March 4, 2009 — With federal economic-stimulus funds already trickling into the territory's coffers, Gov. John deJongh Jr. is reaching out to national leaders to make sure the government has some leeway in how it spends a portion of the money.
On Wednesday, deJongh also made the push for local officials to begin spending the funds properly — which means, among other things, implementing some of the energy mandates laid out in the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For the territory to receive its share of the $3.1 billion State Energy Program fund pie, the Virgin Islands has to "demonstrate that we are taking certain actions to upgrade our building energy codes and develop a plan for compliance," the governor wrote in letters to the heads of Planning and Natural Resources and the Senate's Energy and Technology Committee.
In a separate letter, deJongh also urged the Public Services Commission to begin putting in place incentives for energy-efficient programs.
"We are prioritizing our energy investments to take advantage of existing energy-efficiency programs, and to expand these programs where appropriate," deJongh said in another letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "The Virgin Islands is committed to a robust improvement in energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as a balanced comprehensive territorial energy policy. Accordingly, I want to assure you that, within the limits of my authority, we will move forward expeditiously in these critical areas."
In letters sent to President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, deJongh lobbied for greater flexibility in how the territory spends about $67 million in fiscal stabilization funds, which are intended to provide states and territories with some additional cash for education, infrastructure projects and other government services. Local officials are required to work with the U.S. secretaries of Education and Interior to determine how the funds will be used, deJongh explained during a recent press conference. (See "Governor Calls Stimulus Plan a 'Breathtakingly Fresh' Approach.")
In his Wednesday letter to the president — also signed by the governors of American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — deJongh said the stabilization funds were being awarded to the territories based on need.
"The needs of the U.S. Virgin Islands, for many historical reasons, exceed even the generous total funding allocated to the outlying areas … particularly with respect to our underfunded and inadequate physical infrastructure," the governor said. "We wish to assure you that we not only have the need, but we also have the capacity to expend the entire amount of funding set aside …."
DeJongh requested that that the V.I. government be allocated no less than $67 million, and asked that the territory be able to put the money toward projects and services other than those authorized for the states, including "urgently needed infrastructure projects which cannot be funded through other provisions of the act."
"Such delegation would not only recognize the greater historical experience of the Department of the Interior with the island territories, and its broader understanding of their unique needs and problems, but it would also avoid difficult administrative problems interposed by the current third-party fiduciary relationship with the U.S. Department of Education, which could, however inadvertently, thwart the intent of Congress to ensure financial relief," the governor wrote.
The Health Department was the first local government agency to get a stimulus boost, recently receiving a $4 million credit that has been applied to the budget of the local Medicaid program. The money is expected to be a boon for low-income residents throughout the territory, according to acting Health Commissioner Julia Sheen and Medicaid Program Director Floyd Pittman.
"Once residents are certified to receive assistance, Medicaid will use the funding to pay for hospital, doctor or rental bills that they may have," Pittman said Wednesday. Within two years, the program is expected to receive $8 million overall from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a Government House news release.
Meanwhile, deJongh also certified a list of Federal-Aid Highways Programs and Federal Transportation Administration projects expected to be funded by the federal stimulus money. The governor had to certify the projects for the funding — about $18.6 million for federal-aid highway projects and about $1.2 million for transportation administration initiatives — to come through, the release said.
The federal-aid highway program funds will cover:
— Territory-wide: $495,930 for roadside-safety improvements such as guardrails, pavement markings and signs along St. Croix's Melvin Evans Highway (La Reine to Strawberry, Salt River to La Reine, Coakley Bay to Solitude). On St. Thomas, the improvements will run from Bonne Esperance to Fortuna, Frenchman's Bay to Bovoni, Estate Harmony, Skyline Drive and Crown Mountain, along with Grunwald, Susannaberg and Estate Carolina on St. John.
— St. Croix: $4.8 million is slated for roadside-safety improvements (including guardrails, pavement markings and signs) on Queen Mary Highway, from Hannah's Rest to the Sunshine Mall intersection, and from the Peter's Rest intersection to Contentment.
— St. John: $4.8 million is targeted for improvements, particularly the second phase of work on the Gift Hill Road from the Westin Hotel to Estate Susannaberg.
–St. Thomas: $7.6 million is provided for roadway reconstruction, geometric improvements, drainage and roadside safety and operational improvements on the Long Bay Road. Another $914,070 is allocated to fund sidewalk and safety improvements on the Red Hook road extending from Ivanna Eudora Kean High School to the ferry terminal.
Another $1.2 million will be put toward mass-transit infrastructure improvements, including the design, construction and rehabilitation of facilities such as bus stops, bus terminals and signs. The money will also be used to bring the facilities up to federal standards, and to develop shelters for residents taking the bus.
All documents relating to the federal economic-stimulus package can be found on the government's recovery website at GovernordeJongh.com/recovery.
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