Dec. 2, 2004 – Management and Budget Director Ira Mills and Finance Commissioner Bernice Turnbull, two of the top financial officers of the Turnbull administration, traveled to Hawaii this week to meet their counterparts from other U.S. territories. The meeting was arranged by the Interior Department and a spokesman for the Office of Insular Affairs says it was designed to promote better decision-making and networking.
According to Interior spokesman Keith Parsky, the meeting for island government financial officers is held twice yearly.
"We found that there's a lot of commonality among the various territories. The islands – called collectively the insular areas – and the troubles that plague our islands are more similar than different. The situation, the economic picture and the skill sets we find on the islands are very similar. There's a lot to be gained by getting together and talking through the various experiences that the island government financial officers experience," Parsky said Wednesday.
At other times of the year, Interior sponsors similar gatherings for public auditors and tax officials from the various territories.
Mills and Turnbull spoke briefly with a reporter on Sunday en route to the week-long gathering in Hawaii.

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