Virgin Islands Governor Says Government Will Not Furlough Or Reduce Hours Of Govt Employees;

[TexasTowelie]

Mapp Says Government Will Not Furlough Or Reduce Hours Of Gov’t Employees; Strategy To Be Reassessed In June

ST. THOMAS — Governor Kenneth Mapp sought to strike a positive tone during a press conference held at Government House here on Wednesday, stating that the government — from April 1 through June 30 – would not need to furlough, reduce hours, layoff employees or close public schools every other Friday.

“The bottom line today is no furloughs [and] no reduction of hours,” Mr. Mapp said. “This is a precarious situation; we’re not on the other end of the bridge if you will — we have to monitor the situation.”

Though the governor said that the situation would need to be monitored “literally on a weekly basis,” he said his administration was able to achieve the feat because of a number of actions, among them the sin tax bill, which Mr. Mapp said would be signed into law today, as well as the 80 percent reduction in overtime work at the V.I.P.D., V.I. Fire Service, the Bureau of Corrections and the Department of Human Services — and an executive order suspending hiring and wage negotiations, among other actions. The governor also revealed that the revenues of the general fund increased year-over-year by $22 million, and that the government’s payroll totals about $17 million on a biweekly basis.

Making known that there was over $103 million in delinquent property taxes owed to the Government of the Virgin Islands, Mr. Mapp said the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (O.L.G.) has been tasked to collect no less than $25 million by September. He said the O.L.G. was set to publish in the coming week a listing of 1,953 delinquent parcels for property taxes totaling $29.4 million. A subsequent sale will take place in June or July with an equal amount of property taxes, he said.

Read more: http://viconsortium.com/featured/mapp-says-government-will-not-furlough-or-reduce-hours-of-govt-employees-strategy-to-be-reassessed-in-june/