An Interior Department report saying security spending at Gov. John deJongh Jr.’s private residence usurped the Legislature’s authority "not only misinterpreted the plain language of the statute, it also misquoted the statute’s language," according to a scathing response from deJongh this week.
In a letter to Mary Kendall, acting inspector general of the Department of the Interior, DeJongh condemned the report as "unfair," "incomplete" and sloppy. He questioned its "political motivations" and insisted all steps regarding the approval, bidding and construction of the security improvements made at his property were done openly and legally.
The funding in question was reprogrammed through an amendment tacked onto Act 6917, an omnibus bill special-ordered to the floor during a March 2007 Senate session.
The report, issued in January, paraphrases the wording of that amendment, saying it reprogrammed $1.3 million "for the specific purpose of engineering design, construction, repair, or resurfacing of roads." The IG’s report concludes the legislative appropriation used for the security work was meant specifically and only for work on public roads, and therefore spending the money on security fencing usurped the authority of the Legislature to determine how to spend money.
But the real wording of the appropriation act lists several general uses for the re-appropriated funds, aimed toward a variety of projects, deJongh said. In reality, Act 6917 says the money will be spent "for engineering designs, construction, repairs or the resurfacing of roads," which, deJongh said, is not one specific purpose (i.e., roads) but several—roads among them. Bolstering his point, deJongh said the re-appropriation process began with a Jan. 30, 2007 letter from Public Works outlining a list of projects to be paid for "with Senate approval." Along with the security work, the list included vaults at the Smith Bay Eastern Cemetery, several drainage projects and some paving.
"In other words, projects that could and would be accurately described as either ‘engineering designs’ or ‘construction’ or ‘repairs’ or ‘the resurfacing of roads,’" deJongh said.
A senator (unnamed by deJongh) was copied on the original letter listing the intended uses, and the $1.3 million was ultimately spent on those very projects, he said.
"It is difficult for me to understand how so fundamental and basic a mistake could have been made," deJongh said. "In this case the error only adds to the underlying problem with the conclusions reached."
DeJongh also questioned the completeness and fairness of the report, saying the inspector had interviewed only some senators, but not the senator who sponsored the section at issue. He did not name the senator in question.
Most senators have made it clear they disagree with the governor’s position, saying during two recent committee hearings that they had no idea any of the money would be put toward security. It was clear in the amendment, they said, that the funds were set aside for road repairs and construction only. Meanwhile, the upgrades cost a little more than $490,000, which senators have said is a lot to spend on a private residence.
DeJongh has said he chose to live at home because it would save the territory millions of dollars, while the head of his security team said he recommended the upgrades after scouting out the Estate Mafolie residence and making note of how accessible it was to the public. Both have maintained that a legal opinion was sought before any funds were reprogrammed or spent.
The governor agreed with some of the report’s recommendations, concurring that the provision of the Organic Act saying the governor’s official residence is Government House on St. Thomas needs to be clarified and that future security reviews at the private residences of governors need to be done in writing. But he disputed that the funds were not properly reprogrammed and said he would not return the full amount "unless and until there is a final judicial finding establishing that the funds were not properly reprogrammed." Meanwhile, he reconfirmed his commitment to pay to the government the value of whatever cannot be removed at the end of his service as governor, when he is no longer entitled to security by law.
Tuesday’s missive from the governor is just the latest salvo in the ongoing saga of the security fencing. At a press conference last month, deJongh questioned the findings of the report, laying out similar arguments as in this week’s letter. And the Senate itself has held two sets of hearings on the question, with some senators loudly condemning the governor.
Frustrated by the lack of answers provided by government officials during the first committee hearing — who were advised not to talk since the matter is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by St. Thomas resident Lawrence Olive — senators attempted to subpoena more documents and a few of the governor’s staff members, but later announced they weren’t going to move ahead with some of them, so nothing new materialized during the second hearing.