Sept. 18, 2007 — Banking on an anticipated increase in revenue collections, senators added an extra $10 million in appropriations to the fiscal year 2008 executive budget during Tuesday's Rules Committee meeting, bringing the government's total General Fund spending plan up to about $836 million.
The bill is about $36.1 million more than what was initially proposed by Gov. John deJongh Jr., who sent a $799.2 million General Fund budget down to the Legislature in May. Since then, however, members of the governor's fiscal team have announced that revenues are expected to increase, largely due to a spike in projected property-tax collections.
The bill — which emerged from a nearly six-hour recess as a lengthy amendment in the nature of a substitute — includes $560.6 million for government departments and agencies and $127.3 in miscellaneous appropriations. When the bill was first introduced in the Finance Committee late last week, appropriations for departments and agencies totaled $692.4 million, while miscellaneous appropriations added up to $131.8 million.
The original proposal stirred up concerns for minority senators, who questioned why the budget contained lump-sum appropriations to government departments and agencies. Since revenues are expected to increase, senators should want to "be accountable for the money" by delineating exactly what it would be used for during the upcoming fiscal year, they said. (See "Senate Minority Criticizes Lump-Sum Appropriations in Budget.")
Though some of the total dollar figures were pared down over the past few days, additional appropriations — such as General Fund money earmarked for the government's semi-autonomous agencies, the judicial branch and the Legislature — have to be factored into the overall budget proposal. The budget also includes $10.7 million in appropriations already made by senators against projected FY 2008 revenues and approximately $8.3 million in supplemental appropriations needed to cover various outstanding obligations and operating expenses, such as overtime costs and salary increases.
The Legislature's operating budget for this year totals about $19.8 million, while another $31.37 million has been earmarked for the courts, judicial council and Office of the Public Defender.
Another $10 million — which members of the governor's fiscal team have classified as another increase in projected revenues — was added to the miscellaneous section on Tuesday. Majority senators took full advantage of the extra funds, which will be distributed among a wide range of activities, capital-improvement projects and community programs.
"Every gamut of the population has been touched in this miscellaneous budget," said Sen. Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Rules Committee chairman.
Some senators have said the additional $10 million will come from the federal government as a reimbursement for money borrowed by the V.I. Department of Education. The Source has not been able to confirm these reports, however.
Sections of the miscellaneous budget, along with the entire General Fund budget proposal, have now been line-itemed, giving a breakdown per category of how much money will be allotted to each department and agency.
Several smaller amendments were also tacked onto the FY 2008 executive budget, including a measure to begin the Fifth Constitutional Convention, a process that has been stalled by a legal battle between St. John candidate Harry Daniel and the St. Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections. The suit, which had been tied up in court for about two months, was dismissed on Monday by a two-member panel of V.I Supreme Court justices.
The amendment schedules swearing-in ceremonies for convention delegates on Oct. 10 at 10 a.m., and gives the group until Oct. 1, 2008, to come up with a draft document. The amendment also reduces by five the number of delegates needed to constitute a quorum.
While the comprehensive executive budget bill took hours to come before the committee, senators only took about 45 minutes to approve a sheaf of other budget bills up for consideration on the day's agenda. A significant chunk of the bills either transfer money from various government funds into the General Fund or make appropriations from those funds to government departments and agencies.
A few of the bills also appropriate money from the General Fund to the government's semi-autonomous agencies or smaller divisions, which are not generally included in the overall fiscal year executive budget proposal.
Amendments were tacked onto these bills, as well. To safeguard against the possibility of additional amendments getting introduced during this week's full session, senators forwarded the bills, as amended, onto the full Senate body with a closed rule.
For a complete listing of the smaller budget bills, see "Stack of Budget Bills Approved Amidst Minority Protests."
Present during Tuesday's hearing was Dowe, along with Sens. Shawn-Michael Malone, Usie R. Richards, James Weber III, Carmen M. Wesselhoft and Alvin L. Williams. Sens. Liston Davis and Terrence "Positive" Nelson, both non-committee members, were also present.
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