Oct. 28, 2002 – The response of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority prepared by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General is a 21-page document dated Oct. 16, 2002, that is addressed to Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager.
In it, the governor argues that the draft report is full of "findings which are legally or factually incorrect" and, further, "addresses policy decisions by the PFA that are properly outside the scope" of the Inspector General's Office. It contains "impermissible conjecture and irrelevant opinion," he says, and "must, therefore, be substantially revised before it is issued as a final report."
If this is not done, he said, the result could be "serious consequences for the authority's pending financial transactions."
Turnbull was asked to respond to the draft report in his capacity as chair of the PFA board of directors, a position which he holds by virtue of being governor. Van Beverhoudt has said that he will not comment on the governor's response but that it will be included in the final audit report, as is standard practice with responses requested of the top officials of agencies that have been audited.
Van Beverhoudt had submitted the 30-page draft report to Turnbull on Oct. 1, asking in a cover letter that he respond by Oct. 16 and stating that if a response were not received by that date, the final report would be issued without benefit of the governor's comments.
Last week, the draft report was leaked to the news media, resulting in extensive coverage of its contents, which are highly critical of the PFA.
On Wednesday, Turnbull responded in a press release to media reports concerning comments he had made in a television appearance on Oct. 17. The release said: "Certain news reports in the print and broadcast media suggest that I misled the Virgin Islands public during an interview on Oct. 17 while appearing on TV2 with regard to reading the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority. Let me again assure the Virgin Islands public that I had not seen the federal inspector general's draft of the audit at the time of the interview."
On Thursday, in another release, the governor took "strong exception to nearly all of the findings" in the draft report, saying its "analysis and conclusions" are "substantiated by neither law nor fact," and also decried the unauthorized release of the report to the news media.
On Friday, Government House released to the media the 21-page response that Turnbull had submitted to Van Beverhoudt, dated Oct. 16.
For a summary of the contents of the draft report, see "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".
For details on the governor's statement issued Wednesday, see "Turnbull: PFA audit report unseen as of Oct. 17".
For a report on the governor's press release on Thursday criticizing the report, see "Turnbull lambastes PFA draft audit report".
Following is a summary of the governor's response to the draft report, released to the media on Friday:
Authority issues
Turnbull in his introduction said the draft audit report "has exceeded the scope of the inspector general's authority by impermissibly opining on matters of local public policy that Congress has delegated to the local government." He said:
– The office "has apparently misread or misunderstood the scope of PFA's legal authority and the broad role it plays in assisting the government" in "performing its fiscal duties."
– The draft report "reaches incorrect conclusions" based on its "misunderstanding" of the Internal Revenue Code and/or its "assumption of false, mischaracterized or incomplete facts."
– The draft report "impermissibly ventures beyond its authorized scope by opining on matters of purely local public policy."
– The Inspector General's Office has the authority to audit the authority periodically "for instances of fraud or serious malfeasance and recommend appropriate remedies. The draft report, however, makes no such findings."
The response document is drafted in the form of a legal brief and contains numerous federal court case citations, both footnoted and within the text. Turnbull said case law supports the view that the Office of Inspector General "must afford the government of the Virgin Islands, including the PFA, due deference in its policy decisions with respect to matters of local self-government." He said it "is not within the province" of the inspector general "to second-guess local government policies unless the audit reveals fraud and other serious problems, abuses and deficiencies."
Turnbull charged that the draft report "is unfocused and of indeterminate scope" and is "non-specific as to the period under review," and that many of its findings are "obviated by the facts as they exist today." Also, he said, "the quality of the audit work, particularly with respect to the discussion of the use of bond proceeds and consistency" with federal regulations "is suspect."
He said that to his knowledge, the Office of Inspector General did not consult with the PFA bond counsel or financial advisers but "appears to have relied … on the apparently self-serving memoranda of the authority's now-departed director of finance and administration issued days before the end of his tenure." The reference is to Amadeo Francis, whom Turnbull fired last December. The PFA board voted to bring him back on a transitional basis in February, but he rejected the offered interim contract.
The governor is at pains throughout the response to distinguish between his administration and that of his predecessor, Roy L. Schneider. The audit covers fiscal activity from the mid-1990s, when Schneider was governor, through the end of last year, the third of Turnbull's term.
"While the report does identify instances of apparent delay on the part of previous administrations, any conclusion or inference that the present administration violated the [Internal Revenue Code], participated in impermissible delays or sanctioned purported instances of 'ineffective' use of proceeds is unwarranted and must be withdrawn," the governor said.
Tax-exempt status of bonds
He said statements in the draft report that the PFA allowed bond money to go unused past the date for being tax-exempt, leaving the agency susceptible to as much as $8.8 million in tax penalties, "are demonstrably false," and that the inspector general "has incorrectly applied the federal corporate income tax rate" to arrive at the figure. "Bond counsel has advised that at no time were the referenced bonds subject to loss of tax-exempt status or other tax penalty," he said.
Further, he said, the bonds in question "were advance refunded from proceeds of the 1998 matching fund bonds in May 1998, thus mooting the issue," and at the time, "no issues were raised as to the tax-exempt status of the refunded bonds." He said Francis "first brought the issue to the current board days before the end of his tenure," and that at Turnbull's request, the "PFA's bond counsel investigated this issue in January of 2002," concluding that "the prior bonds would retain their tax-exempt status."
According to the governor, the draft audit report's finding of reprogrammed bond proceeds not used in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code "lacks sufficient detail to render any conclusion a
s to its accuracy" and "is without merit and should be deleted." He said it is the opinion of bond counsel that three cited expenditures in the draft report — $52,000 for voting machines, $41,000 for speakers and $19,000 for the painting of a mural — "could, in fact, be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds without violating the provisions of the IRC."
(In his response, Turnbull criticized Francis for investing $40 million from the PFA's 1998 Bond Debt Service Reserve Fund in the money market fund of the authority's financial adviser, which at the time was also its investment manager. The Turnbull administration dropped the company as financial adviser, but Francis kept it on as investment manager. "Despite the repeated recommendations of the present financial adviser to consider investment in higher-yielding guaranteed investment contracts, [Francis] refused to consider the recommendation," the governor said, and as a result, "PFA's earning dropped dramatically."
(Kenneth Mapp, Francis's successor, "has accepted the recommendation … to invest the bond proceeds in guaranteed investment contracts … and the authority is now earning more than $1.5 million per year above what was earned in the previous investment regime," Turnbull said.)
School reconstruction issues
Turning to the audit's finding of extensive cost overruns and construction delays in the rebuilding of three St. Thomas schools destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, Turnbull said the overruns, delays "and innumerable change-order requests" were due in large part to "design and engineering errors" on the part of the construction firm contracted to provide management services for the projects, Heery International. Even so, he said, "there is absolutely no evidence to support your contention that the cost overruns are $17.3 million."
Again distancing his administration from that of Schneider, he suggests that some "cost overruns" may have resulted from the omission of "essential infrastructure components" in the contracting process in "the apparent rush of the prior administration to initiate ground-breaking ceremonies for the projects in advance of the last gubernatorial election." In that election, Schneider lost his bid for re-election to Turnbull.
Further, Turnbull said, "My administration and the current leadership of the PFA have, since the appointment of the new director [Mapp], undertaken to develop an aggressive strategy to assist the authority in getting the projects back on track, while achieving a comprehensive resolution of the various cost overruns, defective/incomplete work and design and construction issues for which Heery may be responsible."
Professional contracts
The governor said the audit's findings that the PFA did not ensure that "costs related to professional service contracts" were within its "primary areas of responsibility" and its recommendation that the authority seek competitive bids for professional contracts "cannot withstand scrutiny and must be withdrawn." The draft report recommended that the PFA follow a policy of previous years of seeking bids, while noting that there is no legal obligation that it do so. Turnbull said the issue is one of "PFA's internal policies" and "outside the scope" of the inspector general.
He said the draft report's description of the authority's primary functions as "raising and managing capital on behalf of the government" is "overly simplistic and incorrect." Among other things, he said, the PFA is empowered by the Legislature "to make contracts, issue guarantees and execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers" and "to appoint, employ and contract for the services of officers, agents, employees and professional assistants…"
He cited the audit's criticism that some $450,000 was paid to the PFA's financial adviser, First Union Capital Markets, "for work unrelated to the authority's primary areas of responsibility." The response then addresses, item by item:
– Conversations regarding Washington initiatives, including amendments to the Revised Organic Act, federal rum excise tax cover-over rate adjustments, federal grants and forgiveness of Federal Emergency Management Agency loans.
– Discussion of V.I. government Fiscal Year 2001 and 2002 budget preparations.
– Analysis of the cost of implementing step increases for union employees.
– Analysis and discussion of salary proposals for teachers union arbitration.
– Preparation of cost benefit analyses of three retirement plan options.
– Collection of delinquent property taxes.
– Researching the possible privatization of the public transit system and contracting out of administration of the Workers' Compensation program.
– Reimbursement of government personnel for incidental expenses.
All, the governor said, "are directly related to the authority's efforts to aid the government of the Virgin Islands in the performance of its fiscal duties and to raise capital for essential public projects," and thus "fall squarely within PFA's statutory mandate."
He did say that billings by the financial adviser of $6,000 in cellular phone charges "will be reviewed, and any that are not related" to PFA responsibilities "will be billed back to the government."
Turnbull next addressed the audit's criticism of $42,000 paid to its bond counsel, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, for conferences and meetings pertaining to the V.I. Hotel, hospital privatization, a mortgage foreclosure, and government payroll and deficits; review of legislation related to a local communications firm; and related out-of-pocket expenses. Again, he said, all of the items "are, in fact, directly related to the PFA's responsibility."
"Work related to the issuance of the 1999 revenue bonds required review and opinions concerning the deficit, government payroll and potential adverse effects of proposed legislation on the gross receipts revenue stream, including a bill granting further tax exemptions to a communications carrier," he said. The mortgage foreclosure conferences concerned the Kings Alley loan made by the PFA in the prior administration, which was foreclosed, specifically to several proposed structures utilizing tax-exempt vehicles to revitalize the complex. And the V.I. Hotel work involved use of bond vehicles "to rehabilitate a non-productive asset." Work related to privatizing the hospitals "focused on the tax treatment of outstanding bonds."
A questioned trip to Norway by a private individual was by a V.I. Agriculture Department researcher and concerned "an initiative to reintroduce aquaculture to St. Croix," Turnbull said, and "private activity bonds were under consideration as a means to finance such a project." And "assertions that government employees traveled to New York to attend a holiday party are untrue, and were corrected in a letter dated April 30, 2001, a copy of which the prior director received at the time," he said.
Regarding $367,000 paid to Johnston & Associates, the consulting firm of a former U.S. senator, in 1997-98, Turnbull said: "The present administration has no knowledge as to the services provided under this contract." That, in fact, is what the audit found — that the contractor had provided no documentation of the services provided, only time-based billings.
Legal fees
The audit faulted the payment of $1.73 million to the government's Washington, D.C., law firm, Winston & Strawn, for expenses it found should for the most part have been billed to the Office of the Governor, not to the PFA.
"Aside from whether the [inspector general's] 'opinion' is well founded on the merits (which it is not)," Turnbull said, "that '
opinion' concerning how the Office of the Governor and the PFA should exercise their discretion is simply outside the scope" of the inspector general's audit authority. Again, he said, the allegations in this area "are thus without basis and must be deleted."
The draft report faulted the payment of $86,000 to the government's bond counsel, Buchanan Ingersoll, on similar grounds, and the governor similarly responded that the work done fell "well within PFA's statutory authority." Much of it had to do with "private activity bond initiatives aimed at spurring economic development and job retention," Turnbull said.
Collection of loans
The audit concluded that the PFA has been lax in pursuing defaulted loans or obligations. That, Turnbull said, is a mistaken conclusion "based on incomplete information."
– In the case of a loan to Development Consultants Inc. for redevelopment of the Kings Alley complex in Christiansted, "the PFA commenced foreclosure proceedings on Nov. 20, 2000, and received judgment of foreclosure on March 13, 2001." It has since purchased the property and formed a company to operate it on the PFA's behalf "until it is able to sell it to recoup its investments."
– In the case of a $5 million cash collateralized guarantee provided in the form of a certificate of deposit to the developer planning to renovate the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina on St. Thomas, the loan was paid off last July 15; all that is outstanding is $120,883 in interest still due "as agreed with the lender."
Turnbull concluded his response by stating to van Beverhoudt that he "would be pleased to make available to your office the authority's new director," as well as government financial advisers and counsel "to further supplement the responses made in this letter, to ensure that any findings are supported by fact and law, and to answer any questions you may have."
According to the draft document, delivered to Turnbull on Oct. 1, Mapp was given repeated opportunities to comment on the findings but did not do so. The document states that a preliminary draft was delivered to him on July 10, and "after several followup requests," a meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6, when Mapp "stated that he was not prepared to discuss the report and requested an extension." A second meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13, but "shortly prior to the scheduled meeting time," the report states, "we received a fax from the director indicating that he was still not fully prepared to discuss the report. Therefore, we are issuing this formal draft report without benefit of an exit conference."
Following initial accounts of the contents of the draft published last Tuesday, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality."
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TURNBULL WANTS PFA AUDIT REPORT REVISED
Oct. 28, 2002 – The response of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority prepared by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General is a 21-page document dated Oct. 16, 2002, that is addressed to Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager.
In it, the governor argues that the draft report is full of "findings which are legally or factually incorrect" and, further, "addresses policy decisions by the PFA that are properly outside the scope" of the Inspector General's Office. It contains "impermissible conjecture and irrelevant opinion," he says, and "must, therefore, be substantially revised before it is issued as a final report."
If this is not done, he said, the result could be "serious consequences for the authority's pending financial transactions."
Turnbull was asked to respond to the draft report in his capacity as chair of the PFA board of directors, a position which he holds by virtue of being governor. Van Beverhoudt has said that he will not comment on the governor's response but that it will be included in the final audit report, as is standard practice with responses requested of the top officials of agencies that have been audited.
Van Beverhoudt had submitted the 30-page draft report to Turnbull on Oct. 1, asking in a cover letter that he respond by Oct. 16 and stating that if a response were not received by that date, the final report would be issued without benefit of the governor's comments.
Last week, the draft report was leaked to the news media, resulting in extensive coverage of its contents, which are highly critical of the PFA.
On Wednesday, Turnbull responded in a press release to media reports concerning comments he had made in a television appearance on Oct. 17. The release said: "Certain news reports in the print and broadcast media suggest that I misled the Virgin Islands public during an interview on Oct. 17 while appearing on TV2 with regard to reading the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority. Let me again assure the Virgin Islands public that I had not seen the federal inspector general's draft of the audit at the time of the interview."
On Thursday, in another release, the governor took "strong exception to nearly all of the findings" in the draft report, saying its "analysis and conclusions" are "substantiated by neither law nor fact," and also decried the unauthorized release of the report to the news media.
On Friday, Government House released to the media the 21-page response that Turnbull had submitted to Van Beverhoudt, dated Oct. 16.
For a summary of the contents of the draft report, see "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".
For details on the governor's statement issued Wednesday, see "Turnbull: PFA audit report unseen as of Oct. 17".
For a report on the governor's press release on Thursday criticizing the report, see "Turnbull lambastes PFA draft audit report".
Following is a summary of the governor's response to the draft report, released to the media on Friday:
Authority issues
Turnbull in his introduction said the draft audit report "has exceeded the scope of the inspector general's authority by impermissibly opining on matters of local public policy that Congress has delegated to the local government." He said:
– The office "has apparently misread or misunderstood the scope of PFA's legal authority and the broad role it plays in assisting the government" in "performing its fiscal duties."
– The draft report "reaches incorrect conclusions" based on its "misunderstanding" of the Internal Revenue Code and/or its "assumption of false, mischaracterized or incomplete facts."
– The draft report "impermissibly ventures beyond its authorized scope by opining on matters of purely local public policy."
– The Inspector General's Office has the authority to audit the authority periodically "for instances of fraud or serious malfeasance and recommend appropriate remedies. The draft report, however, makes no such findings."
The response document is drafted in the form of a legal brief and contains numerous federal court case citations, both footnoted and within the text. Turnbull said case law supports the view that the Office of Inspector General "must afford the government of the Virgin Islands, including the PFA, due deference in its policy decisions with respect to matters of local self-government." He said it "is not within the province" of the inspector general "to second-guess local government policies unless the audit reveals fraud and other serious problems, abuses and deficiencies."
Turnbull charged that the draft report "is unfocused and of indeterminate scope" and is "non-specific as to the period under review," and that many of its findings are "obviated by the facts as they exist today." Also, he said, "the quality of the audit work, particularly with respect to the discussion of the use of bond proceeds and consistency" with federal regulations "is suspect."
He said that to his knowledge, the Office of Inspector General did not consult with the PFA bond counsel or financial advisers but "appears to have relied … on the apparently self-serving memoranda of the authority's now-departed director of finance and administration issued days before the end of his tenure." The reference is to Amadeo Francis, whom Turnbull fired last December. The PFA board voted to bring him back on a transitional basis in February, but he rejected the offered interim contract.
The governor is at pains throughout the response to distinguish between his administration and that of his predecessor, Roy L. Schneider. The audit covers fiscal activity from the mid-1990s, when Schneider was governor, through the end of last year, the third of Turnbull's term.
"While the report does identify instances of apparent delay on the part of previous administrations, any conclusion or inference that the present administration violated the [Internal Revenue Code], participated in impermissible delays or sanctioned purported instances of 'ineffective' use of proceeds is unwarranted and must be withdrawn," the governor said.
Tax-exempt status of bonds
He said statements in the draft report that the PFA allowed bond money to go unused past the date for being tax-exempt, leaving the agency susceptible to as much as $8.8 million in tax penalties, "are demonstrably false," and that the inspector general "has incorrectly applied the federal corporate income tax rate" to arrive at the figure. "Bond counsel has advised that at no time were the referenced bonds subject to loss of tax-exempt status or other tax penalty," he said.
Further, he said, the bonds in question "were advance refunded from proceeds of the 1998 matching fund bonds in May 1998, thus mooting the issue," and at the time, "no issues were raised as to the tax-exempt status of the refunded bonds." He said Francis "first brought the issue to the current board days before the end of his tenure," and that at Turnbull's request, the "PFA's bond counsel investigated this issue in January of 2002," concluding that "the prior bonds would retain their tax-exempt status."
According to the governor, the draft audit report's finding of reprogrammed bond proceeds not used in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code "lacks sufficient detail to render any conclusion as t o its accuracy" and "is without merit and should be deleted." He said it is the opinion of bond counsel that three cited expenditures in the draft report — $52,000 for voting machines, $41,000 for speakers and $19,000 for the painting of a mural — "could, in fact, be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds without violating the provisions of the IRC."
(In his response, Turnbull criticized Francis for investing $40 million from the PFA's 1998 Bond Debt Service Reserve Fund in the money market fund of the authority's financial adviser, which at the time was also its investment manager. The Turnbull administration dropped the company as financial adviser, but Francis kept it on as investment manager. "Despite the repeated recommendations of the present financial adviser to consider investment in higher-yielding guaranteed investment contracts, [Francis] refused to consider the recommendation," the governor said, and as a result, "PFA's earning dropped dramatically."
(Kenneth Mapp, Francis's successor, "has accepted the recommendation … to invest the bond proceeds in guaranteed investment contracts … and the authority is now earning more than $1.5 million per year above what was earned in the previous investment regime," Turnbull said.)
School reconstruction issues
Turning to the audit's finding of extensive cost overruns and construction delays in the rebuilding of three St. Thomas schools destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, Turnbull said the overruns, delays "and innumerable change-order requests" were due in large part to "design and engineering errors" on the part of the construction firm contracted to provide management services for the projects, Heery International. Even so, he said, "there is absolutely no evidence to support your contention that the cost overruns are $17.3 million."
Again distancing his administration from that of Schneider, he suggests that some "cost overruns" may have resulted from the omission of "essential infrastructure components" in the contracting process in "the apparent rush of the prior administration to initiate ground-breaking ceremonies for the projects in advance of the last gubernatorial election." In that election, Schneider lost his bid for re-election to Turnbull.
Further, Turnbull said, "My administration and the current leadership of the PFA have, since the appointment of the new director [Mapp], undertaken to develop an aggressive strategy to assist the authority in getting the projects back on track, while achieving a comprehensive resolution of the various cost overruns, defective/incomplete work and design and construction issues for which Heery may be responsible."
Professional contracts
The governor said the audit's findings that the PFA did not ensure that "costs related to professional service contracts" were within its "primary areas of responsibility" and its recommendation that the authority seek competitive bids for professional contracts "cannot withstand scrutiny and must be withdrawn." The draft report recommended that the PFA follow a policy of previous years of seeking bids, while noting that there is no legal obligation that it do so. Turnbull said the issue is one of "PFA's internal policies" and "outside the scope" of the inspector general.
He said the draft report's description of the authority's primary functions as "raising and managing capital on behalf of the government" is "overly simplistic and incorrect." Among other things, he said, the PFA is empowered by the Legislature "to make contracts, issue guarantees and execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers" and "to appoint, employ and contract for the services of officers, agents, employees and professional assistants…"
He cited the audit's criticism that some $450,000 was paid to the PFA's financial adviser, First Union Capital Markets, "for work unrelated to the authority's primary areas of responsibility." The response then addresses, item by item:
– Conversations regarding Washington initiatives, including amendments to the Revised Organic Act, federal rum excise tax cover-over rate adjustments, federal grants and forgiveness of Federal Emergency Management Agency loans.
– Discussion of V.I. government Fiscal Year 2001 and 2002 budget preparations.
– Analysis of the cost of implementing step increases for union employees.
– Analysis and discussion of salary proposals for teachers union arbitration.
– Preparation of cost benefit analyses of three retirement plan options.
– Collection of delinquent property taxes.
– Researching the possible privatization of the public transit system and contracting out of administration of the Workers' Compensation program.
– Reimbursement of government personnel for incidental expenses.
All, the governor said, "are directly related to the authority's efforts to aid the government of the Virgin Islands in the performance of its fiscal duties and to raise capital for essential public projects," and thus "fall squarely within PFA's statutory mandate."
He did say that billings by the financial adviser of $6,000 in cellular phone charges "will be reviewed, and any that are not related" to PFA responsibilities "will be billed back to the government."
Turnbull next addressed the audit's criticism of $42,000 paid to its bond counsel, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, for conferences and meetings pertaining to the V.I. Hotel, hospital privatization, a mortgage foreclosure, and government payroll and deficits; review of legislation related to a local communications firm; and related out-of-pocket expenses. Again, he said, all of the items "are, in fact, directly related to the PFA's responsibility."
"Work related to the issuance of the 1999 revenue bonds required review and opinions concerning the deficit, government payroll and potential adverse effects of proposed legislation on the gross receipts revenue stream, including a bill granting further tax exemptions to a communications carrier," he said. The mortgage foreclosure conferences concerned the Kings Alley loan made by the PFA in the prior administration, which was foreclosed, specifically to several proposed structures utilizing tax-exempt vehicles to revitalize the complex. And the V.I. Hotel work involved use of bond vehicles "to rehabilitate a non-productive asset." Work related to privatizing the hospitals "focused on the tax treatment of outstanding bonds."
A questioned trip to Norway by a private individual was by a V.I. Agriculture Department researcher and concerned "an initiative to reintroduce aquaculture to St. Croix," Turnbull said, and "private activity bonds were under consideration as a means to finance such a project." And "assertions that government employees traveled to New York to attend a holiday party are untrue, and were corrected in a letter dated April 30, 2001, a copy of which the prior director received at the time," he said.
Regarding $367,000 paid to Johnston & Associates, the consulting firm of a former U.S. senator, in 1997-98, Turnbull said: "The present administration has no knowledge as to the services provided under this contract." That, in fact, is what the audit found — that the contractor had provided no documentation of the services provided, only time-based billings.
Legal fees
The audit faulted the payment of $1.73 million to the government's Washington, D.C., law firm, Winston & Strawn, for expenses it found should for the most part have been billed to the Office of the Governor, not to the PFA.
"Aside from whether the [inspector general's] 'opinion' is well founded on the merits (which it is not)," Turnbull said, "that 'opi nion' concerning how the Office of the Governor and the PFA should exercise their discretion is simply outside the scope" of the inspector general's audit authority. Again, he said, the allegations in this area "are thus without basis and must be deleted."
The draft report faulted the payment of $86,000 to the government's bond counsel, Buchanan Ingersoll, on similar grounds, and the governor similarly responded that the work done fell "well within PFA's statutory authority." Much of it had to do with "private activity bond initiatives aimed at spurring economic development and job retention," Turnbull said.
Collection of loans
The audit concluded that the PFA has been lax in pursuing defaulted loans or obligations. That, Turnbull said, is a mistaken conclusion "based on incomplete information."
– In the case of a loan to Development Consultants Inc. for redevelopment of the Kings Alley complex in Christiansted, "the PFA commenced foreclosure proceedings on Nov. 20, 2000, and received judgment of foreclosure on March 13, 2001." It has since purchased the property and formed a company to operate it on the PFA's behalf "until it is able to sell it to recoup its investments."
– In the case of a $5 million cash collateralized guarantee provided in the form of a certificate of deposit to the developer planning to renovate the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina on St. Thomas, the loan was paid off last July 15; all that is outstanding is $120,883 in interest still due "as agreed with the lender."
Turnbull concluded his response by stating to van Beverhoudt that he "would be pleased to make available to your office the authority's new director," as well as government financial advisers and counsel "to further supplement the responses made in this letter, to ensure that any findings are supported by fact and law, and to answer any questions you may have."
According to the draft document, delivered to Turnbull on Oct. 1, Mapp was given repeated opportunities to comment on the findings but did not do so. The document states that a preliminary draft was delivered to him on July 10, and "after several followup requests," a meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6, when Mapp "stated that he was not prepared to discuss the report and requested an extension." A second meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13, but "shortly prior to the scheduled meeting time," the report states, "we received a fax from the director indicating that he was still not fully prepared to discuss the report. Therefore, we are issuing this formal draft report without benefit of an exit conference."
Following initial accounts of the contents of the draft published last Tuesday, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality."
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In it, the governor argues that the draft report is full of "findings which are legally or factually incorrect" and, further, "addresses policy decisions by the PFA that are properly outside the scope" of the Inspector General's Office. It contains "impermissible conjecture and irrelevant opinion," he says, and "must, therefore, be substantially revised before it is issued as a final report."
If this is not done, he said, the result could be "serious consequences for the authority's pending financial transactions."
Turnbull was asked to respond to the draft report in his capacity as chair of the PFA board of directors, a position which he holds by virtue of being governor. Van Beverhoudt has said that he will not comment on the governor's response but that it will be included in the final audit report, as is standard practice with responses requested of the top officials of agencies that have been audited.
Van Beverhoudt had submitted the 30-page draft report to Turnbull on Oct. 1, asking in a cover letter that he respond by Oct. 16 and stating that if a response were not received by that date, the final report would be issued without benefit of the governor's comments.
Last week, the draft report was leaked to the news media, resulting in extensive coverage of its contents, which are highly critical of the PFA.
On Wednesday, Turnbull responded in a press release to media reports concerning comments he had made in a television appearance on Oct. 17. The release said: "Certain news reports in the print and broadcast media suggest that I misled the Virgin Islands public during an interview on Oct. 17 while appearing on TV2 with regard to reading the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority. Let me again assure the Virgin Islands public that I had not seen the federal inspector general's draft of the audit at the time of the interview."
On Thursday, in another release, the governor took "strong exception to nearly all of the findings" in the draft report, saying its "analysis and conclusions" are "substantiated by neither law nor fact," and also decried the unauthorized release of the report to the news media.
On Friday, Government House released to the media the 21-page response that Turnbull had submitted to Van Beverhoudt, dated Oct. 16.
For a summary of the contents of the draft report, see "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".
For details on the governor's statement issued Wednesday, see "Turnbull: PFA audit report unseen as of Oct. 17".
For a report on the governor's press release on Thursday criticizing the report, see "Turnbull lambastes PFA draft audit report".
Following is a summary of the governor's response to the draft report, released to the media on Friday:
Authority issues
Turnbull in his introduction said the draft audit report "has exceeded the scope of the inspector general's authority by impermissibly opining on matters of local public policy that Congress has delegated to the local government." He said:
– The office "has apparently misread or misunderstood the scope of PFA's legal authority and the broad role it plays in assisting the government" in "performing its fiscal duties."
– The draft report "reaches incorrect conclusions" based on its "misunderstanding" of the Internal Revenue Code and/or its "assumption of false, mischaracterized or incomplete facts."
– The draft report "impermissibly ventures beyond its authorized scope by opining on matters of purely local public policy."
– The Inspector General's Office has the authority to audit the authority periodically "for instances of fraud or serious malfeasance and recommend appropriate remedies. The draft report, however, makes no such findings."
The response document is drafted in the form of a legal brief and contains numerous federal court case citations, both footnoted and within the text. Turnbull said case law supports the view that the Office of Inspector General "must afford the government of the Virgin Islands, including the PFA, due deference in its policy decisions with respect to matters of local self-government." He said it "is not within the province" of the inspector general "to second-guess local government policies unless the audit reveals fraud and other serious problems, abuses and deficiencies."
Turnbull charged that the draft report "is unfocused and of indeterminate scope" and is "non-specific as to the period under review," and that many of its findings are "obviated by the facts as they exist today." Also, he said, "the quality of the audit work, particularly with respect to the discussion of the use of bond proceeds and consistency" with federal regulations "is suspect."
He said that to his knowledge, the Office of Inspector General did not consult with the PFA bond counsel or financial advisers but "appears to have relied … on the apparently self-serving memoranda of the authority's now-departed director of finance and administration issued days before the end of his tenure." The reference is to Amadeo Francis, whom Turnbull fired last December. The PFA board voted to bring him back on a transitional basis in February, but he rejected the offered interim contract.
The governor is at pains throughout the response to distinguish between his administration and that of his predecessor, Roy L. Schneider. The audit covers fiscal activity from the mid-1990s, when Schneider was governor, through the end of last year, the third of Turnbull's term.
"While the report does identify instances of apparent delay on the part of previous administrations, any conclusion or inference that the present administration violated the [Internal Revenue Code], participated in impermissible delays or sanctioned purported instances of 'ineffective' use of proceeds is unwarranted and must be withdrawn," the governor said.
Tax-exempt status of bonds
He said statements in the draft report that the PFA allowed bond money to go unused past the date for being tax-exempt, leaving the agency susceptible to as much as $8.8 million in tax penalties, "are demonstrably false," and that the inspector general "has incorrectly applied the federal corporate income tax rate" to arrive at the figure. "Bond counsel has advised that at no time were the referenced bonds subject to loss of tax-exempt status or other tax penalty," he said.
Further, he said, the bonds in question "were advance refunded from proceeds of the 1998 matching fund bonds in May 1998, thus mooting the issue," and at the time, "no issues were raised as to the tax-exempt status of the refunded bonds." He said Francis "first brought the issue to the current board days before the end of his tenure," and that at Turnbull's request, the "PFA's bond counsel investigated this issue in January of 2002," concluding that "the prior bonds would retain their tax-exempt status."
According to the governor, the draft audit report's finding of reprogrammed bond proceeds not used in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code "lacks sufficient detail to render any conclusion as t o its accuracy" and "is without merit and should be deleted." He said it is the opinion of bond counsel that three cited expenditures in the draft report — $52,000 for voting machines, $41,000 for speakers and $19,000 for the painting of a mural — "could, in fact, be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds without violating the provisions of the IRC."
(In his response, Turnbull criticized Francis for investing $40 million from the PFA's 1998 Bond Debt Service Reserve Fund in the money market fund of the authority's financial adviser, which at the time was also its investment manager. The Turnbull administration dropped the company as financial adviser, but Francis kept it on as investment manager. "Despite the repeated recommendations of the present financial adviser to consider investment in higher-yielding guaranteed investment contracts, [Francis] refused to consider the recommendation," the governor said, and as a result, "PFA's earning dropped dramatically."
(Kenneth Mapp, Francis's successor, "has accepted the recommendation … to invest the bond proceeds in guaranteed investment contracts … and the authority is now earning more than $1.5 million per year above what was earned in the previous investment regime," Turnbull said.)
School reconstruction issues
Turning to the audit's finding of extensive cost overruns and construction delays in the rebuilding of three St. Thomas schools destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, Turnbull said the overruns, delays "and innumerable change-order requests" were due in large part to "design and engineering errors" on the part of the construction firm contracted to provide management services for the projects, Heery International. Even so, he said, "there is absolutely no evidence to support your contention that the cost overruns are $17.3 million."
Again distancing his administration from that of Schneider, he suggests that some "cost overruns" may have resulted from the omission of "essential infrastructure components" in the contracting process in "the apparent rush of the prior administration to initiate ground-breaking ceremonies for the projects in advance of the last gubernatorial election." In that election, Schneider lost his bid for re-election to Turnbull.
Further, Turnbull said, "My administration and the current leadership of the PFA have, since the appointment of the new director [Mapp], undertaken to develop an aggressive strategy to assist the authority in getting the projects back on track, while achieving a comprehensive resolution of the various cost overruns, defective/incomplete work and design and construction issues for which Heery may be responsible."
Professional contracts
The governor said the audit's findings that the PFA did not ensure that "costs related to professional service contracts" were within its "primary areas of responsibility" and its recommendation that the authority seek competitive bids for professional contracts "cannot withstand scrutiny and must be withdrawn." The draft report recommended that the PFA follow a policy of previous years of seeking bids, while noting that there is no legal obligation that it do so. Turnbull said the issue is one of "PFA's internal policies" and "outside the scope" of the inspector general.
He said the draft report's description of the authority's primary functions as "raising and managing capital on behalf of the government" is "overly simplistic and incorrect." Among other things, he said, the PFA is empowered by the Legislature "to make contracts, issue guarantees and execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers" and "to appoint, employ and contract for the services of officers, agents, employees and professional assistants…"
He cited the audit's criticism that some $450,000 was paid to the PFA's financial adviser, First Union Capital Markets, "for work unrelated to the authority's primary areas of responsibility." The response then addresses, item by item:
– Conversations regarding Washington initiatives, including amendments to the Revised Organic Act, federal rum excise tax cover-over rate adjustments, federal grants and forgiveness of Federal Emergency Management Agency loans.
– Discussion of V.I. government Fiscal Year 2001 and 2002 budget preparations.
– Analysis of the cost of implementing step increases for union employees.
– Analysis and discussion of salary proposals for teachers union arbitration.
– Preparation of cost benefit analyses of three retirement plan options.
– Collection of delinquent property taxes.
– Researching the possible privatization of the public transit system and contracting out of administration of the Workers' Compensation program.
– Reimbursement of government personnel for incidental expenses.
All, the governor said, "are directly related to the authority's efforts to aid the government of the Virgin Islands in the performance of its fiscal duties and to raise capital for essential public projects," and thus "fall squarely within PFA's statutory mandate."
He did say that billings by the financial adviser of $6,000 in cellular phone charges "will be reviewed, and any that are not related" to PFA responsibilities "will be billed back to the government."
Turnbull next addressed the audit's criticism of $42,000 paid to its bond counsel, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, for conferences and meetings pertaining to the V.I. Hotel, hospital privatization, a mortgage foreclosure, and government payroll and deficits; review of legislation related to a local communications firm; and related out-of-pocket expenses. Again, he said, all of the items "are, in fact, directly related to the PFA's responsibility."
"Work related to the issuance of the 1999 revenue bonds required review and opinions concerning the deficit, government payroll and potential adverse effects of proposed legislation on the gross receipts revenue stream, including a bill granting further tax exemptions to a communications carrier," he said. The mortgage foreclosure conferences concerned the Kings Alley loan made by the PFA in the prior administration, which was foreclosed, specifically to several proposed structures utilizing tax-exempt vehicles to revitalize the complex. And the V.I. Hotel work involved use of bond vehicles "to rehabilitate a non-productive asset." Work related to privatizing the hospitals "focused on the tax treatment of outstanding bonds."
A questioned trip to Norway by a private individual was by a V.I. Agriculture Department researcher and concerned "an initiative to reintroduce aquaculture to St. Croix," Turnbull said, and "private activity bonds were under consideration as a means to finance such a project." And "assertions that government employees traveled to New York to attend a holiday party are untrue, and were corrected in a letter dated April 30, 2001, a copy of which the prior director received at the time," he said.
Regarding $367,000 paid to Johnston & Associates, the consulting firm of a former U.S. senator, in 1997-98, Turnbull said: "The present administration has no knowledge as to the services provided under this contract." That, in fact, is what the audit found — that the contractor had provided no documentation of the services provided, only time-based billings.
Legal fees
The audit faulted the payment of $1.73 million to the government's Washington, D.C., law firm, Winston & Strawn, for expenses it found should for the most part have been billed to the Office of the Governor, not to the PFA.
"Aside from whether the [inspector general's] 'opinion' is well founded on the merits (which it is not)," Turnbull said, "that 'opi nion' concerning how the Office of the Governor and the PFA should exercise their discretion is simply outside the scope" of the inspector general's audit authority. Again, he said, the allegations in this area "are thus without basis and must be deleted."
The draft report faulted the payment of $86,000 to the government's bond counsel, Buchanan Ingersoll, on similar grounds, and the governor similarly responded that the work done fell "well within PFA's statutory authority." Much of it had to do with "private activity bond initiatives aimed at spurring economic development and job retention," Turnbull said.
Collection of loans
The audit concluded that the PFA has been lax in pursuing defaulted loans or obligations. That, Turnbull said, is a mistaken conclusion "based on incomplete information."
– In the case of a loan to Development Consultants Inc. for redevelopment of the Kings Alley complex in Christiansted, "the PFA commenced foreclosure proceedings on Nov. 20, 2000, and received judgment of foreclosure on March 13, 2001." It has since purchased the property and formed a company to operate it on the PFA's behalf "until it is able to sell it to recoup its investments."
– In the case of a $5 million cash collateralized guarantee provided in the form of a certificate of deposit to the developer planning to renovate the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina on St. Thomas, the loan was paid off last July 15; all that is outstanding is $120,883 in interest still due "as agreed with the lender."
Turnbull concluded his response by stating to van Beverhoudt that he "would be pleased to make available to your office the authority's new director," as well as government financial advisers and counsel "to further supplement the responses made in this letter, to ensure that any findings are supported by fact and law, and to answer any questions you may have."
According to the draft document, delivered to Turnbull on Oct. 1, Mapp was given repeated opportunities to comment on the findings but did not do so. The document states that a preliminary draft was delivered to him on July 10, and "after several followup requests," a meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6, when Mapp "stated that he was not prepared to discuss the report and requested an extension." A second meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13, but "shortly prior to the scheduled meeting time," the report states, "we received a fax from the director indicating that he was still not fully prepared to discuss the report. Therefore, we are issuing this formal draft report without benefit of an exit conference."
Following initial accounts of the contents of the draft published last Tuesday, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality."
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TURNBULL WANTS PFA AUDIT REPORT REVISED
Oct. 28, 2002 – The response of Gov. Charles W. Turnbull to the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority prepared by the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Inspector General is a 21-page document dated Oct. 16, 2002, that is addressed to Arnold van Beverhoudt, regional audit manager.
In it, the governor argues that the draft report is full of "findings which are legally or factually incorrect" and, further, "addresses policy decisions by the PFA that are properly outside the scope" of the Inspector General's Office. It contains "impermissible conjecture and irrelevant opinion," he says, and "must, therefore, be substantially revised before it is issued as a final report."
If this is not done, he said, the result could be "serious consequences for the authority's pending financial transactions."
Turnbull was asked to respond to the draft report in his capacity as chair of the PFA board of directors, a position which he holds by virtue of being governor. Van Beverhoudt has said that he will not comment on the governor's response but that it will be included in the final audit report, as is standard practice with responses requested of the top officials of agencies that have been audited.
Van Beverhoudt had submitted the 30-page draft report to Turnbull on Oct. 1, asking in a cover letter that he respond by Oct. 16 and stating that if a response were not received by that date, the final report would be issued without benefit of the governor's comments.
Last week, the draft report was leaked to the news media, resulting in extensive coverage of its contents, which are highly critical of the PFA.
On Wednesday, Turnbull responded in a press release to media reports concerning comments he had made in a television appearance on Oct. 17. The release said: "Certain news reports in the print and broadcast media suggest that I misled the Virgin Islands public during an interview on Oct. 17 while appearing on TV2 with regard to reading the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority. Let me again assure the Virgin Islands public that I had not seen the federal inspector general's draft of the audit at the time of the interview."
On Thursday, in another release, the governor took "strong exception to nearly all of the findings" in the draft report, saying its "analysis and conclusions" are "substantiated by neither law nor fact," and also decried the unauthorized release of the report to the news media.
On Friday, Government House released to the media the 21-page response that Turnbull had submitted to Van Beverhoudt, dated Oct. 16.
For a summary of the contents of the draft report, see "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".
For details on the governor's statement issued Wednesday, see "Turnbull: PFA audit report unseen as of Oct. 17".
For a report on the governor's press release on Thursday criticizing the report, see "Turnbull lambastes PFA draft audit report".
Following is a summary of the governor's response to the draft report, released to the media on Friday:
Authority issues
Turnbull in his introduction said the draft audit report "has exceeded the scope of the inspector general's authority by impermissibly opining on matters of local public policy that Congress has delegated to the local government." He said:
– The office "has apparently misread or misunderstood the scope of PFA's legal authority and the broad role it plays in assisting the government" in "performing its fiscal duties."
– The draft report "reaches incorrect conclusions" based on its "misunderstanding" of the Internal Revenue Code and/or its "assumption of false, mischaracterized or incomplete facts."
– The draft report "impermissibly ventures beyond its authorized scope by opining on matters of purely local public policy."
– The Inspector General's Office has the authority to audit the authority periodically "for instances of fraud or serious malfeasance and recommend appropriate remedies. The draft report, however, makes no such findings."
The response document is drafted in the form of a legal brief and contains numerous federal court case citations, both footnoted and within the text. Turnbull said case law supports the view that the Office of Inspector General "must afford the government of the Virgin Islands, including the PFA, due deference in its policy decisions with respect to matters of local self-government." He said it "is not within the province" of the inspector general "to second-guess local government policies unless the audit reveals fraud and other serious problems, abuses and deficiencies."
Turnbull charged that the draft report "is unfocused and of indeterminate scope" and is "non-specific as to the period under review," and that many of its findings are "obviated by the facts as they exist today." Also, he said, "the quality of the audit work, particularly with respect to the discussion of the use of bond proceeds and consistency" with federal regulations "is suspect."
He said that to his knowledge, the Office of Inspector General did not consult with the PFA bond counsel or financial advisers but "appears to have relied … on the apparently self-serving memoranda of the authority's now-departed director of finance and administration issued days before the end of his tenure." The reference is to Amadeo Francis, whom Turnbull fired last December. The PFA board voted to bring him back on a transitional basis in February, but he rejected the offered interim contract.
The governor is at pains throughout the response to distinguish between his administration and that of his predecessor, Roy L. Schneider. The audit covers fiscal activity from the mid-1990s, when Schneider was governor, through the end of last year, the third of Turnbull's term.
"While the report does identify instances of apparent delay on the part of previous administrations, any conclusion or inference that the present administration violated the [Internal Revenue Code], participated in impermissible delays or sanctioned purported instances of 'ineffective' use of proceeds is unwarranted and must be withdrawn," the governor said.
Tax-exempt status of bonds
He said statements in the draft report that the PFA allowed bond money to go unused past the date for being tax-exempt, leaving the agency susceptible to as much as $8.8 million in tax penalties, "are demonstrably false," and that the inspector general "has incorrectly applied the federal corporate income tax rate" to arrive at the figure. "Bond counsel has advised that at no time were the referenced bonds subject to loss of tax-exempt status or other tax penalty," he said.
Further, he said, the bonds in question "were advance refunded from proceeds of the 1998 matching fund bonds in May 1998, thus mooting the issue," and at the time, "no issues were raised as to the tax-exempt status of the refunded bonds." He said Francis "first brought the issue to the current board days before the end of his tenure," and that at Turnbull's request, the "PFA's bond counsel investigated this issue in January of 2002," concluding that "the prior bonds would retain their tax-exempt status."
According to the governor, the draft audit report's finding of reprogrammed bond proceeds not used in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code "lacks sufficient detail to render any conclusio n as to its accuracy" and "is without merit and should be deleted." He said it is the opinion of bond counsel that three cited expenditures in the draft report — $52,000 for voting machines, $41,000 for speakers and $19,000 for the painting of a mural — "could, in fact, be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds without violating the provisions of the IRC."
(In his response, Turnbull criticized Francis for investing $40 million from the PFA's 1998 Bond Debt Service Reserve Fund in the money market fund of the authority's financial adviser, which at the time was also its investment manager. The Turnbull administration dropped the company as financial adviser, but Francis kept it on as investment manager. "Despite the repeated recommendations of the present financial adviser to consider investment in higher-yielding guaranteed investment contracts, [Francis] refused to consider the recommendation," the governor said, and as a result, "PFA's earning dropped dramatically."
(Kenneth Mapp, Francis's successor, "has accepted the recommendation … to invest the bond proceeds in guaranteed investment contracts … and the authority is now earning more than $1.5 million per year above what was earned in the previous investment regime," Turnbull said.)
School reconstruction issues
Turning to the audit's finding of extensive cost overruns and construction delays in the rebuilding of three St. Thomas schools destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, Turnbull said the overruns, delays "and innumerable change-order requests" were due in large part to "design and engineering errors" on the part of the construction firm contracted to provide management services for the projects, Heery International. Even so, he said, "there is absolutely no evidence to support your contention that the cost overruns are $17.3 million."
Again distancing his administration from that of Schneider, he suggests that some "cost overruns" may have resulted from the omission of "essential infrastructure components" in the contracting process in "the apparent rush of the prior administration to initiate ground-breaking ceremonies for the projects in advance of the last gubernatorial election." In that election, Schneider lost his bid for re-election to Turnbull.
Further, Turnbull said, "My administration and the current leadership of the PFA have, since the appointment of the new director [Mapp], undertaken to develop an aggressive strategy to assist the authority in getting the projects back on track, while achieving a comprehensive resolution of the various cost overruns, defective/incomplete work and design and construction issues for which Heery may be responsible."
Professional contracts
The governor said the audit's findings that the PFA did not ensure that "costs related to professional service contracts" were within its "primary areas of responsibility" and its recommendation that the authority seek competitive bids for professional contracts "cannot withstand scrutiny and must be withdrawn." The draft report recommended that the PFA follow a policy of previous years of seeking bids, while noting that there is no legal obligation that it do so. Turnbull said the issue is one of "PFA's internal policies" and "outside the scope" of the inspector general.
He said the draft report's description of the authority's primary functions as "raising and managing capital on behalf of the government" is "overly simplistic and incorrect." Among other things, he said, the PFA is empowered by the Legislature "to make contracts, issue guarantees and execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers" and "to appoint, employ and contract for the services of officers, agents, employees and professional assistants…"
He cited the audit's criticism that some $450,000 was paid to the PFA's financial adviser, First Union Capital Markets, "for work unrelated to the authority's primary areas of responsibility." The response then addresses, item by item:
– Conversations regarding Washington initiatives, including amendments to the Revised Organic Act, federal rum excise tax cover-over rate adjustments, federal grants and forgiveness of Federal Emergency Management Agency loans.
– Discussion of V.I. government Fiscal Year 2001 and 2002 budget preparations.
– Analysis of the cost of implementing step increases for union employees.
– Analysis and discussion of salary proposals for teachers union arbitration.
– Preparation of cost benefit analyses of three retirement plan options.
– Collection of delinquent property taxes.
– Researching the possible privatization of the public transit system and contracting out of administration of the Workers' Compensation program.
– Reimbursement of government personnel for incidental expenses.
All, the governor said, "are directly related to the authority's efforts to aid the government of the Virgin Islands in the performance of its fiscal duties and to raise capital for essential public projects," and thus "fall squarely within PFA's statutory mandate."
He did say that billings by the financial adviser of $6,000 in cellular phone charges "will be reviewed, and any that are not related" to PFA responsibilities "will be billed back to the government."
Turnbull next addressed the audit's criticism of $42,000 paid to its bond counsel, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, for conferences and meetings pertaining to the V.I. Hotel, hospital privatization, a mortgage foreclosure, and government payroll and deficits; review of legislation related to a local communications firm; and related out-of-pocket expenses. Again, he said, all of the items "are, in fact, directly related to the PFA's responsibility."
"Work related to the issuance of the 1999 revenue bonds required review and opinions concerning the deficit, government payroll and potential adverse effects of proposed legislation on the gross receipts revenue stream, including a bill granting further tax exemptions to a communications carrier," he said. The mortgage foreclosure conferences concerned the Kings Alley loan made by the PFA in the prior administration, which was foreclosed, specifically to several proposed structures utilizing tax-exempt vehicles to revitalize the complex. And the V.I. Hotel work involved use of bond vehicles "to rehabilitate a non-productive asset." Work related to privatizing the hospitals "focused on the tax treatment of outstanding bonds."
A questioned trip to Norway by a private individual was by a V.I. Agriculture Department researcher and concerned "an initiative to reintroduce aquaculture to St. Croix," Turnbull said, and "private activity bonds were under consideration as a means to finance such a project." And "assertions that government employees traveled to New York to attend a holiday party are untrue, and were corrected in a letter dated April 30, 2001, a copy of which the prior director received at the time," he said.
Regarding $367,000 paid to Johnston & Associates, the consulting firm of a former U.S. senator, in 1997-98, Turnbull said: "The present administration has no knowledge as to the services provided under this contract." That, in fact, is what the audit found — that the contractor had provided no documentation of the services provided, only time-based billings.
Legal fees
The audit faulted the payment of $1.73 million to the government's Washington, D.C., law firm, Winston & Strawn, for expenses it found should for the most part have been billed to the Office of the Governor, not to the PFA.
"Aside from whether the [inspector general's] 'opinion' is well founded on the merits (which it is not)," Turnbull said, "that &# 39;opinion' concerning how the Office of the Governor and the PFA should exercise their discretion is simply outside the scope" of the inspector general's audit authority. Again, he said, the allegations in this area "are thus without basis and must be deleted."
The draft report faulted the payment of $86,000 to the government's bond counsel, Buchanan Ingersoll, on similar grounds, and the governor similarly responded that the work done fell "well within PFA's statutory authority." Much of it had to do with "private activity bond initiatives aimed at spurring economic development and job retention," Turnbull said.
Collection of loans
The audit concluded that the PFA has been lax in pursuing defaulted loans or obligations. That, Turnbull said, is a mistaken conclusion "based on incomplete information."
– In the case of a loan to Development Consultants Inc. for redevelopment of the Kings Alley complex in Christiansted, "the PFA commenced foreclosure proceedings on Nov. 20, 2000, and received judgment of foreclosure on March 13, 2001." It has since purchased the property and formed a company to operate it on the PFA's behalf "until it is able to sell it to recoup its investments."
– In the case of a $5 million cash collateralized guarantee provided in the form of a certificate of deposit to the developer planning to renovate the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina on St. Thomas, the loan was paid off last July 15; all that is outstanding is $120,883 in interest still due "as agreed with the lender."
Turnbull concluded his response by stating to van Beverhoudt that he "would be pleased to make available to your office the authority's new director," as well as government financial advisers and counsel "to further supplement the responses made in this letter, to ensure that any findings are supported by fact and law, and to answer any questions you may have."
According to the draft document, delivered to Turnbull on Oct. 1, Mapp was given repeated opportunities to comment on the findings but did not do so. The document states that a preliminary draft was delivered to him on July 10, and "after several followup requests," a meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6, when Mapp "stated that he was not prepared to discuss the report and requested an extension." A second meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13, but "shortly prior to the scheduled meeting time," the report states, "we received a fax from the director indicating that he was still not fully prepared to discuss the report. Therefore, we are issuing this formal draft report without benefit of an exit conference."
Following initial accounts of the contents of the draft published last Tuesday, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality."
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.
In it, the governor argues that the draft report is full of "findings which are legally or factually incorrect" and, further, "addresses policy decisions by the PFA that are properly outside the scope" of the Inspector General's Office. It contains "impermissible conjecture and irrelevant opinion," he says, and "must, therefore, be substantially revised before it is issued as a final report."
If this is not done, he said, the result could be "serious consequences for the authority's pending financial transactions."
Turnbull was asked to respond to the draft report in his capacity as chair of the PFA board of directors, a position which he holds by virtue of being governor. Van Beverhoudt has said that he will not comment on the governor's response but that it will be included in the final audit report, as is standard practice with responses requested of the top officials of agencies that have been audited.
Van Beverhoudt had submitted the 30-page draft report to Turnbull on Oct. 1, asking in a cover letter that he respond by Oct. 16 and stating that if a response were not received by that date, the final report would be issued without benefit of the governor's comments.
Last week, the draft report was leaked to the news media, resulting in extensive coverage of its contents, which are highly critical of the PFA.
On Wednesday, Turnbull responded in a press release to media reports concerning comments he had made in a television appearance on Oct. 17. The release said: "Certain news reports in the print and broadcast media suggest that I misled the Virgin Islands public during an interview on Oct. 17 while appearing on TV2 with regard to reading the draft audit report on the Public Finance Authority. Let me again assure the Virgin Islands public that I had not seen the federal inspector general's draft of the audit at the time of the interview."
On Thursday, in another release, the governor took "strong exception to nearly all of the findings" in the draft report, saying its "analysis and conclusions" are "substantiated by neither law nor fact," and also decried the unauthorized release of the report to the news media.
On Friday, Government House released to the media the 21-page response that Turnbull had submitted to Van Beverhoudt, dated Oct. 16.
For a summary of the contents of the draft report, see "Audit faults PFA for management, spending ills".
For details on the governor's statement issued Wednesday, see "Turnbull: PFA audit report unseen as of Oct. 17".
For a report on the governor's press release on Thursday criticizing the report, see "Turnbull lambastes PFA draft audit report".
Following is a summary of the governor's response to the draft report, released to the media on Friday:
Authority issues
Turnbull in his introduction said the draft audit report "has exceeded the scope of the inspector general's authority by impermissibly opining on matters of local public policy that Congress has delegated to the local government." He said:
– The office "has apparently misread or misunderstood the scope of PFA's legal authority and the broad role it plays in assisting the government" in "performing its fiscal duties."
– The draft report "reaches incorrect conclusions" based on its "misunderstanding" of the Internal Revenue Code and/or its "assumption of false, mischaracterized or incomplete facts."
– The draft report "impermissibly ventures beyond its authorized scope by opining on matters of purely local public policy."
– The Inspector General's Office has the authority to audit the authority periodically "for instances of fraud or serious malfeasance and recommend appropriate remedies. The draft report, however, makes no such findings."
The response document is drafted in the form of a legal brief and contains numerous federal court case citations, both footnoted and within the text. Turnbull said case law supports the view that the Office of Inspector General "must afford the government of the Virgin Islands, including the PFA, due deference in its policy decisions with respect to matters of local self-government." He said it "is not within the province" of the inspector general "to second-guess local government policies unless the audit reveals fraud and other serious problems, abuses and deficiencies."
Turnbull charged that the draft report "is unfocused and of indeterminate scope" and is "non-specific as to the period under review," and that many of its findings are "obviated by the facts as they exist today." Also, he said, "the quality of the audit work, particularly with respect to the discussion of the use of bond proceeds and consistency" with federal regulations "is suspect."
He said that to his knowledge, the Office of Inspector General did not consult with the PFA bond counsel or financial advisers but "appears to have relied … on the apparently self-serving memoranda of the authority's now-departed director of finance and administration issued days before the end of his tenure." The reference is to Amadeo Francis, whom Turnbull fired last December. The PFA board voted to bring him back on a transitional basis in February, but he rejected the offered interim contract.
The governor is at pains throughout the response to distinguish between his administration and that of his predecessor, Roy L. Schneider. The audit covers fiscal activity from the mid-1990s, when Schneider was governor, through the end of last year, the third of Turnbull's term.
"While the report does identify instances of apparent delay on the part of previous administrations, any conclusion or inference that the present administration violated the [Internal Revenue Code], participated in impermissible delays or sanctioned purported instances of 'ineffective' use of proceeds is unwarranted and must be withdrawn," the governor said.
Tax-exempt status of bonds
He said statements in the draft report that the PFA allowed bond money to go unused past the date for being tax-exempt, leaving the agency susceptible to as much as $8.8 million in tax penalties, "are demonstrably false," and that the inspector general "has incorrectly applied the federal corporate income tax rate" to arrive at the figure. "Bond counsel has advised that at no time were the referenced bonds subject to loss of tax-exempt status or other tax penalty," he said.
Further, he said, the bonds in question "were advance refunded from proceeds of the 1998 matching fund bonds in May 1998, thus mooting the issue," and at the time, "no issues were raised as to the tax-exempt status of the refunded bonds." He said Francis "first brought the issue to the current board days before the end of his tenure," and that at Turnbull's request, the "PFA's bond counsel investigated this issue in January of 2002," concluding that "the prior bonds would retain their tax-exempt status."
According to the governor, the draft audit report's finding of reprogrammed bond proceeds not used in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code "lacks sufficient detail to render any conclusio n as to its accuracy" and "is without merit and should be deleted." He said it is the opinion of bond counsel that three cited expenditures in the draft report — $52,000 for voting machines, $41,000 for speakers and $19,000 for the painting of a mural — "could, in fact, be financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds without violating the provisions of the IRC."
(In his response, Turnbull criticized Francis for investing $40 million from the PFA's 1998 Bond Debt Service Reserve Fund in the money market fund of the authority's financial adviser, which at the time was also its investment manager. The Turnbull administration dropped the company as financial adviser, but Francis kept it on as investment manager. "Despite the repeated recommendations of the present financial adviser to consider investment in higher-yielding guaranteed investment contracts, [Francis] refused to consider the recommendation," the governor said, and as a result, "PFA's earning dropped dramatically."
(Kenneth Mapp, Francis's successor, "has accepted the recommendation … to invest the bond proceeds in guaranteed investment contracts … and the authority is now earning more than $1.5 million per year above what was earned in the previous investment regime," Turnbull said.)
School reconstruction issues
Turning to the audit's finding of extensive cost overruns and construction delays in the rebuilding of three St. Thomas schools destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, Turnbull said the overruns, delays "and innumerable change-order requests" were due in large part to "design and engineering errors" on the part of the construction firm contracted to provide management services for the projects, Heery International. Even so, he said, "there is absolutely no evidence to support your contention that the cost overruns are $17.3 million."
Again distancing his administration from that of Schneider, he suggests that some "cost overruns" may have resulted from the omission of "essential infrastructure components" in the contracting process in "the apparent rush of the prior administration to initiate ground-breaking ceremonies for the projects in advance of the last gubernatorial election." In that election, Schneider lost his bid for re-election to Turnbull.
Further, Turnbull said, "My administration and the current leadership of the PFA have, since the appointment of the new director [Mapp], undertaken to develop an aggressive strategy to assist the authority in getting the projects back on track, while achieving a comprehensive resolution of the various cost overruns, defective/incomplete work and design and construction issues for which Heery may be responsible."
Professional contracts
The governor said the audit's findings that the PFA did not ensure that "costs related to professional service contracts" were within its "primary areas of responsibility" and its recommendation that the authority seek competitive bids for professional contracts "cannot withstand scrutiny and must be withdrawn." The draft report recommended that the PFA follow a policy of previous years of seeking bids, while noting that there is no legal obligation that it do so. Turnbull said the issue is one of "PFA's internal policies" and "outside the scope" of the inspector general.
He said the draft report's description of the authority's primary functions as "raising and managing capital on behalf of the government" is "overly simplistic and incorrect." Among other things, he said, the PFA is empowered by the Legislature "to make contracts, issue guarantees and execute all instruments necessary or convenient in the exercise of its powers" and "to appoint, employ and contract for the services of officers, agents, employees and professional assistants…"
He cited the audit's criticism that some $450,000 was paid to the PFA's financial adviser, First Union Capital Markets, "for work unrelated to the authority's primary areas of responsibility." The response then addresses, item by item:
– Conversations regarding Washington initiatives, including amendments to the Revised Organic Act, federal rum excise tax cover-over rate adjustments, federal grants and forgiveness of Federal Emergency Management Agency loans.
– Discussion of V.I. government Fiscal Year 2001 and 2002 budget preparations.
– Analysis of the cost of implementing step increases for union employees.
– Analysis and discussion of salary proposals for teachers union arbitration.
– Preparation of cost benefit analyses of three retirement plan options.
– Collection of delinquent property taxes.
– Researching the possible privatization of the public transit system and contracting out of administration of the Workers' Compensation program.
– Reimbursement of government personnel for incidental expenses.
All, the governor said, "are directly related to the authority's efforts to aid the government of the Virgin Islands in the performance of its fiscal duties and to raise capital for essential public projects," and thus "fall squarely within PFA's statutory mandate."
He did say that billings by the financial adviser of $6,000 in cellular phone charges "will be reviewed, and any that are not related" to PFA responsibilities "will be billed back to the government."
Turnbull next addressed the audit's criticism of $42,000 paid to its bond counsel, Harris, Beach & Wilcox, for conferences and meetings pertaining to the V.I. Hotel, hospital privatization, a mortgage foreclosure, and government payroll and deficits; review of legislation related to a local communications firm; and related out-of-pocket expenses. Again, he said, all of the items "are, in fact, directly related to the PFA's responsibility."
"Work related to the issuance of the 1999 revenue bonds required review and opinions concerning the deficit, government payroll and potential adverse effects of proposed legislation on the gross receipts revenue stream, including a bill granting further tax exemptions to a communications carrier," he said. The mortgage foreclosure conferences concerned the Kings Alley loan made by the PFA in the prior administration, which was foreclosed, specifically to several proposed structures utilizing tax-exempt vehicles to revitalize the complex. And the V.I. Hotel work involved use of bond vehicles "to rehabilitate a non-productive asset." Work related to privatizing the hospitals "focused on the tax treatment of outstanding bonds."
A questioned trip to Norway by a private individual was by a V.I. Agriculture Department researcher and concerned "an initiative to reintroduce aquaculture to St. Croix," Turnbull said, and "private activity bonds were under consideration as a means to finance such a project." And "assertions that government employees traveled to New York to attend a holiday party are untrue, and were corrected in a letter dated April 30, 2001, a copy of which the prior director received at the time," he said.
Regarding $367,000 paid to Johnston & Associates, the consulting firm of a former U.S. senator, in 1997-98, Turnbull said: "The present administration has no knowledge as to the services provided under this contract." That, in fact, is what the audit found — that the contractor had provided no documentation of the services provided, only time-based billings.
Legal fees
The audit faulted the payment of $1.73 million to the government's Washington, D.C., law firm, Winston & Strawn, for expenses it found should for the most part have been billed to the Office of the Governor, not to the PFA.
"Aside from whether the [inspector general's] 'opinion' is well founded on the merits (which it is not)," Turnbull said, "that &# 39;opinion' concerning how the Office of the Governor and the PFA should exercise their discretion is simply outside the scope" of the inspector general's audit authority. Again, he said, the allegations in this area "are thus without basis and must be deleted."
The draft report faulted the payment of $86,000 to the government's bond counsel, Buchanan Ingersoll, on similar grounds, and the governor similarly responded that the work done fell "well within PFA's statutory authority." Much of it had to do with "private activity bond initiatives aimed at spurring economic development and job retention," Turnbull said.
Collection of loans
The audit concluded that the PFA has been lax in pursuing defaulted loans or obligations. That, Turnbull said, is a mistaken conclusion "based on incomplete information."
– In the case of a loan to Development Consultants Inc. for redevelopment of the Kings Alley complex in Christiansted, "the PFA commenced foreclosure proceedings on Nov. 20, 2000, and received judgment of foreclosure on March 13, 2001." It has since purchased the property and formed a company to operate it on the PFA's behalf "until it is able to sell it to recoup its investments."
– In the case of a $5 million cash collateralized guarantee provided in the form of a certificate of deposit to the developer planning to renovate the Yacht Haven Hotel and Marina on St. Thomas, the loan was paid off last July 15; all that is outstanding is $120,883 in interest still due "as agreed with the lender."
Turnbull concluded his response by stating to van Beverhoudt that he "would be pleased to make available to your office the authority's new director," as well as government financial advisers and counsel "to further supplement the responses made in this letter, to ensure that any findings are supported by fact and law, and to answer any questions you may have."
According to the draft document, delivered to Turnbull on Oct. 1, Mapp was given repeated opportunities to comment on the findings but did not do so. The document states that a preliminary draft was delivered to him on July 10, and "after several followup requests," a meeting was scheduled for Aug. 6, when Mapp "stated that he was not prepared to discuss the report and requested an extension." A second meeting was scheduled for Aug. 13, but "shortly prior to the scheduled meeting time," the report states, "we received a fax from the director indicating that he was still not fully prepared to discuss the report. Therefore, we are issuing this formal draft report without benefit of an exit conference."
Following initial accounts of the contents of the draft published last Tuesday, Mapp took to the airwaves to denounce the document as "fatally flawed and severely lacking in professional quality."
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HARBOUR NIGHT ENTITY TO ENDORSE CANDIDATES
Oct. 28, 2002 – With St. Croix businesses feeling the effects of last spring's pullout of three cruise lines because of crime and low demand for the destination, the promise of a long, difficult season is giving residents pause as to which political candidates are best equipped to help change things for the better.
Hugh Dalton, producer of the Harbour Night cultural arts events that used to be staged twice a month on evenings when cruise ships were in port in Frederiksted, said his organization is going to take a public stand.
"Since the cruise ship pullout, I have been receiving calls almost daily asking me to do something," he said. "My answer was 'What can I do?' I am not a part of the government, and have no decision in its direction."
However, Dalton, who also is the owner of the Dalton and Associates advertising and public relations agency in Frederiksted, has decided to place ads next weekend in the territory's two print daily newspapers listing the candidates endorsed by the Harbour Night organization for the Nov. 5 elections.
"Basically, it's input from a lot of people," he said. "A focused choice of selecting our political representatives will give us a chance to have input and then to let the elected officials know that from now on, you will be expected to perform and be evaluated every day, and it will be made public."
Dalton said he would not reveal the selected candidates until Friday, but he said the list comprises politicians who have supported Harbour Night in the past. "Primarily it's those people we feel can get something done, although they may not be the most politically savvy," he said. Candidates' priorities must be education, economic development, health care and crime, he said.
"What we're trying to do is mix leadership with some political naivete. If we can't have a different election process, let's still try to make them accountable," he said, referring to a stalled effort by Citizens for Legislative Reform, a group he is active in, to implement numbered seating in the Senate through the initiative process.
Dalton said the Harbour Night list will include an "unbiased" look at both incumbents and challengers for each territorywide and St. Croix district race. "Some of them were not friends," he said, adding that the candidates themselves will find out in the ads who made the cut.
"I have no personal relationships with any of them," he said. "I will probably make some enemies, but the integrity I have in doing this can't be questioned."
Dalton, who will be leaving the island shortly for medical reasons, said he will monitor the track records of the successful candidates monthly. He said Crucians must hold themselves accountable for "making it happen" and have a real reason for voting representatives in or out.
"The private-sector citizens must stay involved," he said. Even though public officials "work for us, we must give them daily direction."
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Hugh Dalton, producer of the Harbour Night cultural arts events that used to be staged twice a month on evenings when cruise ships were in port in Frederiksted, said his organization is going to take a public stand.
"Since the cruise ship pullout, I have been receiving calls almost daily asking me to do something," he said. "My answer was 'What can I do?' I am not a part of the government, and have no decision in its direction."
However, Dalton, who also is the owner of the Dalton and Associates advertising and public relations agency in Frederiksted, has decided to place ads next weekend in the territory's two print daily newspapers listing the candidates endorsed by the Harbour Night organization for the Nov. 5 elections.
"Basically, it's input from a lot of people," he said. "A focused choice of selecting our political representatives will give us a chance to have input and then to let the elected officials know that from now on, you will be expected to perform and be evaluated every day, and it will be made public."
Dalton said he would not reveal the selected candidates until Friday, but he said the list comprises politicians who have supported Harbour Night in the past. "Primarily it's those people we feel can get something done, although they may not be the most politically savvy," he said. Candidates' priorities must be education, economic development, health care and crime, he said.
"What we're trying to do is mix leadership with some political naivete. If we can't have a different election process, let's still try to make them accountable," he said, referring to a stalled effort by Citizens for Legislative Reform, a group he is active in, to implement numbered seating in the Senate through the initiative process.
Dalton said the Harbour Night list will include an "unbiased" look at both incumbents and challengers for each territorywide and St. Croix district race. "Some of them were not friends," he said, adding that the candidates themselves will find out in the ads who made the cut.
"I have no personal relationships with any of them," he said. "I will probably make some enemies, but the integrity I have in doing this can't be questioned."
Dalton, who will be leaving the island shortly for medical reasons, said he will monitor the track records of the successful candidates monthly. He said Crucians must hold themselves accountable for "making it happen" and have a real reason for voting representatives in or out.
"The private-sector citizens must stay involved," he said. Even though public officials "work for us, we must give them daily direction."
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NEW GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR LITERACY PROJECTS
Oct. 28, 2002 – The St. Croix Foundation for Community Development is accepting applications for grants from the recently formed Lee C. Ludington Literacy Fund.
The fund provides grants of up to $2,500 to organizations that wish to implement or expand literacy programs. They do not have to hold not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status.
The foundation's associate executive director, Stephanie Hodge, said how many grants will be made remains to be seen. The is the first granting cycle, and so far a $2,500 grant has been made to Charles H. Emanuel School — to underwrite the $25 fee that the school charges pupils for requisite reading materials.
Principal Basil A. Williams Sr. said that about 20 percent of the school's 500 students can't afford to pay the fee. In previous years, the school absorbed the cost.
The program honors Lee Ludington, who died in the past year. Her husband, Martin, a member of the Community Foundation board of trustees, said that his wife was an avid reader and volunteer librarian. "Our children and I felt that a fund which would help promote both reading skills and a love of reading would be a most fitting memorial to her," he said.
Applications are available at the Community Foundation office in Gallows Bay. They also may be requested by e-mailing the St. Croix Foundation. For this granting cycle, applications are due by Dec. 1. For more information, call the foundation offices at 773-9898.
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The fund provides grants of up to $2,500 to organizations that wish to implement or expand literacy programs. They do not have to hold not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status.
The foundation's associate executive director, Stephanie Hodge, said how many grants will be made remains to be seen. The is the first granting cycle, and so far a $2,500 grant has been made to Charles H. Emanuel School — to underwrite the $25 fee that the school charges pupils for requisite reading materials.
Principal Basil A. Williams Sr. said that about 20 percent of the school's 500 students can't afford to pay the fee. In previous years, the school absorbed the cost.
The program honors Lee Ludington, who died in the past year. Her husband, Martin, a member of the Community Foundation board of trustees, said that his wife was an avid reader and volunteer librarian. "Our children and I felt that a fund which would help promote both reading skills and a love of reading would be a most fitting memorial to her," he said.
Applications are available at the Community Foundation office in Gallows Bay. They also may be requested by e-mailing the St. Croix Foundation. For this granting cycle, applications are due by Dec. 1. For more information, call the foundation offices at 773-9898.
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TUTU HIGH-RISE KILLING IS FOURTH IN SIX DAYS IN V.I.
Oct. 28, 2002 – The 2002 homicide toll in the Virgin Islands continued to climb Monday with the discovery of a shooting victim on St. Thomas, the territory's 39th of the year.
The body of Khoy A. Smith, 23, was found in the bush near Building 3 of the Tutu High-Rise Apartments. Police were called to the scene around 10 a.m. Monday. Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty said Smith had been shot once, "in the back, and it exited through the front."
The Police Department Major Crime Unit is investigating the killing, the 19th homicide of the year reported on St. Thomas and the fourth within six days territorywide.
St. Croix has recorded 20 homicides so far this year, including the most recent three, all men who were shot to death, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
By late afternoon Monday, police officials indicated they had no suspects in the St. Thomas shooting but said they were receiving some cooperation from residents of the crime scene area.
The homicide figures through Oct. 28 for the previous three years were:
2001 – St. Thomas 10, Virgin Islands 20.
2000 – St. Thomas 8, Virgin Islands 14.
1999 – St. Thomas 11. Virgin Islands 18.
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The body of Khoy A. Smith, 23, was found in the bush near Building 3 of the Tutu High-Rise Apartments. Police were called to the scene around 10 a.m. Monday. Deputy Police Chief Theodore Carty said Smith had been shot once, "in the back, and it exited through the front."
The Police Department Major Crime Unit is investigating the killing, the 19th homicide of the year reported on St. Thomas and the fourth within six days territorywide.
St. Croix has recorded 20 homicides so far this year, including the most recent three, all men who were shot to death, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
By late afternoon Monday, police officials indicated they had no suspects in the St. Thomas shooting but said they were receiving some cooperation from residents of the crime scene area.
The homicide figures through Oct. 28 for the previous three years were:
2001 – St. Thomas 10, Virgin Islands 20.
2000 – St. Thomas 8, Virgin Islands 14.
1999 – St. Thomas 11. Virgin Islands 18.
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SEKOU RESPONDS TO SOURCE SENATE FORUM
1. How important is a comprehensive land and water use plan, and why has the territory been unable in more than 20 years of effort to enact one? What will it take to change this, and what, if anything, will you do bring about such change?
In the second term of the Farrelly-Hodge Administration, a comprehensive land and water use plan was being finalized. It was an exhaustive process, and perhaps one of the best plans derived in the Virgin Islands. As the new Schneider-Mapp Administration took office, the proposal was not acted upon by the new administration. Even more, the 21st and 22nd Legislatures did not attempt to adopt what quickly became a relic of the Farrelly-Hodge era. Unfortunately, our political leaders were not mature enough to adopt a proposal that a rival grouping had developed. As a Senator, I would retrieve this same plan and seek to adapt it to our new realities. Political leaders must have political will, and they must cultivate consensus even with those they disagree.
2. How important is private and public sector partnering, and how can such partnering best be accomplished in order to be most effective in addressing economic and social problems in the territory?
In every society, the best practices of governance are based on private and public sector partnering. The fundamental problems of our public sector are tied to the lack of confidence and respect for elected officials. Frankly, it is justified that many private sector leaders hold more than a handful of our elected officials in contempt. Instead of leading by example, our elected officials uphold the old adage –"do as I say not as I do." We are in a new millennium, we need new leadership. I propose an Ethics Commission that would investigate everyone and restore public and private confidence in our political leadership.
3. What are the biggest problems in the public education system, and what will it take to solve them? What will you do toward getting them solved?
As an educator myself, I see the need for a massive restructuring of our public education system. We will never quite de-politicize the public education system, but we can minimize the endemic spoils system and patronage that have been hogtying our schools. Similar to 70 percent of the school districts on the Mainland, the Board of Education needs to run the public education system. The Board should get governance in phases over a four-year period (perhaps as long as 10 years). The new Board would be mainly an elected body with a minority of appointed members, and it would be responsible for the hiring of the Superintendent and key administrative personnel. It would be tasked with oversight of the physical plant, curriculum, personnel, funding, and major public policies on public education. The new Board would be accountable and responsive to the Community not a governor.
4. How do you feel about floating future bonds to finance government initiatives, given the territory's present bond indebtedness of more than $1 billion? What will you do to persuade others of your views?
We need a provisional moratorium on new bonds! As noted, an Ethics Commission is needed immediately. The bond schemes of the past 10 years will have to be investigated for malfeasance and gross neglect. If they pass muster and our problems are not criminal but simply foolhardy, it is time for a mass public education. I am one of the Candidates who have great experience in mass education, and I will educate the public on the need to end more bonds to avoid fiscal bondage.
5. What is the most viable solution to the territory's solid waste disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
The solid waste disposal problems are tied to our consumer mentality. We will have to adopt a multi-pronged approach. First, we need to seriously encourage recycling and develop a mass campaign to do this. (Well over 80 percent of the solid waste in our landfills can be recycled). Second, we will have to immediately find new landfills. Our surrounding cays should be reviewed as possible sites. As mentioned before, mass education is important, and in this area, I would be intimately involved in a campaign to recycle and renew our Islands.
6. What is the most viable solution to the territory's sewage disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Besides expanding sewage treatment plants, I would revisit the "green" proposals that allow biodegradable recycling. In some States, sewage is filtered into manmade lagoons which mimic the filtration process of mangrove lagoons and salt ponds. These manmade lagoons become wild life sanctuaries, and they are compatible with sensitive coral ecosystems. Mass education is important. Elected leaders must educate the people whom they serve.
7. How do you assess the economy of the Virgin Islands at this time, and what do you see as its best hope for growth? What will you do to foster that growth?
The Virgin Islands economy is uneven. In St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island, the Cruise Ship industry has allowed us to remain afloat. However, in St. Croix, we have serious problems. There is no political will or consensus on how to develop St. Croix. The political elites who have led this community for the past 20 years have not been able to develop a common approach. They are riddled with pettiness, fragmentation, immediatism, and insularism. We need new leaders to confront old problems. The ideas for economic renewal are already well known, but the present leaders have too much personal animus toward each other. And as the Greeks say, they must bury the corpse of history. Only new leaders can do this.
8. How pervasive is corruption within the local government, and how should this problem, if you consider it to be a problem, best be addressed?
Corruption has become a part of our political culture. The only way to contain or even eliminate it is through the creation of an Ethics Commission. This body would be autonomous and improve public ethics and morality. It is most telling that we have never had one.
9. What is the most viable solution to Government Employees Retirement System payouts exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
We would have to develop several layers/tiers that separate the benefit packages of public sector employees. We would have to adjust the payment schedule in order to allow adequate funding for public sector employees. The appropriate amounts of funding would be based on the expert advice of the professional staff at the GERS. I would advance a "fast track" legislation that prioritizes funding for the GERS and prohibits any tinkering with the system.
10. What is the most viable solution to government spending exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Legislators and other public sector leaders must increase revenue collection and eradicate waste simultaneously. The public sector will have to be reduced steadily over the next 10 years so that public sector employees would be less than 20 percent of the workforce. To compensate for public sector reduction, an aggressive expansion of high income jobs in the private sector is critical. Both must occur at the same time. As a Senator, I would actively work with an "over ride" majority which will seek new investors for the Territory.
11. How do alignments between majority and minority blocs in the Legislature and adversarial relationships between the legislative and executive branches of government serve the best interests of the people of the Virgin Islands?
As mentioned in my brochure, majority and minority blocs will have to be eliminated for the present period as we reform our political system. Theoretically, majority-minority divisions are tied to partisan alignments. However, our majority-minority blocs are based solely on personality and fundin g. They are not tied to ideology or platform. Thus, I would propose to abolish them for the meantime.
In the second term of the Farrelly-Hodge Administration, a comprehensive land and water use plan was being finalized. It was an exhaustive process, and perhaps one of the best plans derived in the Virgin Islands. As the new Schneider-Mapp Administration took office, the proposal was not acted upon by the new administration. Even more, the 21st and 22nd Legislatures did not attempt to adopt what quickly became a relic of the Farrelly-Hodge era. Unfortunately, our political leaders were not mature enough to adopt a proposal that a rival grouping had developed. As a Senator, I would retrieve this same plan and seek to adapt it to our new realities. Political leaders must have political will, and they must cultivate consensus even with those they disagree.
2. How important is private and public sector partnering, and how can such partnering best be accomplished in order to be most effective in addressing economic and social problems in the territory?
In every society, the best practices of governance are based on private and public sector partnering. The fundamental problems of our public sector are tied to the lack of confidence and respect for elected officials. Frankly, it is justified that many private sector leaders hold more than a handful of our elected officials in contempt. Instead of leading by example, our elected officials uphold the old adage –"do as I say not as I do." We are in a new millennium, we need new leadership. I propose an Ethics Commission that would investigate everyone and restore public and private confidence in our political leadership.
3. What are the biggest problems in the public education system, and what will it take to solve them? What will you do toward getting them solved?
As an educator myself, I see the need for a massive restructuring of our public education system. We will never quite de-politicize the public education system, but we can minimize the endemic spoils system and patronage that have been hogtying our schools. Similar to 70 percent of the school districts on the Mainland, the Board of Education needs to run the public education system. The Board should get governance in phases over a four-year period (perhaps as long as 10 years). The new Board would be mainly an elected body with a minority of appointed members, and it would be responsible for the hiring of the Superintendent and key administrative personnel. It would be tasked with oversight of the physical plant, curriculum, personnel, funding, and major public policies on public education. The new Board would be accountable and responsive to the Community not a governor.
4. How do you feel about floating future bonds to finance government initiatives, given the territory's present bond indebtedness of more than $1 billion? What will you do to persuade others of your views?
We need a provisional moratorium on new bonds! As noted, an Ethics Commission is needed immediately. The bond schemes of the past 10 years will have to be investigated for malfeasance and gross neglect. If they pass muster and our problems are not criminal but simply foolhardy, it is time for a mass public education. I am one of the Candidates who have great experience in mass education, and I will educate the public on the need to end more bonds to avoid fiscal bondage.
5. What is the most viable solution to the territory's solid waste disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
The solid waste disposal problems are tied to our consumer mentality. We will have to adopt a multi-pronged approach. First, we need to seriously encourage recycling and develop a mass campaign to do this. (Well over 80 percent of the solid waste in our landfills can be recycled). Second, we will have to immediately find new landfills. Our surrounding cays should be reviewed as possible sites. As mentioned before, mass education is important, and in this area, I would be intimately involved in a campaign to recycle and renew our Islands.
6. What is the most viable solution to the territory's sewage disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Besides expanding sewage treatment plants, I would revisit the "green" proposals that allow biodegradable recycling. In some States, sewage is filtered into manmade lagoons which mimic the filtration process of mangrove lagoons and salt ponds. These manmade lagoons become wild life sanctuaries, and they are compatible with sensitive coral ecosystems. Mass education is important. Elected leaders must educate the people whom they serve.
7. How do you assess the economy of the Virgin Islands at this time, and what do you see as its best hope for growth? What will you do to foster that growth?
The Virgin Islands economy is uneven. In St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island, the Cruise Ship industry has allowed us to remain afloat. However, in St. Croix, we have serious problems. There is no political will or consensus on how to develop St. Croix. The political elites who have led this community for the past 20 years have not been able to develop a common approach. They are riddled with pettiness, fragmentation, immediatism, and insularism. We need new leaders to confront old problems. The ideas for economic renewal are already well known, but the present leaders have too much personal animus toward each other. And as the Greeks say, they must bury the corpse of history. Only new leaders can do this.
8. How pervasive is corruption within the local government, and how should this problem, if you consider it to be a problem, best be addressed?
Corruption has become a part of our political culture. The only way to contain or even eliminate it is through the creation of an Ethics Commission. This body would be autonomous and improve public ethics and morality. It is most telling that we have never had one.
9. What is the most viable solution to Government Employees Retirement System payouts exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
We would have to develop several layers/tiers that separate the benefit packages of public sector employees. We would have to adjust the payment schedule in order to allow adequate funding for public sector employees. The appropriate amounts of funding would be based on the expert advice of the professional staff at the GERS. I would advance a "fast track" legislation that prioritizes funding for the GERS and prohibits any tinkering with the system.
10. What is the most viable solution to government spending exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Legislators and other public sector leaders must increase revenue collection and eradicate waste simultaneously. The public sector will have to be reduced steadily over the next 10 years so that public sector employees would be less than 20 percent of the workforce. To compensate for public sector reduction, an aggressive expansion of high income jobs in the private sector is critical. Both must occur at the same time. As a Senator, I would actively work with an "over ride" majority which will seek new investors for the Territory.
11. How do alignments between majority and minority blocs in the Legislature and adversarial relationships between the legislative and executive branches of government serve the best interests of the people of the Virgin Islands?
As mentioned in my brochure, majority and minority blocs will have to be eliminated for the present period as we reform our political system. Theoretically, majority-minority divisions are tied to partisan alignments. However, our majority-minority blocs are based solely on personality and fundin g. They are not tied to ideology or platform. Thus, I would propose to abolish them for the meantime.
Editor's note: 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.
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.
SEKOU RESPONDS TO SOURCE SENATE FORUM
1. How important is a comprehensive land and water use plan, and why has the territory been unable in more than 20 years of effort to enact one? What will it take to change this, and what, if anything, will you do bring about such change?
In the second term of the Farrelly-Hodge Administration, a comprehensive land and water use plan was being finalized. It was an exhaustive process, and perhaps one of the best plans derived in the Virgin Islands. As the new Schneider-Mapp Administration took office, the proposal was not acted upon by the new administration. Even more, the 21st and 22nd Legislatures did not attempt to adopt what quickly became a relic of the Farrelly-Hodge era. Unfortunately, our political leaders were not mature enough to adopt a proposal that a rival grouping had developed. As a Senator, I would retrieve this same plan and seek to adapt it to our new realities. Political leaders must have political will, and they must cultivate consensus even with those they disagree.
2. How important is private and public sector partnering, and how can such partnering best be accomplished in order to be most effective in addressing economic and social problems in the territory?
In every society, the best practices of governance are based on private and public sector partnering. The fundamental problems of our public sector are tied to the lack of confidence and respect for elected officials. Frankly, it is justified that many private sector leaders hold more than a handful of our elected officials in contempt. Instead of leading by example, our elected officials uphold the old adage –"do as I say not as I do." We are in a new millennium, we need new leadership. I propose an Ethics Commission that would investigate everyone and restore public and private confidence in our political leadership.
3. What are the biggest problems in the public education system, and what will it take to solve them? What will you do toward getting them solved?
As an educator myself, I see the need for a massive restructuring of our public education system. We will never quite de-politicize the public education system, but we can minimize the endemic spoils system and patronage that have been hogtying our schools. Similar to 70 percent of the school districts on the Mainland, the Board of Education needs to run the public education system. The Board should get governance in phases over a four-year period (perhaps as long as 10 years). The new Board would be mainly an elected body with a minority of appointed members, and it would be responsible for the hiring of the Superintendent and key administrative personnel. It would be tasked with oversight of the physical plant, curriculum, personnel, funding, and major public policies on public education. The new Board would be accountable and responsive to the Community not a governor.
4. How do you feel about floating future bonds to finance government initiatives, given the territory's present bond indebtedness of more than $1 billion? What will you do to persuade others of your views?
We need a provisional moratorium on new bonds! As noted, an Ethics Commission is needed immediately. The bond schemes of the past 10 years will have to be investigated for malfeasance and gross neglect. If they pass muster and our problems are not criminal but simply foolhardy, it is time for a mass public education. I am one of the Candidates who have great experience in mass education, and I will educate the public on the need to end more bonds to avoid fiscal bondage.
5. What is the most viable solution to the territory's solid waste disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
The solid waste disposal problems are tied to our consumer mentality. We will have to adopt a multi-pronged approach. First, we need to seriously encourage recycling and develop a mass campaign to do this. (Well over 80 percent of the solid waste in our landfills can be recycled). Second, we will have to immediately find new landfills. Our surrounding cays should be reviewed as possible sites. As mentioned before, mass education is important, and in this area, I would be intimately involved in a campaign to recycle and renew our Islands.
6. What is the most viable solution to the territory's sewage disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Besides expanding sewage treatment plants, I would revisit the "green" proposals that allow biodegradable recycling. In some States, sewage is filtered into manmade lagoons which mimic the filtration process of mangrove lagoons and salt ponds. These manmade lagoons become wild life sanctuaries, and they are compatible with sensitive coral ecosystems. Mass education is important. Elected leaders must educate the people whom they serve.
7. How do you assess the economy of the Virgin Islands at this time, and what do you see as its best hope for growth? What will you do to foster that growth?
The Virgin Islands economy is uneven. In St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island, the Cruise Ship industry has allowed us to remain afloat. However, in St. Croix, we have serious problems. There is no political will or consensus on how to develop St. Croix. The political elites who have led this community for the past 20 years have not been able to develop a common approach. They are riddled with pettiness, fragmentation, immediatism, and insularism. We need new leaders to confront old problems. The ideas for economic renewal are already well known, but the present leaders have too much personal animus toward each other. And as the Greeks say, they must bury the corpse of history. Only new leaders can do this.
8. How pervasive is corruption within the local government, and how should this problem, if you consider it to be a problem, best be addressed?
Corruption has become a part of our political culture. The only way to contain or even eliminate it is through the creation of an Ethics Commission. This body would be autonomous and improve public ethics and morality. It is most telling that we have never had one.
9. What is the most viable solution to Government Employees Retirement System payouts exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
We would have to develop several layers/tiers that separate the benefit packages of public sector employees. We would have to adjust the payment schedule in order to allow adequate funding for public sector employees. The appropriate amounts of funding would be based on the expert advice of the professional staff at the GERS. I would advance a "fast track" legislation that prioritizes funding for the GERS and prohibits any tinkering with the system.
10. What is the most viable solution to government spending exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Legislators and other public sector leaders must increase revenue collection and eradicate waste simultaneously. The public sector will have to be reduced steadily over the next 10 years so that public sector employees would be less than 20 percent of the workforce. To compensate for public sector reduction, an aggressive expansion of high income jobs in the private sector is critical. Both must occur at the same time. As a Senator, I would actively work with an "over ride" majority which will seek new investors for the Territory.
11. How do alignments between majority and minority blocs in the Legislature and adversarial relationships between the legislative and executive branches of government serve the best interests of the people of the Virgin Islands?
As mentioned in my brochure, majority and minority blocs will have to be eliminated for the present period as we reform our political system. Theoretically, majority-minority divisions are tied to partisan alignments. However, our majority-minority blocs are based solely on personality and fundin g. They are not tied to ideology or platform. Thus, I would propose to abolish them for the meantime.
In the second term of the Farrelly-Hodge Administration, a comprehensive land and water use plan was being finalized. It was an exhaustive process, and perhaps one of the best plans derived in the Virgin Islands. As the new Schneider-Mapp Administration took office, the proposal was not acted upon by the new administration. Even more, the 21st and 22nd Legislatures did not attempt to adopt what quickly became a relic of the Farrelly-Hodge era. Unfortunately, our political leaders were not mature enough to adopt a proposal that a rival grouping had developed. As a Senator, I would retrieve this same plan and seek to adapt it to our new realities. Political leaders must have political will, and they must cultivate consensus even with those they disagree.
2. How important is private and public sector partnering, and how can such partnering best be accomplished in order to be most effective in addressing economic and social problems in the territory?
In every society, the best practices of governance are based on private and public sector partnering. The fundamental problems of our public sector are tied to the lack of confidence and respect for elected officials. Frankly, it is justified that many private sector leaders hold more than a handful of our elected officials in contempt. Instead of leading by example, our elected officials uphold the old adage –"do as I say not as I do." We are in a new millennium, we need new leadership. I propose an Ethics Commission that would investigate everyone and restore public and private confidence in our political leadership.
3. What are the biggest problems in the public education system, and what will it take to solve them? What will you do toward getting them solved?
As an educator myself, I see the need for a massive restructuring of our public education system. We will never quite de-politicize the public education system, but we can minimize the endemic spoils system and patronage that have been hogtying our schools. Similar to 70 percent of the school districts on the Mainland, the Board of Education needs to run the public education system. The Board should get governance in phases over a four-year period (perhaps as long as 10 years). The new Board would be mainly an elected body with a minority of appointed members, and it would be responsible for the hiring of the Superintendent and key administrative personnel. It would be tasked with oversight of the physical plant, curriculum, personnel, funding, and major public policies on public education. The new Board would be accountable and responsive to the Community not a governor.
4. How do you feel about floating future bonds to finance government initiatives, given the territory's present bond indebtedness of more than $1 billion? What will you do to persuade others of your views?
We need a provisional moratorium on new bonds! As noted, an Ethics Commission is needed immediately. The bond schemes of the past 10 years will have to be investigated for malfeasance and gross neglect. If they pass muster and our problems are not criminal but simply foolhardy, it is time for a mass public education. I am one of the Candidates who have great experience in mass education, and I will educate the public on the need to end more bonds to avoid fiscal bondage.
5. What is the most viable solution to the territory's solid waste disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
The solid waste disposal problems are tied to our consumer mentality. We will have to adopt a multi-pronged approach. First, we need to seriously encourage recycling and develop a mass campaign to do this. (Well over 80 percent of the solid waste in our landfills can be recycled). Second, we will have to immediately find new landfills. Our surrounding cays should be reviewed as possible sites. As mentioned before, mass education is important, and in this area, I would be intimately involved in a campaign to recycle and renew our Islands.
6. What is the most viable solution to the territory's sewage disposal problems? What will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Besides expanding sewage treatment plants, I would revisit the "green" proposals that allow biodegradable recycling. In some States, sewage is filtered into manmade lagoons which mimic the filtration process of mangrove lagoons and salt ponds. These manmade lagoons become wild life sanctuaries, and they are compatible with sensitive coral ecosystems. Mass education is important. Elected leaders must educate the people whom they serve.
7. How do you assess the economy of the Virgin Islands at this time, and what do you see as its best hope for growth? What will you do to foster that growth?
The Virgin Islands economy is uneven. In St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island, the Cruise Ship industry has allowed us to remain afloat. However, in St. Croix, we have serious problems. There is no political will or consensus on how to develop St. Croix. The political elites who have led this community for the past 20 years have not been able to develop a common approach. They are riddled with pettiness, fragmentation, immediatism, and insularism. We need new leaders to confront old problems. The ideas for economic renewal are already well known, but the present leaders have too much personal animus toward each other. And as the Greeks say, they must bury the corpse of history. Only new leaders can do this.
8. How pervasive is corruption within the local government, and how should this problem, if you consider it to be a problem, best be addressed?
Corruption has become a part of our political culture. The only way to contain or even eliminate it is through the creation of an Ethics Commission. This body would be autonomous and improve public ethics and morality. It is most telling that we have never had one.
9. What is the most viable solution to Government Employees Retirement System payouts exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
We would have to develop several layers/tiers that separate the benefit packages of public sector employees. We would have to adjust the payment schedule in order to allow adequate funding for public sector employees. The appropriate amounts of funding would be based on the expert advice of the professional staff at the GERS. I would advance a "fast track" legislation that prioritizes funding for the GERS and prohibits any tinkering with the system.
10. What is the most viable solution to government spending exceeding revenues, and what will you do to advance the implementation of this solution?
Legislators and other public sector leaders must increase revenue collection and eradicate waste simultaneously. The public sector will have to be reduced steadily over the next 10 years so that public sector employees would be less than 20 percent of the workforce. To compensate for public sector reduction, an aggressive expansion of high income jobs in the private sector is critical. Both must occur at the same time. As a Senator, I would actively work with an "over ride" majority which will seek new investors for the Territory.
11. How do alignments between majority and minority blocs in the Legislature and adversarial relationships between the legislative and executive branches of government serve the best interests of the people of the Virgin Islands?
As mentioned in my brochure, majority and minority blocs will have to be eliminated for the present period as we reform our political system. Theoretically, majority-minority divisions are tied to partisan alignments. However, our majority-minority blocs are based solely on personality and fundin g. They are not tied to ideology or platform. Thus, I would propose to abolish them for the meantime.
Editor's note: 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.
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.
UVI BULLETIN BOARD
UVI to Observe Liberty Day
UVI will be closed Friday, Nov. 1, in observance of Liberty Day.
'Crisis In Paradise' Forum to Highlight Red Ribbon Week Activities
A public forum titled "Crisis In Paradise: Drugs, Crime and V.I. Youth" is scheduled for 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Thursday as a major part of the UVI observance of National Red Ribbon Week. The forum will be presented as a video-conferenced event between the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Forum panelists include Dr. Olaf Hendricks, a psychiatrist; Sgt. Elvin Fahie of the V.I. Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau; and parent Patricia Lewis. Miss UVI Nyasha Mutunhu will serve as moderator.
The forum can be attended in Chase Auditorium (Business Education – Room 110) on the St. Thomas campus and in the Theatre (Evans Center room 401) on the St. Croix campus.
For more information, contact the Associate Chancellor's Office on St. Thomas at 693-1120 or the Health Center Services Office on St. Croix at 692-4214.
SGA to Host Gubernatorial Forum on St. Thomas Campus
Seven of the eight candidates running for governor in the V.I. general election have confirmed they will participate in a forum on UVI's St. Thomas campus from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the cafeteria. The forum is sponsored by the Student Government Association. The only candidate not participating will be Gov. Charles W. Turnbull.
For more information, call 693-1111.
Golden Key, SGA Gubernatorial Forum on St. Croix Cancelled
The St. Croix Chapter of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Student Government Association have announced the cancellation of a gubernatorial forum originally scheduled for Wednesday. The cancellation was due to a conflict with other election campaign activities. The groups jointly sponsored a forum for senatorial candidates last week.
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to Perform Saturday
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra returns to St. Thomas for a record fourth visit with an 8 p.m. performance Saturday at UVI's Reichhold Center for the Arts. Tickets are $65, $30 and $5. To place orders, call 693-1559. The performance is a co-production of the Reichhold Center and the Birch Forum. For more information go to "http:// www.reichholdcenter.com".
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.
UVI will be closed Friday, Nov. 1, in observance of Liberty Day.
'Crisis In Paradise' Forum to Highlight Red Ribbon Week Activities
A public forum titled "Crisis In Paradise: Drugs, Crime and V.I. Youth" is scheduled for 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Thursday as a major part of the UVI observance of National Red Ribbon Week. The forum will be presented as a video-conferenced event between the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Forum panelists include Dr. Olaf Hendricks, a psychiatrist; Sgt. Elvin Fahie of the V.I. Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau; and parent Patricia Lewis. Miss UVI Nyasha Mutunhu will serve as moderator.
The forum can be attended in Chase Auditorium (Business Education – Room 110) on the St. Thomas campus and in the Theatre (Evans Center room 401) on the St. Croix campus.
For more information, contact the Associate Chancellor's Office on St. Thomas at 693-1120 or the Health Center Services Office on St. Croix at 692-4214.
SGA to Host Gubernatorial Forum on St. Thomas Campus
Seven of the eight candidates running for governor in the V.I. general election have confirmed they will participate in a forum on UVI's St. Thomas campus from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the cafeteria. The forum is sponsored by the Student Government Association. The only candidate not participating will be Gov. Charles W. Turnbull.
For more information, call 693-1111.
Golden Key, SGA Gubernatorial Forum on St. Croix Cancelled
The St. Croix Chapter of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Student Government Association have announced the cancellation of a gubernatorial forum originally scheduled for Wednesday. The cancellation was due to a conflict with other election campaign activities. The groups jointly sponsored a forum for senatorial candidates last week.
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to Perform Saturday
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra returns to St. Thomas for a record fourth visit with an 8 p.m. performance Saturday at UVI's Reichhold Center for the Arts. Tickets are $65, $30 and $5. To place orders, call 693-1559. The performance is a co-production of the Reichhold Center and the Birch Forum. For more information go to "http:// www.reichholdcenter.com".
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.
UVI BULLETIN BOARD
UVI to Observe Liberty Day
UVI will be closed Friday, Nov. 1, in observance of Liberty Day.
'Crisis In Paradise' Forum to Highlight Red Ribbon Week Activities
A public forum titled "Crisis In Paradise: Drugs, Crime and V.I. Youth" is scheduled for 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Thursday as a major part of the UVI observance of National Red Ribbon Week. The forum will be presented as a video-conferenced event between the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Forum panelists include Dr. Olaf Hendricks, a psychiatrist; Sgt. Elvin Fahie of the V.I. Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau; and parent Patricia Lewis. Miss UVI Nyasha Mutunhu will serve as moderator.
The forum can be attended in Chase Auditorium (Business Education – Room 110) on the St. Thomas campus and in the Theatre (Evans Center room 401) on the St. Croix campus.
For more information, contact the Associate Chancellor's Office on St. Thomas at 693-1120 or the Health Center Services Office on St. Croix at 692-4214.
SGA to Host Gubernatorial Forum on St. Thomas Campus
Seven of the eight candidates running for governor in the V.I. general election have confirmed they will participate in a forum on UVI's St. Thomas campus from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the cafeteria. The forum is sponsored by the Student Government Association. The only candidate not participating will be Gov. Charles W. Turnbull.
For more information, call 693-1111.
Golden Key, SGA Gubernatorial Forum on St. Croix Cancelled
The St. Croix Chapter of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Student Government Association have announced the cancellation of a gubernatorial forum originally scheduled for Wednesday. The cancellation was due to a conflict with other election campaign activities. The groups jointly sponsored a forum for senatorial candidates last week.
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to Perform Saturday
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra returns to St. Thomas for a record fourth visit with an 8 p.m. performance Saturday at UVI's Reichhold Center for the Arts. Tickets are $65, $30 and $5. To place orders, call 693-1559. The performance is a co-production of the Reichhold Center and the Birch Forum. For more information go to "http:// www.reichholdcenter.com".
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.
UVI will be closed Friday, Nov. 1, in observance of Liberty Day.
'Crisis In Paradise' Forum to Highlight Red Ribbon Week Activities
A public forum titled "Crisis In Paradise: Drugs, Crime and V.I. Youth" is scheduled for 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. Thursday as a major part of the UVI observance of National Red Ribbon Week. The forum will be presented as a video-conferenced event between the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Forum panelists include Dr. Olaf Hendricks, a psychiatrist; Sgt. Elvin Fahie of the V.I. Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau; and parent Patricia Lewis. Miss UVI Nyasha Mutunhu will serve as moderator.
The forum can be attended in Chase Auditorium (Business Education – Room 110) on the St. Thomas campus and in the Theatre (Evans Center room 401) on the St. Croix campus.
For more information, contact the Associate Chancellor's Office on St. Thomas at 693-1120 or the Health Center Services Office on St. Croix at 692-4214.
SGA to Host Gubernatorial Forum on St. Thomas Campus
Seven of the eight candidates running for governor in the V.I. general election have confirmed they will participate in a forum on UVI's St. Thomas campus from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the cafeteria. The forum is sponsored by the Student Government Association. The only candidate not participating will be Gov. Charles W. Turnbull.
For more information, call 693-1111.
Golden Key, SGA Gubernatorial Forum on St. Croix Cancelled
The St. Croix Chapter of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Student Government Association have announced the cancellation of a gubernatorial forum originally scheduled for Wednesday. The cancellation was due to a conflict with other election campaign activities. The groups jointly sponsored a forum for senatorial candidates last week.
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra to Perform Saturday
The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra returns to St. Thomas for a record fourth visit with an 8 p.m. performance Saturday at UVI's Reichhold Center for the Arts. Tickets are $65, $30 and $5. To place orders, call 693-1559. The performance is a co-production of the Reichhold Center and the Birch Forum. For more information go to "http:// www.reichholdcenter.com".
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.
