Senators moved a bill out of committee Tuesday that clearly defines and regulates the classification of temporary government employee, doing away with vague unwritten rules that have often allowed temporary status to go on indefinitely.
The bill before the Senate Committee on Financial Services, Infrastructure and Consumer Affairs was sponsored by Sen. Usie R. Richards, and defines a temporary employee as an individual who has been appointed to a position for a time period not to exceed one year. According to Luis “Tito” Morales, president of the United Steelworkers Local 6249, this is already stated in Virgin Islands statute under Act 6348. Morales continued by saying, “The government has been violating the law, their own law.”
The bill also mandates that temporary employees receive a Notice of Personnel Action (NOPA) prior to the commencement of their employment and that the NOPA include the beginning and ending dates of employment. Division of Personnel Director Kenneth L. Hermon Jr. told senators that “all government employees, including temps, must have a valid NOPA prior to their date of employment” but did admit that there were probably some temporary employees working under expired NOPAs due to the fact that “some agencies are not as efficient as they should be.”
The last portion of the bill addresses employee reviews, stating that every temporary employee must receive a departmental work evaluation upon completion of six months of service. If the evaluation shows that the employee’s work performance has been satisfactory or better in all categories, the employee may be recommended for a permanent position within the government.
While Morales stated that after one year, a temporary employee “has to become a permanent classified employee,” Hermon responded that the law does not say what happens after year one and that “every employee holding a classified position must be qualified for that position.”
There was much talk about per diem employees, a classification originally instituted for the summer employment of students but abused by government agencies, according to witnesses. As an example, Morales described a Department of Labor employee working as a per diem employee for two to three years. Hermon said, “Shortly after taking the helm of the personnel department, we notified all departments that the per diem classification will be phased out.”
Sen. Wayne A.G. James summed it up by saying, “Part of the underlying issue before us is the practice of the government instituting a hiring freeze, but then we keep seeing people getting fancy positions via nomenclature, by calling it something else.”
Sen. Terrence “Positive” Nelson agreed, saying, “The government needs to audit the entire manpower-personnel system.”
Voting in favor of the bill were Sens. Neville James, Wayne A.G. James, Nelson, Nereida “Nellie” Rivera-O’Reilly, and Celestino A. White Sr. Absent and excused were Sens. Adlah “Foncie” Donastorg and Michael Thurland.
The second bill on the agenda Tuesday, sponsored by O’Reilly and Richards, requirew all supermarkets to provide a price list for certain food items to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs on the first Monday of every month. The items include all milk, bread, rice, flour, potatoes, cereal, juice, dried beans, fruits, vegetables, meats and poultry offered for sale.
Dr. Paul Simmonds, AARP V.I. state president, told senators that “having the list will certainly help members decide where to shop.” This bill, along with the prescription pricing legislation, is intended as a service for elderly residents.
Voting in favor of the bill were Neville James, Wayne A.G. James, Nelson, O’Reilly and White. Absent and excused were Sens. Adlah “Foncie” Donastorg and Michael Thurland.
The final bill before the committee, proposed by Sen. Craig W. Barshinger, provides for the revaluation of properties in the Virgin Islands, particularly on the island of St. John. This bill was proposed in response to square foot property values determined by the Bearing Point contractor of $87 for St. Croix, $93 for St. Thomas, and $360 for St. John.
Barshinger, in an amendment in the nature of a substitute bill, called these values an “aberration." The amendment also states that the kind of homes sold on St. John during the valuation period was heavily biased toward high-end rental properties and not representative of the average home in which residents reside.
The bill also appropriates $150,000 to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to hire qualified real estate appraisers to work in groups of not less than three to conduct the revaluations.
Bernadette Williams, tax assessor for the U.S. Virgin Islands, told senators, “I do not believe the bill meets the standards of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) and therefore we cannot support the bill.”
Barshinger, in support of his bill, said, “We cannot have a tax system which knocks people from their homes.” In a brief interview following the committee hearing, he said, “People are having to pay a 400 to 1600 percent increase. No normal person can afford to do that.”
A motion was made to table the bill until the next committee meeting, with Neville James telling Williams, “I don’t believe what you are trying to do would be embraced by the IAAO, and I am going to find out.”
Voting to table the bill were Neville James, Wayne James, Nelson and O’Reilly. White voted against holding the bill.