Concerns over two issues interrupted what was otherwise an afternoon budget hearing filled with praise for Property and Procurement officials, who laid out their fiscal year 2010 budget plans and efforts to cut down on government expenses.
It was revealed during Monday’s Appropriations and Budget Committee hearing that the department had decided to cancel, for the time being, the bidding process for a government complex, which Property and Procurement Commissioner Lynn Millin Maduro said got held up by a lack of money.
Bidders were asked to consider buying land for the complex, which would hold about 26 government agencies. In that case, seven or eight acres of land would be needed, which would cost upwards of $100,000, Maduro explained after the hearing. At this point, Property and Procurement would only have about $4.6 million to put toward the project, she said.
The plan is to look at constructing a smaller complex, housing three or four agencies that work together, Maduro said, adding that the project would be re-advertised for bids in FY 2010.
Senators also questioned what the department is doing to expedite projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). If services aren’t procured, bids aren’t advertised and contracts aren’t awarded quickly, the territory could lose a substantial amount of funds, they said.
Maduro reassured senators by explaining that a system to expedite the processes has been in place for about a month. Specific documents have been drafted for ARRA-funded projects and have been given out to all departments and agencies that are expecting federal funds, she said, adding that the turnaround time for the paperwork to be completed within the department is about two days.
Meanwhile, projects under $251,000 will move from Property and Procurement straight to the Governor’s Office for approval, while projects above that amount, but under $1 million, would go through Justice, then Property and Procurement and the Governor’s Office, allowing the department to keep up with its other contracts, Maduro explained.
Looking at what can be done to cut costs, senators questioned whether the department is still approving requests for the purchase of what they called "gas-guzzling" sport-utility vehicles (SUVs). Even though government’s gas consumption went up from 837,355 gallons in FY 2008 to 1.2 million gallons in FY 2009 — attributable, Maduro said, to changes in the government’s account with Hovensa — there is still a continuing moratorium on SUVs, she said.
What’s being used instead is essentially a vehicle-exchange program that takes old SUVs from the Police Department’s fleet that are still in good shape and redistributes them to departments and agencies whose vehicles need to be replaced.
The Legislature will soon get 15 of those vehicles, which were retired from the Police Department a few years ago, she said. Other vehicles will be donated to the Magens Bay Authority, St. Croix and St. Thomas Rescue, the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, the Taxi Enforcement Division, Justice and the Bureau of Corrections.
Property and Procurement’s FY 2010 General Fund budget totals nearly $6.3 million. Of that amount, about $4 million will go toward personnel services, $1.6 million toward associated fringe benefits, $50,225 to supplies, $357,699 to other services and charges, and $200,000 toward utilities.
The department is also set to receive $1.8 million from the Business and Commercial Fund; $243,597 from the Indirect Cost Fund; and $2 million in other non-appropriated funds, for an overall budget of $10.3 million.
Present during Monday’s meeting were Sens. Craig W. Barshinger, Carlton "Ital" Dowe, Louis P. Hill, Sammuel Sanes, Patrick Simeon Sprauve and Michael Thurland.