doing this," Karen Andrews, the governor's chief labor negotiator, vehemently agreed. "It's ludicrous," she said. "I'm ashamed to be a Democrat. It's a waste of the taxpayers' money. Obviously, they feel they can do anything."
Some executive branch officials charged that the Senate's Democratic majority was being led by the minority caucus. "The minority is leading the majority," Bernice Turnbull said. "They are not in control — it's absurd, it's embarrassing to me as a Democrat — the lack of direction of the Democratic majority."
Andrews agreed: "They are being led by the minority."
Baptiste is the sole minority member of the Finance Committee. Three other minority members, Sens. Carlton Dowe, Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Celestino A. White Sr., were part of the bipartisan caucus which convened before Baptiste offered his motion.
Simmonds expressed incredulity at the committee's action. "It is totally inappropriate in that time frame to respond to anything," he said, adding, "That is my personal opinion." Further, he said, "We were called here this morning to discuss the governor's legislation, not to discuss a letter the Senate wrote."
Joanne U. Barry, Personnel Division director, and Andrews were sharply critical of the senators' demand to rescind the exempt employees' raises. "Are you telling me that $2 million is going to resolve a $144 million deficit?" Barry asked. Andrews said, "You can't hang your hat on $2 million."
It was not clear what the $2 million figure referred to. According to the governor's proposed schedule of hundreds of pay increases last May, the raises would total some $2.3 million a year for upper-level employees and nearly $6.4 million a year for mid-level personnel.
Barry and Andrews both said they might not object so strongly to cutting the senior staff pay if "it were part of an overall plan."
Bernice Turnbull sparred with Donastorg, defending her position that the dismissal was out of order and "disgraceful."
As Andrews said to Turnbull, "Let's go; we've been dismissed," Donastorg retorted: "We expect you to go back to the governor and tell him we mean business."
Donastorg said he went along with Baptiste's motion in the belief that the Legislature needs to "put its foot down if it wants to control the government's purse strings" — a point he was making when Baptiste interrupted to make the motion.
Donastorg said if anyone was being disrespected, "it's the Legislature."
Dowe said there needs to a dialogue between the two branches of government. The governor, he said, "should have at least answered Sen. Jones (Senate President David Jones), not just ignored him."
All seven Finance Committee members were present for the morning deliberations: Sen. Baptiste, David, Donastorg, Hill, Malone, Renee and Russell. Also present were non-committee members Sens. Berry, Dowe, Liburd and White.

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June 5, 2003 – After a relatively quiet morning, the Senate chambers suddenly resounded with outrage Thursday afternoon as the Finance Committee summarily sent home Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's financial team until the governor responds to a letter sent Monday demanding that he rescind pay raises given to exempt and unclassified government workers last year.
The vote to dismiss the administration officials was 5-1, with Sen. Louis Hill opposed and Sen. Roosevelt David absent for the vote.
Voting in favor were Sens. Norman Jn Baptiste, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Shawn-Michael Malone, Luther Renee and Ronald Russell
Speaking later, Hill explained his reason for opposing the motion. "The territory is in financial crisis," he said. "Both branches have a responsibility to resolve these issues. We cannot do so at the expense of each other."
The letter had set a 10 a.m. Thursday deadline for a response, the time the Finance Committee was scheduled to convene to consider the hefty and complex legislation sent by Turnbull on May 20 for consideration at a special session he called for May 22. At that session, the Senate sent all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration.
Nathan Simmonds, director of the governor's Office of Fiscal and Economic Recovery Implementation, was on the hot seat all morning, fending off senators' questions about the governor's response. Time and again the lawmakers asked him what the governor was going to do. At one point the Finance chair, Donastorg, told Simmonds: "You guys didn't make any decision, because it affects you."
Simmonds maintained that "the governor has just received the letter and will be responding." That was an answer the senators weren't buying, and which predicated their later action.
The move came on a motion by Baptiste that the committee dismiss the governor's financial team until such time as the Senate receives an answer from the governor to the Monday letter. (See "Cancel executive order pay hikes, Senate says".) The motion called for the committee to break for lunch and reconvene to hear testimony from private-sector representatives.
Members of the governor's cabinet appeared shell shocked. Attorney General Iver Stridiron strode out of the chambers, stopping at the press bench to announce: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have one word: disgraceful."
It didn't take the administration officials long to regain their power of speech. "Ludicrous," "absurd" and "embarrassing" were adjectives immediately tossed about. They were, as one, stunned that the senators would further delay consideration of the governor's legislation to address the territory's fiscal crisis.
"This $145 million deficit bridge has to be corrected," Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull said, adding that the senators "are not on the governor's board. They can't give him directions. Time is of the essence."
"It's disgraceful, doing this," Karen Andrews, the governor's chief labor negotiator, vehemently agreed. "It's ludicrous," she said. "I'm ashamed to be a Democrat. It's a waste of the taxpayers' money. Obviously, they feel they can do anything."
Some executive branch officials charged that the Senate's Democratic majority was being led by the minority caucus. "The minority is leading the majority," Bernice Turnbull said. "They are not in control — it's absurd, it's embarrassing to me as a Democrat — the lack of direction of the Democratic majority."
Andrews agreed: "They are being led by the minority."
Baptiste is the sole minority member of the Finance Committee. Three other minority members, Sens. Carlton Dowe, Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Celestino A. White Sr., were part of the bipartisan caucus which convened before Baptiste offered his motion.
Simmonds expressed incredulity at the committee's action. "It is totally inappropriate in that time frame to respond to anything," he said, adding, "That is my personal opinion." Further, he said, "We were called here this morning to discuss the governor's legislation, not to discuss a letter the Senate wrote."
Joanne U. Barry, Personnel Division director, and Andrews were sharply critical of the senators' demand to rescind the exempt employees' raises. "Are you telling me that $2 million is going to resolve a $144 million deficit?" Barry asked. Andrews said, "You can't hang your hat on $2 million."
It was not clear what the $2 million figure referred to. According to the governor's proposed schedule of hundreds of pay increases last May, the raises would total some $2.3 million a year for upper-level employees and nearly $6.4 million a year for mid-level personnel.
Barry and Andrews both said they might not object so strongly to cutting the senior staff pay if "it were part of an overall plan."
Bernice Turnbull sparred with Donastorg, defending her position that the dismissal was out of order and "disgraceful."
As Andrews said to Turnbull, "Let's go; we've been dismissed," Donastorg retorted: "We expect you to go back to the governor and tell him we mean business."
Donastorg said he went along with Baptiste's motion in the belief that the Legislature needs to "put its foot down if it wants to control the government's purse strings" — a point he was making when Baptiste interrupted to make the motion.
Donastorg said if anyone was being disrespected, "it's the Legislature."
Dowe said there needs to a dialogue between the two branches of government. The governor, he said, "should have at least answered Sen. Jones (Senate President David Jones), not just ignored him."
All seven Finance Committee members were present for the morning deliberations: Sen. Baptiste, David, Donastorg, Hill, Malone, Renee and Russell. Also present were non-committee members Sens. Berry, Dowe, Liburd and White.

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June 5, 2003 – The Housing Authority's Community Services Division will conduct a workshop on "Basic Grant Writing" on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon in the St. Thomas central office executive conference room.
The presentation represents an opportunity "for the professional growth and success of resident leaders," a release stated, and all present and prospective resident council leaders are encouraged to take part.
For additional information, call 777-8442.

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