The Turnbull administration and the V.I. Telephone Corp. announced Wednesday that they have given themselves a month to come up with a plan to make the government’s phone system more efficient less costly.
The government's debt to Vitelco is substantial and long overdue – as is true with many vendors. While neither party has disclosed how much is owed, a Government House release Wednesday said an "agreement would be struck to address the pending ‘aged accounts.’"
"The government has made a partial payment from the recent ($300 million) bond proceeds to Vitelco in the effort to reconcile some of those charges," the release stated.
Because of the large debt, the two parties agreed to a task force to find ways to "modernize, maximize and make more efficient and cost-effective" the government’s phone service.
Juel Molloy, Turnbull's chief of staff, and Samuel Ebbesen, Vitelco president and CEO, met Wednesday and announced that they had turned over the telephone task force to Paulette Rabsatt, the governor’s deputy assistant, and Cheryl Francis, financial officer for Vitelco.
The duo has until April 17 to submit their findings to Molloy and Ebbesen.
Ebbesen said the company will suggest ways to fix how it bills the government to better control the management of information systems and to simplify and make more efficient the overall telephone system.
"This government can no longer afford the luxury of paying for an elaborate telephone system with unnecessary features," Molloy said. "We must come to the reality that we have been spending beyond our means – and that must be corrected."
Included in the "no frills" system would be upgrades at schools and libraries to maximize Internet services and data networking, Ebbesen said.

The Turnbull administration and the V.I. Telephone Corp. have given themselves a month to come up with a plan to make the government’s phone system more cost effective.
According to recent reports, the government is substantially in arrears in paying its Vitelco bills. While neither party has specified how much, a Government House release on Wednesday said an "agreement would be struck to address the pending ‘aged accounts.’"
The government "has made a partial payment" from the recent $300 million in bond proceeds to Vitelco "in the effort to reconcile some of those charges," the release stated.
The two parties have agreed to have a join task force examine ways to "modernize, maximize and make more efficient and cost effective" the government’s phone service.
Following a meeting Wednesday, Turnbull administration chief of staff Juel Molloy and Vitelco president Samuel Ebbesen announced that they had turned over the telephone task force investigation to Paulette Rabsatt, the governor’s deputy assistant, and Vitelco financial officer Cheryl Francis. They have until April 17 to submit their findings to Molloy and Ebbesen.
Ebbesen said the telephone company will suggest ways to modify how it bills the government so as to control information systems management better and to make the overall telephone system simpler and more efficient.
"This government can no longer afford the luxury of paying for an elaborate telephone system with unnecessary features," Molloy said. "We must come to the reality that we have been spending beyond our means –- and that must be corrected."
The "no frills" system could even include some upgrades in schools and libraries to maximize Internet services and data networking, Ebbesen said.

The Turnbull administration and the V.I. Telephone Corp. have given themselves a month to come up with a plan to make the government’s phone system more streamlined and cost-effective.
Just recently it was revealed that the government owes Vitelco a substantial phone bill. While neither party immediately revealed how much is owed, a Government House release on Wednesday said an "agreement would be struck to address the ‘aged accounts’".
"The government has made a partial payment from the recent ($300 million) bond proceeds to Vitelco in the effort to reconcile some of those charges," the release stated.
Because of the large debt, the two parties agreed to form a task force that will decide how to "modernize, maximize and make more efficient and cost-effective" the government’s phone service.
Juel Molloy, the Turnbull administration’s chief of staff, and Samuel Ebbesen, Vitelco president and CEO, met Wednesday and announced that they had turned over the telephone task force to Paulette Rabsatt, the governor’s deputy assistant, and Cheryl Francis, financial officer for Vitelco.
The duo has until April 17 to submit their findings to Molloy and Ebbesen.
On Vitelco’s part, Ebbesen said the company will suggest an overhaul of its government billing system to simplify it and make it more efficient.
"This government can no longer afford the luxury of paying for an elaborate telephone system with unnecessary features," Molloy said. "We must come to the reality that we have been spending beyond our means –and that must be corrected."
Included in the "no frills" system would be upgrades in schools and libraries to maximize Internet services and data networking, Ebbesen said.

The University of the Virgin Islands will commemorate its founding with Charter Day activities on the St. Thomas and St.Croix campuses.
Charter Day recognizes March 16, 1962, as the day that the College of the Virgin Islands, as it was then known, was chartered by Act No. 862 of the Fourth Legislature of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The St. Thomas campus opened in July 1963 and the St. Croix campus opened in 1964.
By its charter, UVI's cornerstone objective is to provide for ". . . the stimulation and utilization of the intellectual resources of the people of the Virgin Islands and the development of a center of higher learning whereby and wherefrom the benefits of culture and education may be extended throughout the Virgin Islands."
Thursday, March 16 – The St. Croix campus will hold a roundtable discussion at 11 a.m. with prominent UVI alumni on the topic, "Looking at UVI – Where are we going?" The discussion will be held in the Student Center and will feature poetry reading and cultural dancers.
Thursday, March 16 – Faculty Forum, "Forging a New Identity for a New Century" 1 p.m. in Chase Auditorium on St. Thomas, linked by teleconference to Room 401 of the Melvin Evans Center on the St. Croix campus. This forum will explore the commitments and possibilities for the direction of the University in the year 2000 and beyond. Forum participants will discuss curricular, administrative, student and faculty/staff issues.
Panelists to include: Dr. Marilyn Krigger, Dr. Malik Sekou, Dr. Linda Thomas, Dr. Donald Drost, Dr. Eustace Esdaille, Leandra Laidlow.
Thursday, March 16 – UVI President, Dr. Orville Kean, gives the Charter Day address,
"A Tribute to Generations of Learning," at 6:30 p.m. at the Reichhold Center for the Arts. This is the central Charter Day program. It is a tribute to the graduates of the University, especially those with several generations attending UVI. The program is a blend of music and tributes to the University and its graduates. Each class is to be represented. A historical overview of the early development of the college will be presented by an alumnus. Remarks by UVI Provost, Dr. LaVerne Ragster.
Friday, March 17 – 10th Annual Caribbean Intercollegiate Debate and Public Speaking Association. UVI's St. Croix campus hosts the event from Friday, March 17th through Sunday, March 19th. UVI is the founding university for these debates and is honored to host the 10th Annual Debates for the first time on the St. Croix campus. Teams represented: Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, The Univ. of Guyana, Univ. of Technology (Jamaica), Univ. of the West Indies (Barbados), Univ. of the W.I. (Jamaica), Univ. of the W.I. (Trinidad), University of the Virgin Islands. Contact: Stella Saunders at 692-4023.
10:00a.m. Debate Topic #1 (4 concurrent debates)MOOT: "Be it resolved that birth control devices should be distributed, free of charge, in secondary schools in the Caribbean." Debates taking place in rooms 207, 408, 501and 505 (MEC)
2:00p.m. Debate Topic # 2: (4 concurrent debates) MOOT: "Be it resolved that Elian Gonzalez, six year old refugee from Cuba, should remain in the United States." Debates taking place in rooms 207, 408, 501 and 505 (MEC)
8:00p.m. Debate Topic # 3: (2 concurrent debates) MOOT: "Be it resolved that descendants from African slaves in the Western Hemisphere should receive reparations." Debates taking place in rooms 501 and 505 (MEC)
Saturday, March 18th
9:30a.m. Debate Topic # 4 (2 concurrent debates) SEMIFINALS Topic: "Be it resolved that marijuana should be legalized." Debates taking place in rooms Q-100 and R-100 (Nursing Area)
Sunday, March 19th
All events to take place in the St. Croix Student Center – 11:00 a.m. brunch
FINALS – 1:00 p.m. Debate Topic # 5
MOOT: "Be it resolved that Distance Learning will significantly improve the quality of education in the Caribbean."
2:30p.m. Caribbean Intercollegiate Debates Award ceremony
Sunday, March 19 – Charter Day Concert – Reichhold Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m. UVI Concert Choir, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble and Steel Pan Ensemble perform in "A Celebration of Human Expression." General admission is $10, $5 for students with identification.

A bill to modify a federal law that forbids the taking of personal purchases of tobacco products marked for "export only" from the territory back to the U.S. mainland was introduced in Congress Tuesday by Rep. Charles Rangel (D, NY).
Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen had lobbied her colleagues to seek the change. "I intend to work with Congressman Rangel to get this bill passed into law as soon as possible," she said in a release Wednesday.
She had announced earlier this month that she was working with Rangel, the senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Joint Taxation Committee, to draft an amendment to a 1997 statute which prohibits the re-importation of U.S.-made, tax-free tobacco products bearing the "export only" label.
If approved by the Joint Taxation Committee, the bill will then have to go through the full legislative process.
Meantime, Christensen is continuing her efforts to get the administration to resolve the issue on an interim basis while the legislation is pending. She has appealed to President Clinton to suspend seizures until the matter can be appropriately addressed.
Tourists taking tobacco products into the U.S. are now being stopped by U.S. Customs agents and having their cigarettes confiscated. The Source reported earlier this month that cruise ship passengers were being told that they would not be allowed to take back home U.S. tobacco products purchased in the Virgin Islands.
The effective halt of tobacco sales represents a loss of revenue to the V.I. estimated at up to $20 million a year. Dominick Codispot of West Indies Corp. said WICorp. pays the government $1 million a year in excise and gross receipts taxes on tobacco. Tourists are allowed to take home up to five cartons of cigarettes purchased in the territory duty free.
The conflict stems from a misleading interpretation of the 1997 statute, according to V.I. lobbyist Peter Hiebert of Washington, D.C. He terms it an "overly broad" reading of the law, which was not intended to affect tobacco purchases for personal use.

Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen's efforts to have the ban on tobacco products marked for "export only" repealed took a big step forward Tuesday as Rep. Charles Rangel introduced the bill in the House.
"I intend to work with Congressman Rangel to get this bill passed into law as soon as possible," Christian-Christensen said in a release Wednesday.
The delegate announced earlier this month that she was working with Rangel, the senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and Joint Taxation Committee, to draft an amendment to a 1997 statute that prohibits the re-importation of U.S.-made, tax-free tobacco products bearing the "export only" label.
If approved by the committee, the bill will then have to go through the full legislative process.
Meantime, the delegate is continuing to press the administration to do something to resolve the issue until the legislation goes through. She has appealed to President Clinton to suspend seizures until the matter can be appropriately addressed.
Tourists bringing tobacco products into the U. S. are now being stopped by U.S. Customs agents and having their cigarettes confiscated. The Source reported earlier this month that cruise ship passengers were being told that they would not be allowed to take back home U. S. tobacco products purchased in the Virgin Islands.
The tobacco ban represents a loss of revenue to the V.I. that has been estimated at up to $20 million per year. Dominick Codispot of West Indies Corp. said WICorp. alone pays the government $1 million a year in excise and gross receipt taxes on tobacco.
Tourists are allowed to take home up to five cartons of cigarettes purchased in the territory duty-free.
The conflict stems from a misleading interpretation of the 1997 statute, according to V.I. lobbyist Peter Hiebert of Washington, D.C. He terms it an "overly broad" reading of the law, which was not intended to affect tobacco purchases for personal use.

Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen's efforts to have Congress repeal the ban on tobacco products marked for "export only" materialized Tuesday as Rep. Charles Rangel introduced the bill in the House.
"I intend to work with Congressman Rangel to get this bill passed into law as soon as possible," Christian-Christensen said in a release Wednesday.
The delegate had announced earlier this month that she was working with Rangel, the senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and Joint Taxation Committee, to draft an amendment to a 1997 statute that prohibits the re-importation of U.S.-made, tax-free tobacco products bearing the "export only" label.
If approved by the committee, the bill will then have to go through the full legislative process.
Meantime, Christensen said she is still trying to persuade the administration to resolve the issue until the legislation goes through. She has appealed to President Clinton to suspend seizures until the matter can be appropriately addressed.
Tourists bringing tobacco products into the U. S. are now being stopped by U.S. Customs agents and having their cigarettes confiscated. The Source reported earlier this month that cruise ship passengers were being told that they would not be allowed to take home U. S. tobacco products purchased in the Virgin Islands.
The tobacco ban represents a loss of revenue to the V.I. estimated at up to $20 million per year. Dominick Codispot of West Indies Corp. said WICorp. pays the government $1 million a year in excise and gross receipts taxes on tobacco. Tourists are allowed to take home up to five cartons of cigarettes purchased in the territory without paying duty.
The conflict stems from a misleading interpretation of the 1997 statute, according to Peter Hiebert, a Washington, D.C., lawyer amd lobbyist for the territory. He terms it an "overly broad" reading of the law, which was not intended to affect tobacco purchases for personal use.

The nation and territory have been shelling out more at the pumps in the new year, but 1999 also saw an increase in prices locally.
According to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the wholesale gas price for premium increased 28 cents a gallon while regular increased 27 cents. As wholesale costs increased, so did the retail prices, the DLCA report said.
On St. Thomas, retailers increased their prices on premium self-service and full service gas 35 and 38 cents respectively. Regular full service increased to 38 cents while regular increased 39 cents.
During 1999 on St. Croix, gas stations slightly lowered their per-gallon prices while self-service premium increased by 6.5 cents per gallon. The price of self-serve regular decreased by 6.2 cents, according to the DLCA.
DLCA Commissioner Andrew Rutnik said the present cost of gas isn’t expected to decrease anytime soon. Over the last few weeks on St. Thomas, posted prices were as high as $2.07 a gallon for full-service premium fuel. Prices on St. Croix, home to the HOVENSA refinery, have also gone up.
"It is clear that retailers are using the increase in oil prices to boost their profit margin," Rutnik said. "It’s reprehensible that while oil prices have driven gas prices through the sun roof, local retailers would impose an additional hike on our cash-strapped consumers…."
Nationally, petroleum industry executives are predicting price hikes of up to 60 cents more a gallon by summer.
St. Croix motorists can find lower prices at the self-serve pumps, however. Drivers on the Big Island can reduce their gas costs by as much as 29 percent if they purchase self-serve gas, according to the DLCA.
The best gas buys for regular self-serve on St. Croix are Five Corners and Tony’s at $1.08 a gallon. For premium it is U&W at $1.15.
For both full- and self-serve regular and premium it is Prosperity at $1.19 and $1.23 respectively.
On St. Thomas, the lowest self-serve regular and premium can be found at Fast Stop at $1.83 and $1.93 respectively. American Yacht Harbor has the cheapest regular and premium full service at $1.78 and $1.88.
Domino Oil’s full-service regular and premium is the best bet on St. John at $1.95 and $1.99 respectively.

Gasoline prices have risen dramatically in recent days in the territory, but they've been rising steadily for the last year.
According to a Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department report, wholesale gasoline prices increased an average of 28 cents a gallon for premium last year and 27 cents a gallor for regular. As wholesale prices rose, so did those at the pumps, the report said.
On St. Thomas, retailers raised the prices on self-serve and full-serve premium gas an average of 35 cents and 38 cents, respectively. Self-serice regular went up 38 cents and full-service regular increased 39 cents.
On St. Croix, gas stations slightly lowered their prices overall last year. Self-service premium increased by 6.5 cents a gallon, while self-serve regular decreased by 6.2 cents, according to the DLCA.
Full-serve premium has topped $2.07 at some St. Thomas stations in the last two weeks. Even on St. Croix, where stations purchase their fuel directly from the Hovensa refinery, pump prices have been going up.
LCA Commissioner Andrew Rutnik doesn't see them dropping anytime soon. What concerns him locally, he said, is that, "It is clear that retailers are using the increase in oil prices to boost their profit margin."
He termed it "reprehensible that while oil prices have driven gas prices through the sun roof, local retailers would impose an additional hike on our cash-strapped consumers."
Nationally, petroleum industry executives are predicting price hikes of up to 60 cents more a gallon by summer. Here are the best buys an LCA survey found for current prices:
On St. Croix, the lowest price for self-serve regular was $1.08 a gallon, at Five Corners and Tony’s. For self-serve premium it was $1.15, at U&W.
For full-serve regular and premium, Prosperity was the place, selling them at $1.19 and $1.23, respectively.
On St. Thomas, the lowest self-serve regular and premium were found at Fast Stop — $1.83 and $1.93, respectively. American Yacht Harbor had the cheapest full-service regular and premium — $1.78 and $1.88.
And on St. John, Domino Oil had the lowest prices for full-service regular and premium at $1.95 and $1.99, respectively. Full service is the only way gas is sold at the three stations on St. John.

Soaring gasoline prices in recent weeks are part of a trend – 1999 also saw an increase in prices locally.
The Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ 1999 Gasoline Report shows that the wholesale gas price for premium increased 28 cents a gallon while regular increased 27 cents. As wholesale costs increased, so did the retail prices, the DLCA report said.
On St. Thomas, retailers increased their prices on premium self-service and full service gas by 35 and 38 cents respectively. Regular full-service increased 38 cents while regular increased 39 cents.
During 1999 on St. Croix, gas stations slightly lowered their per-gallon prices while self-service premium increased by 6.5 cents per gallon. The price of self-serve regular decreased by 6.2 cents, according to the DLCA.
DLCA Commissioner Andrew Rutnik said the cost of gas isn’t expected to decrease anytime soon. Over the last few weeks on St. Thomas, posted prices have been as high as $2.07 a gallon for full-service premium fuel. Prices on St. Croix, home to the Hovensa refinery, have also gone up.
"It is clear that retailers are using the increase in oil prices to boost their profit margin," Rutnik said. "It’s reprehensible that while oil prices have driven gas prices through the sun roof, local retailers would impose an additional hike on our cash-strapped consumers…"
Nationally, petroleum industry executives are predicting price hikes of up to 60 cents more a gallon by summer.
St. Croix motorists can find lower prices at the self-serve pumps. Drivers on the Big Island can reduce their gas costs by as much as 29 percent if they purchase self-serve gas, according to the DLCA.
The best gas buys for regular self-serve on St. Croix are Five Corners and Tony’s at $1.08 a gallon. For premium it is U&W at $1.15.
For both full- and self-serve regular and premium, it is Prosperity at $1.19 and $1.23 respectively.
On St. Thomas, the lowest self-serve regular and premium can be found at Fast Stop at $1.83 and $1.93 respectively. American Yacht Harbor has the cheapest regular and premium full-service at $1.78 and $1.88.
Domino Oil’s full-service regular and premium is the best bet on St. John at $1.95 and $1.99 respectively.