May 29, 2003 – A bill before the Senate Education and Youth Committee to eliminate the current six-year statute of limitations on recovery of college loans granted by the Board of Education was approved Thursday and reported out to the Rules Committee.
According to a Legislature release, school board member Terrence D. Joseph told the committee that 1,320 Virgin Islanders own nearly $2 million in college loans, some dating from 1970. But he said that more than $1.5 million is "uncollectable" because the loans, to 240 persons, were made prior to 1997 and the statue of limitations on collecting them has run out.
Another $416, 617.66 in loans made to 1,080 persons since 1997 is considered "collectable," Joseph said. But if the cut-off is not lifted this year, he said, the opportunity to collect as much as $74,306.56 of that amount from 49 persons will be lost.
Daniel said eliminating the statute of limitations would help in collecting the outstanding loans. However, the board's executive director, Evadney Hodge, acknowledged under questioning that the board has no one assigned to collect the money owed.
Sen. Carlton Dowe said additional time would not make any difference unless effort is made by the board to collect what's owed. Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste agreed, questioning the point of giving people more time not to pay.
If more old loans were repaid, more new loans could be made. Mavis Gilchrist, University of the Virgin Islands financial aid director, said UVI supports the bill as a means of enhancing the prospects for future students to obtain financial support for their college studies.
In September 1999, the school board reported some 1,700 delinquent student loans totaling $2,433,209. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee then, Keith Richards, board chair at the time, said the board planned to take delinquent loan recipients to small claims court, update the list of delinquencies for publication, cross reference the list with government personnel records, and implement automatic payroll deductions to collect on loans where possible.
The issue of delinquent loans owed by prominent public officials was a topic of discussion two months ago at a school board meeting. The board on March 24 approved a request from Sen. Ronald Russell to obtain the delinquency list. The following day, Daniel said the list would be updated and checked for accuracy and then turned over to Russell "no later than April 21."
Russell, who prior to last November was the school board's legal counsel, chairs the Education and Youth Committee.
Funding an overriding concern
The main thrust of discussion on the other bill before the committee Thursday may become a familiar theme in legislative deliberations for the foreseeable future: not what can or should be done, but how to pay for it.
The committee took testimony on the proposal to institute a pilot after-school program for kindergarten through sixth grade in all of the public schools. In addition to raising financial concerns, according to the Legislature release, witnesses also said more study needs to go into the proposal before efforts are made to implement it.
Vickie Palmer, representing the federally funded V.I. PUSH after-school program, spoke in favor of the proposal but said it should be expanded to include the 7th and 8th grades. She also expressed concern that there isn't enough time to put the program into effect for the coming school year.
Tyrone Molyneaux, St. Croix teachers union president, said that before plans are mapped to introduce the program, an assessment of existing programs is needed to determine what needs "enhancing or eliminating."
Both Molyneaux and his St. Thomas-St. John counterpart, Vernelle De Lagarde, expressed concern that no funding had been identified for the program. De Lagarde suggested that if no funding can be found, more resources should be added to existing after-school programs.
Harry Daniel, Board of Education acting president, said "it is imperative that a funding source is identified." And Education Commissioner Noreen Michael expressed concern about any mandatory after-school program because local funding would be required.
The committee voted to hold the bill for further consideration.
Also at Thursday's committee meeting, Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone said he is having legislation drafted to toughen the penalties for school vandalism. His bill, according to a release from his office, would increase the minimum fine to $5,000 from the current $1,000 and the mandatory prison term to four years from the present two years.
Citing a "rash of break-ins that have been occurring in some of our public schools," Malone said his proposal also calls for posting the penalties "at the entrance of all the territory's public schools" and for the fines collected to "be deposited into the imprest fund of the school in which the vandalism occurred."
All committee members were present for Thursday's hearing — Sens. Baptiste, Roosevelt David, Louis Hill, Malone, Luther Renee, Raymond "Usie" Richards and Russell. Non-committee members present were Sens. Dowe and Celestino White.

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.

May 29, 2003 – The announcement came at "the 12th hour," to quote Gov. Charles W. Turnbull from another recent statement, but it came as no surprise: The governor will not be submitting his proposed Fiscal Year 2004 budget for the administrative branch to the Legislature by May 30 as required by law.
A Government House release issued Thursday afternoon said the budget would not be submitted by Friday and that it will be submitted only after the Legislature approves a plan to resolve the Fiscal Year 2003 "situation."
On April 24, the governor announced that the government was facing a deficit of $100 million for the current fiscal year, a figure revised soon thereafter to $115 million. Last week, members of his financial team testified before the Senate that the shortfall could reach $144 million as a result of a May 12 federal court order imposing a moratorium on the collection of property taxes.
Late on the night of May 13, the governor's package of six multi-part bills to address the financial crisis was delivered to the Legislature for consideration at a special session called for May 15. The bills call for borrowing another $235 million, spending much of it on projects that include $80 million for a new hotel that the government would build and own on St. Croix, and increasing existing taxes and adding new ones, most of them aimed at the business sector.
The revenue proposals include raising the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from the current 4 percent, adding a 2 percent surcharge to the 8 percent hotel room tax, and instituting an "environmental excise tax" based on the weight of items imported into the territory and a per-barrel tax on crude oil that one business executive calculated would cost Hovensa more than $32 million a year.
Nowhere in the bills were there any proposals to reduce government expenditures, save for changing the pay periods to twice monthly rather than every other week, which would mean two less instances of processing payments but would not affect the salaries government employees receive.
A top administration official told the senators that $5 million could be saved through natural attrition in the government work force of 2 percent a year for five years; enforcement of a hiring freeze; limitations on overtime, travel and the use of cellular phones; and restrictions on unauthorized use of government vehicles. Police officers got their marching orders on Monday to apprehend the drivers of any such vehicles found to be in use outside of authorized hours.
After 11 hours of deliberations on May 15, the Legislature voted unanimously to refer all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration on June 5. The hearing does not shape up to be a rubber-stamp affair; Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, the committee chair, said on the Senate floor on May 15 that the administration officials were "stone crazy" if they thought he was going to sign off on the bills as proposed.
Reaction to the proposals was predictably negative from the business community. Joe Aubain, long-time executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, said: "I'm assuming this is one part of the package, and the cuts haven't come down yet."
Noel Loftus, president of the St. Croix Alive business organization and a former St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, said: "There is no recovery plan. It is not balanced, not thought out, not responsible, and it won't work. If this passes, you will see more businesses close."
Delegate Donna M. Christensen was largely in agreement, expressing concern about "the Turnbull administration's tax-laden response" to the territory's fiscal crisis. "I am still waiting to hear the other side — how spending will be reduced," she said. "I know that the federal government, who I am sure will be called on for help, will be waiting also." In his letter to Senate President David Jones on Thursday concerning the FY 2004 budget, Turnbull wrote: "The executive branch departments and agencies have worked very hard to develop budgets within the confines of the limited resources available."
However, he added, "The budgets of all departments and agencies will be directly affected by the measures that are ultimately utilized" to resolve the projected massive funding shortfall by the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept. 30.
Turnbull said his administration is continuing its efforts to prepare "a realistic and meaningful budget."
The Senate Finance Committee not only is key to the immediate fate of the governor's proposals to address the burgeoning FY 2003 deficit but also has first say in the Legislature's manipulation of the administration's proposed FY 2004 budget.
On Sunday, the governor again called the Senate into special session, this time to act Tuesday on a bill ratifying the leasing of submerged lands in Long Bay and the granting of a Coastal Zone Management permit for development of those lands. In his transmittal letter to Jones on Sunday, he wrote: "If I understand the situation, if this development is to move forward and this investment is to be made for the people of the Virgin Islands, the time to act is now. This is the 12th hour and the cock is crowing."
On Tuesday, the Legislature approved both the lease and the permit.

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May 29, 2003 – Central High School and Education Complex recently held award ceremonies to honor winners in the Laws of Life essay contest.
The Peter Gruber Foundation, headquartered on St. Thomas, funds the contest through a grant presented by the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands. An international character education program, Laws of Life was introduced in the territory two years ago as a pilot program at Charlotte Amalie High School and then expanded to Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. This was the first year that contests were held on St. Croix.
For the contest, students were asked to describe their personal ethical and moral standards and to explain how and why they chose those principles as their guideposts for life. The program was presented as a teaching unit in English classes.
The finished essays, coded to conceal the writers' names, were reviewed and ranked by a panel of 10 anonymous judges, each a respected member of the St. Croix community. They chose a first-place winner in each of the four grades in each high school.
The winners were:
Education Complex High School
9th grade – Joy Lawrence
10th grade – Desiree Golden
11th grade – Azmon Rougier
12th grade – Melissa Dickson
Central High School
9th grade – Jericha Harris
10th grade – Holly Rouger
11th grade – Julissa Copemann
12th grade – Swahili Willie
Each of winner received a check for $500. The presentations were made at Central on May 20 and at Complex on May 27.
Prizes were presented to CAHS and Kean students earlier in a ceremony on St. Thomas.
"Laws of Life" is the concept of investment manager and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. Since its inception in the 1980s, thousands of contests have been conducted in hundreds of cities, each tailored to the specific needs of the host community.
Peter Gruber, president of St. Thomas-based Globalvest Management Co. and chair and sole funder of the foundation that bears his name, brought the contest to the territory.

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.

May 29, 2003 – A bill before the Senate Education and Youth Committee to eliminate the current six-year statute of limitations on recovery of college loans granted by the Board of Education was approved Thursday and reported out to the Rules Committee.
According to a Legislature release, school board member Terrence D. Joseph told the committee that 1,320 Virgin Islanders own nearly $2 million in college loans, some dating from 1970. But he said that more than $1.5 million is "uncollectable" because the loans, to 240 persons, were made prior to 1997 and the statue of limitations on collecting them has run out.
Another $416, 617.66 in loans made to 1,080 persons since 1997 is considered "collectable," Joseph said. But if the cut-off is not lifted this year, he said, the opportunity to collect as much as $74,306.56 of that amount from 49 persons will be lost.
Daniel said eliminating the statute of limitations would help in collecting the outstanding loans. However, the board's executive director, Evadney Hodge, acknowledged under questioning that the board has no one assigned to collect the money owed.
Sen. Carlton Dowe said additional time would not make any difference unless effort is made by the board to collect what's owed. Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste agreed, questioning the point of giving people more time not to pay.
If more old loans were repaid, more new loans could be made. Mavis Gilchrist, University of the Virgin Islands financial aid director, said UVI supports the bill as a means of enhancing the prospects for future students to obtain financial support for their college studies.
In September 1999, the school board reported some 1,700 delinquent student loans totaling $2,433,209. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee then, Keith Richards, board chair at the time, said the board planned to take delinquent loan recipients to small claims court, update the list of delinquencies for publication, cross reference the list with government personnel records, and implement automatic payroll deductions to collect on loans where possible.
The issue of delinquent loans owed by prominent public officials was a topic of discussion two months ago at a school board meeting. The board on March 24 approved a request from Sen. Ronald Russell to obtain the delinquency list. The following day, Daniel said the list would be updated and checked for accuracy and then turned over to Russell "no later than April 21."
Russell, who prior to last November was the school board's legal counsel, chairs the Education and Youth Committee.
Funding an overriding concern
The main thrust of discussion on the other bill before the committee Thursday may become a familiar theme in legislative deliberations for the foreseeable future: not what can or should be done, but how to pay for it.
The committee took testimony on the proposal to institute a pilot after-school program for kindergarten through sixth grade in all of the public schools. In addition to raising financial concerns, according to the Legislature release, witnesses also said more study needs to go into the proposal before efforts are made to implement it.
Vickie Palmer, representing the federally funded V.I. PUSH after-school program, spoke in favor of the proposal but said it should be expanded to include the 7th and 8th grades. She also expressed concern that there isn't enough time to put the program into effect for the coming school year.
Tyrone Molyneaux, St. Croix teachers union president, said that before plans are mapped to introduce the program, an assessment of existing programs is needed to determine what needs "enhancing or eliminating."
Both Molyneaux and his St. Thomas-St. John counterpart, Vernelle De Lagarde, expressed concern that no funding had been identified for the program. De Lagarde suggested that if no funding can be found, more resources should be added to existing after-school programs.
Harry Daniel, Board of Education acting president, said "it is imperative that a funding source is identified." And Education Commissioner Noreen Michael expressed concern about any mandatory after-school program because local funding would be required.
The committee voted to hold the bill for further consideration.
Also at Thursday's committee meeting, Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone said he is having legislation drafted to toughen the penalties for school vandalism. His bill, according to a release from his office, would increase the minimum fine to $5,000 from the current $1,000 and the mandatory prison term to four years from the present two years.
Citing a "rash of break-ins that have been occurring in some of our public schools," Malone said his proposal also calls for posting the penalties "at the entrance of all the territory's public schools" and for the fines collected to "be deposited into the imprest fund of the school in which the vandalism occurred."
All committee members were present for Thursday's hearing — Sens. Baptiste, Roosevelt David, Louis Hill, Malone, Luther Renee, Raymond "Usie" Richards and Russell. Non-committee members present were Sens. Dowe and Celestino White.

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.

May 29, 2003 – The announcement came at "the 12th hour," to quote Gov. Charles W. Turnbull from another recent statement, but it came as no surprise: The governor will not be submitting his proposed Fiscal Year 2004 budget for the administrative branch to the Legislature by May 30 as required by law.
A Government House release issued Thursday afternoon said the budget would not be submitted by Friday and that it will be submitted only after the Legislature approves a plan to resolve the Fiscal Year 2003 "situation."
On April 24, the governor announced that the government was facing a deficit of $100 million for the current fiscal year, a figure revised soon thereafter to $115 million. Last week, members of his financial team testified before the Senate that the shortfall could reach $144 million as a result of a May 12 federal court order imposing a moratorium on the collection of property taxes.
Late on the night of May 13, the governor's package of six multi-part bills to address the financial crisis was delivered to the Legislature for consideration at a special session called for May 15. The bills call for borrowing another $235 million, spending much of it on projects that include $80 million for a new hotel that the government would build and own on St. Croix, and increasing existing taxes and adding new ones, most of them aimed at the business sector.
The revenue proposals include raising the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from the current 4 percent, adding a 2 percent surcharge to the 8 percent hotel room tax, and instituting an "environmental excise tax" based on the weight of items imported into the territory and a per-barrel tax on crude oil that one business executive calculated would cost Hovensa more than $32 million a year.
Nowhere in the bills were there any proposals to reduce government expenditures, save for changing the pay periods to twice monthly rather than every other week, which would mean two less instances of processing payments but would not affect the salaries government employees receive.
A top administration official told the senators that $5 million could be saved through natural attrition in the government work force of 2 percent a year for five years; enforcement of a hiring freeze; limitations on overtime, travel and the use of cellular phones; and restrictions on unauthorized use of government vehicles. Police officers got their marching orders on Monday to apprehend the drivers of any such vehicles found to be in use outside of authorized hours.
After 11 hours of deliberations on May 15, the Legislature voted unanimously to refer all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration on June 5. The hearing does not shape up to be a rubber-stamp affair; Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, the committee chair, said on the Senate floor on May 15 that the administration officials were "stone crazy" if they thought he was going to sign off on the bills as proposed.
Reaction to the proposals was predictably negative from the business community. Joe Aubain, long-time executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, said: "I'm assuming this is one part of the package, and the cuts haven't come down yet."
Noel Loftus, president of the St. Croix Alive business organization and a former St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, said: "There is no recovery plan. It is not balanced, not thought out, not responsible, and it won't work. If this passes, you will see more businesses close."
Delegate Donna M. Christensen was largely in agreement, expressing concern about "the Turnbull administration's tax-laden response" to the territory's fiscal crisis. "I am still waiting to hear the other side — how spending will be reduced," she said. "I know that the federal government, who I am sure will be called on for help, will be waiting also." In his letter to Senate President David Jones on Thursday concerning the FY 2004 budget, Turnbull wrote: "The executive branch departments and agencies have worked very hard to develop budgets within the confines of the limited resources available."
However, he added, "The budgets of all departments and agencies will be directly affected by the measures that are ultimately utilized" to resolve the projected massive funding shortfall by the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept. 30.
Turnbull said his administration is continuing its efforts to prepare "a realistic and meaningful budget."
The Senate Finance Committee not only is key to the immediate fate of the governor's proposals to address the burgeoning FY 2003 deficit but also has first say in the Legislature's manipulation of the administration's proposed FY 2004 budget.
On Sunday, the governor again called the Senate into special session, this time to act Tuesday on a bill ratifying the leasing of submerged lands in Long Bay and the granting of a Coastal Zone Management permit for development of those lands. In his transmittal letter to Jones on Sunday, he wrote: "If I understand the situation, if this development is to move forward and this investment is to be made for the people of the Virgin Islands, the time to act is now. This is the 12th hour and the cock is crowing."
On Tuesday, the Legislature approved both the lease and the permit.

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.

May 29, 2003 – A bill before the Senate Education and Youth Committee to eliminate the current six-year statute of limitations on recovery of college loans granted by the Board of Education was approved Thursday and reported out to the Rules Committee.
According to a Legislature release, school board member Terrence D. Joseph told the committee that 1,320 Virgin Islanders own nearly $2 million in college loans, some dating from 1970. But he said that more than $1.5 million is "uncollectable" because the loans, to 240 persons, were made prior to 1997 and the statue of limitations on collecting them has run out.
Another $416, 617.66 in loans made to 1,080 persons since 1997 is considered "collectable," Joseph said. But if the cut-off is not lifted this year, he said, the opportunity to collect as much as $74,306.56 of that amount from 49 persons will be lost.
Daniel said eliminating the statute of limitations would help in collecting the outstanding loans. However, the board's executive director, Evadney Hodge, acknowledged under questioning that the board has no one assigned to collect the money owed.
Sen. Carlton Dowe said additional time would not make any difference unless effort is made by the board to collect what's owed. Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste agreed, questioning the point of giving people more time not to pay.
If more old loans were repaid, more new loans could be made. Mavis Gilchrist, University of the Virgin Islands financial aid director, said UVI supports the bill as a means of enhancing the prospects for future students to obtain financial support for their college studies.
In September 1999, the school board reported some 1,700 delinquent student loans totaling $2,433,209. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee then, Keith Richards, board chair at the time, said the board planned to take delinquent loan recipients to small claims court, update the list of delinquencies for publication, cross reference the list with government personnel records, and implement automatic payroll deductions to collect on loans where possible.
The issue of delinquent loans owed by prominent public officials was a topic of discussion two months ago at a school board meeting. The board on March 24 approved a request from Sen. Ronald Russell to obtain the delinquency list. The following day, Daniel said the list would be updated and checked for accuracy and then turned over to Russell "no later than April 21."
Russell, who prior to last November was the school board's legal counsel, chairs the Education and Youth Committee.
Funding an overriding concern
The main thrust of discussion on the other bill before the committee Thursday may become a familiar theme in legislative deliberations for the foreseeable future: not what can or should be done, but how to pay for it.
The committee took testimony on the proposal to institute a pilot after-school program for kindergarten through sixth grade in all of the public schools. In addition to raising financial concerns, according to the Legislature release, witnesses also said more study needs to go into the proposal before efforts are made to implement it.
Vickie Palmer, representing the federally funded V.I. PUSH after-school program, spoke in favor of the proposal but said it should be expanded to include the 7th and 8th grades. She also expressed concern that there isn't enough time to put the program into effect for the coming school year.
Tyrone Molyneaux, St. Croix teachers union president, said that before plans are mapped to introduce the program, an assessment of existing programs is needed to determine what needs "enhancing or eliminating."
Both Molyneaux and his St. Thomas-St. John counterpart, Vernelle De Lagarde, expressed concern that no funding had been identified for the program. De Lagarde suggested that if no funding can be found, more resources should be added to existing after-school programs.
Harry Daniel, Board of Education acting president, said "it is imperative that a funding source is identified." And Education Commissioner Noreen Michael expressed concern about any mandatory after-school program because local funding would be required.
The committee voted to hold the bill for further consideration.
Also at Thursday's committee meeting, Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone said he is having legislation drafted to toughen the penalties for school vandalism. His bill, according to a release from his office, would increase the minimum fine to $5,000 from the current $1,000 and the mandatory prison term to four years from the present two years.
Citing a "rash of break-ins that have been occurring in some of our public schools," Malone said his proposal also calls for posting the penalties "at the entrance of all the territory's public schools" and for the fines collected to "be deposited into the imprest fund of the school in which the vandalism occurred."
All committee members were present for Thursday's hearing — Sens. Baptiste, Roosevelt David, Louis Hill, Malone, Luther Renee, Raymond "Usie" Richards and Russell. Non-committee members present were Sens. Dowe and Celestino White.

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.

May 29, 2003 – The announcement came at "the 12th hour," to quote Gov. Charles W. Turnbull from another recent statement, but it came as no surprise: The governor will not be submitting his proposed Fiscal Year 2004 budget for the administrative branch to the Legislature by May 30 as required by law.
A Government House release issued Thursday afternoon said the budget would not be submitted by Friday and that it will be submitted only after the Legislature approves a plan to resolve the Fiscal Year 2003 "situation."
On April 24, the governor announced that the government was facing a deficit of $100 million for the current fiscal year, a figure revised soon thereafter to $115 million. Last week, members of his financial team testified before the Senate that the shortfall could reach $144 million as a result of a May 12 federal court order imposing a moratorium on the collection of property taxes.
Late on the night of May 13, the governor's package of six multi-part bills to address the financial crisis was delivered to the Legislature for consideration at a special session called for May 15. The bills call for borrowing another $235 million, spending much of it on projects that include $80 million for a new hotel that the government would build and own on St. Croix, and increasing existing taxes and adding new ones, most of them aimed at the business sector.
The revenue proposals include raising the gross receipts tax to 4.75 percent from the current 4 percent, adding a 2 percent surcharge to the 8 percent hotel room tax, and instituting an "environmental excise tax" based on the weight of items imported into the territory and a per-barrel tax on crude oil that one business executive calculated would cost Hovensa more than $32 million a year.
Nowhere in the bills were there any proposals to reduce government expenditures, save for changing the pay periods to twice monthly rather than every other week, which would mean two less instances of processing payments but would not affect the salaries government employees receive.
A top administration official told the senators that $5 million could be saved through natural attrition in the government work force of 2 percent a year for five years; enforcement of a hiring freeze; limitations on overtime, travel and the use of cellular phones; and restrictions on unauthorized use of government vehicles. Police officers got their marching orders on Monday to apprehend the drivers of any such vehicles found to be in use outside of authorized hours.
After 11 hours of deliberations on May 15, the Legislature voted unanimously to refer all of the bills to the Finance Committee for consideration on June 5. The hearing does not shape up to be a rubber-stamp affair; Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, the committee chair, said on the Senate floor on May 15 that the administration officials were "stone crazy" if they thought he was going to sign off on the bills as proposed.
Reaction to the proposals was predictably negative from the business community. Joe Aubain, long-time executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, said: "I'm assuming this is one part of the package, and the cuts haven't come down yet."
Noel Loftus, president of the St. Croix Alive business organization and a former St. Croix Chamber of Commerce president, said: "There is no recovery plan. It is not balanced, not thought out, not responsible, and it won't work. If this passes, you will see more businesses close."
Delegate Donna M. Christensen was largely in agreement, expressing concern about "the Turnbull administration's tax-laden response" to the territory's fiscal crisis. "I am still waiting to hear the other side — how spending will be reduced," she said. "I know that the federal government, who I am sure will be called on for help, will be waiting also." In his letter to Senate President David Jones on Thursday concerning the FY 2004 budget, Turnbull wrote: "The executive branch departments and agencies have worked very hard to develop budgets within the confines of the limited resources available."
However, he added, "The budgets of all departments and agencies will be directly affected by the measures that are ultimately utilized" to resolve the projected massive funding shortfall by the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept. 30.
Turnbull said his administration is continuing its efforts to prepare "a realistic and meaningful budget."
The Senate Finance Committee not only is key to the immediate fate of the governor's proposals to address the burgeoning FY 2003 deficit but also has first say in the Legislature's manipulation of the administration's proposed FY 2004 budget.
On Sunday, the governor again called the Senate into special session, this time to act Tuesday on a bill ratifying the leasing of submerged lands in Long Bay and the granting of a Coastal Zone Management permit for development of those lands. In his transmittal letter to Jones on Sunday, he wrote: "If I understand the situation, if this development is to move forward and this investment is to be made for the people of the Virgin Islands, the time to act is now. This is the 12th hour and the cock is crowing."
On Tuesday, the Legislature approved both the lease and the permit.

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.

May 29, 2003 – Saturday will mark the 31st anniversary observance of U.S./British Virgin Islands Friendship Day, and this year it's the territory's turn to serve as host.
According to a Government House release, a delegation of government and civic leaders from the British Virgins will arrive at St. Thomas on Saturday morning for a breakfast reception on the ground of the Legislature Building.
A ceremony in Emancipation Garden will follow, and the day's official activities will conclude with a luncheon at Government House.
Citing the family, business and cultural ties that link the two territories, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull said: "It is fitting and proper that this close relationship be observed by setting aside a day on which to focus attention on and renew the bonds of true friendship existing between the people of the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands."
He also noted that many U.S. Virgin Islanders can trace their roots to their neighboring British islands.

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May 29, 2003 – Enforcement officers of the Virgin Islands National Park and the Planning and Natural Resources Department met this week to discuss how to allow continued fishing within the waters of the recently established Coral Reef Monument off St. John's south shore and east end.
Most fishing is prohibited in the now federally protected area, but one species, blue runner, also called hardnose, can still legally be caught.
Steve Clark, the park's chief of enforcement, said the input of local fishermen is wanted to help park officials decide where to set up six moorings where people will be allowed to tie up their vessels — up to 60 feet in length — and use handlines. They will be able to fish for free but will have to obtain a permit from the park, he said.
It was decided to install the six moorings "in the interest of sound management and to assist the fishermen that are after the blue runner," Clark said. The moorings "will be placed throughout the monument at the direction of particular fishermen," he said, between Cabrittehorn Point and Ram Head, and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. They are expected to be in place by July.
Fishermen who have fish traps in the monument waters will have to remove them, he said.
The park is getting help from Planning and Natural Resources in enforcing the new rules. On Wednesday, Clark met with DPNR enforcement chief Lucia Francis to discuss the mooring plan.
The park's resource management team is working on a separate mooring plan for Hurricane Hole. Rafe Boulon, park chief of resource management, said 11 moorings should be in place sometime this summer. Two will be reserved for commercial and charter boats, he said, the rest will be available to private vessels visiting the area for the day or overnight.
Park officials are also working on an emergency mooring system to be used in case of a hurricane or tropical storm. Boulon said the system will not be ready for the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins in June, but a plan is in the works to accommodate vessels seeking shelter in the event of an approaching storm.
"After the first bona fide storm threat … people can move in there and anchor their vessels," he said. "We're only requiring that people not tie to mangroves, because that damages the mangroves."
Boulon defined a "bona fide storm" as a significant storm on track to pass through the territory within 96 hours or less. "This season, after the first threat passes," he said, boaters "can leave their gear in place, with a buoy marked with their name and vessel registration number."
Boaters wishing to do also will have to write to the National Park Service stating what kind of gear they are leaving, where it is, and how it is marked.
With notification govern to the park, emergency anchor systems that are properly marked will be allowed to remain in place for the duration of the hurricane season.
Fishermen are asked to provide input on the optimum positioning for the six moorings by calling Boulon at 693-8950, ext. 224, or Clark at 776-6201, ext. 254; by mailing suggestions in writing to Virgin Islands National Park, 1300 Cruz Bay Creek, St. John VI 00830; or by faxing them to 693-9500. Probably the easiest way, though, is to go by the National Park Visitor Center in Cruz Bay and ask for Clark, who will provide a map for indicating the suggested locations.

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It's simple economics, and we choose to ignore it: Airlines, like every other business, are in business to make money. Their income is made up of passengers and cargo. The number of passengers and pounds of cargo multiplied by their applicable fares or tariffs represent their income. Their expenses are made up by their indirect overhead and direct costs such as fuel and airport fees. The difference is their profit or loss, and it's simple economics.
Edwards & Kelcey, an air service consulting firm from Morristown, New Jersey, was recently contracted by the University of the Virgin Islands to perform an Air Service Marketing and Development Strategy study for the territory. This was not the first time this type of study has been done. This was not the first time that many of the recommendations were made.
According to the E&K study, airfares to the Virgin Islands are in line with similar-length trips within the states. The study didn't compare fares to other Caribbean destinations. That is unfortunate, as Caribbean countries with their own national air carrier (Air Jamaica, Bahamasair, Air Aruba, etc.) can effect lower fares through government-subsidized competition.
I did a similar but smaller-scale study 15 years ago as an airline representative on the St. Croix Hotel & Tourism Association board. When the airfare per mile was figured, St. Croix was just about even with other Caribbean destinations. Sure, the airfare to the Bahamas from Miami is going to be lower; it's a 30-minute flight versus two and a half hours.
So if the fares aren't part of this mix, the number of passengers is the only variable left in the income equation (ignoring cargo). There may be a perception of a lack of hotel rooms on St. Croix, but with an average occupancy this past season of around 50 percent, there were plenty of available hotel rooms — just no one who wanted to stay in them.
Why there's no demand as a destination
The average Caribbean hotel occupancy was 75 percent for the same period. How can a United States Virgin Island not do as well as other non-U.S. Caribbean destinations during a season in which the United States was at war? There's no demand for St. Croix as a destination, either by air or by cruise ship, and that is due only to the lack of actively and correctly marketing St. Croix.
On the expense side, the airlines have the same indirect expenses (reservations, administration, etc.) no matter where they're flying. Fuel, maintenance, crew costs and airport fees are their direct expenses. Fuel, being cheaper on St. Croix, should be a huge selling factor for us. Maybe the government could consider waiving any taxes on aviation fuel purchased by a major airline on any current or future scheduled or charter flights to St. Croix.
It's not as if the government would be losing any taxes (other than on the AA Miami flight — assuming it keeps flying here), as the flights would not be operating here if it weren't for the tax break. Crew costs are handled by union negotiations and through cost-cutting moves such as American was forced to take in the Virgin Islands.
The last of the expense variables, airport fees, although representing only 4 percent of costs to the airlines according to the E&K study, are one of their best bets for attempting to cut costs and stem losses. Many destinations facing a reduction or loss of air service have chosen to reduce the fees the airlines must pay.
A 25 percent increase in fees (some are more, once you do the math) could be swallowed on St. Thomas (and in fact was with only a slight reduction in service) as the demand is much higher. However, St. Croix , already struggling under a lack of identity, demand, viable advertising campaign, etc., couldn't possibly hope to get away with raising those fees.
USAirways has already made its position known by canceling the daily shared flight from Philadelphia. By the time this is published, I'm sure we'll have heard that the once-a-week flight from Charlotte is gone. Sooner or later, no matter how high the fees, you're still multiplying by zero flights, so the answer will always be zero. (The same thing can be said about tax increases).
I would have liked the Edwards & Kelcey study to compare the costs of airlines to operate here versus other destinations in the Caribbean. We have to understand that some other Caribbean airports have the advantage of being able to charge a "departure" tax of up to $20 to cover airport operating fees. Unfortunately that's something prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration for U.S. airports.
The Port Authority is proposing to waive fees for new service to the islands. I think if I were one of the airlines already serving the territory (at a below break-even load factor, according to the study), I wouldn't be overly happy about having competition being wooed in and given a competitive pricing advantage.
Who's the common denominator here
According to the staff at Edwards & Kelcey, many of the airline officials interviewed were dismayed at the way the fee increases were handled, citing little or no lead time on the hikes. The chair of the Port Authority board, Pamela Richards (also commissioner of Tourism), blames the airlines for not "passing the word up the chain."
She said the Port Authority notified the station managers at each of the airports about the increases. With all due respect to airline station managers (and I'm good friends with several current and past ones here), if the only liaison the U.S. Virgin Islands has with the airlines is through their local station managers, it's a wonder we have any air service at all.
We should concentrate on keeping the service already provided by the current major airlines for St. Thomas and giving them the incentives to increase service to St. Croix. We can affect two of the variables: increasing demand for St. Croix as a destination (that's the job of the Tourism Department) and reducing the airlines' expenses for operating here (that's the job of the Port Authority). There is a common denominator here: the commissioner of Tourism who is also the chair of the Port Authority board.
At a time when some airlines, such as US Airways, are expanding in the Caribbean, it is beyond belief that St. Croix, a U.S. territory, can't even keep its current level of service. We've got to market St. Croix; something that a private sector-based Tourism Authority would be more adept at doing. We have to have a full-time liaison with the airlines. We have to give the airlines incentives to fly to St. Croix, such as cheap tax-free fuel and reduced airport fees.
It may be too late to get a USAir flight back to St. Croix by this winter, but it's not too late to keep the American flight here.

Editor's note: Ed Buckley the owner of St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures, vice president/marketing of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, vice president of the Christiansted Restaurant and Retail Association, vice president of the Virgin Islands SCUBA Retailers Association and former vice president/marketing of Aviation Associates (d.b.a. Eastern Express and Sunaire Express). He is an executive committee member of the committee that reviewed, interviewed and chose the consultant for the current air arrivals study.
We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to source@viaccess.net.

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