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State of the Territory Address by Governor John deJongh, Jr. The following is the text of Gov. deJongh's State of the Territory Address to the people of the Virgin Islands on January 22, 2007. Members of the Clergy, Senate President Richards, members of the 27th Legislature, Lt. Governor Francis, Chief Justice Hodge and justices of the Supreme Court, Presiding Judge Donohue and judges of the Superior Court, the Delegate to Congress, Chief Judge Gomez and other members of the federal judiciary, members of the cabinet and other agency heads, Mrs. Francis, my wife Cecile, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Virgin Islanders. I am honored and humbled to stand here tonight, as I appear before you in accordance with the Revised Organic Act of 1954 to give my first report on the State of the Territory. I would like to congratulate President Richards on assuming the leadership of this body, and compliment each senator on your success in November, as we have all been elected by the people to serve as their representatives and as stewards of this government. I look forward to working with each of you as we tackle our challenges and seize our opportunities. We have been given an awesome responsibility to improve the quality of life for virgin islanders and their families, and to build a foundation upon which future generations of virgin islanders can thrive. I pledge the support of my administration to working with each of you. My only hope is that each day we all have the wisdom and courage to do what is right. In the words of Maya Angelou, ‘…a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.’ this is our opportunity to be heroes. Sixty-two days ago, when the results of the runoff election were in, the politics of divisiveness came to an end. The game of playing one island against another is past, the reference for the interests of the few over the interests of the many is over, the time of governing a united United States Virgin Islands has begun. Let us seize this moment and build a future in which our children can dream dreams, and make these dreams come true. We have much work to do. We live in a community that is calling for change that is deep and broad. And we must answer that call. Eight years ago –– as sadly was true 12 years and 20 years ago –– a new governor stood where I stand, pronounced the state of the territory precarious, and called for change. He decried the financial condition of the government. He denounced a doubling of debt, and the accumulated vendor payments being unpaid. He warned of the loss of federal funding by agencies across the government. And he railed against the departing administration’s raid on the treasury as personnel were shifted to classified service for political and personal gain, and contracts were extended. There is good reason our community is calling for change, because once again little has changed. I could stand before you and read that speech almost word for word, and while the numbers would change here and there, the gist of the critique remains. The state of our territory is troubling. Our financial condition remains precarious, and the fundamental problems as they were. Our budget is structurally in deficit as general fund expenditures continue to exceed general fund revenues, and year after year the deficit exceeds 50 million dollars. Our unpaid retroactive pay obligation is nearly 400 million dollars, and continues to grow. Our bonded debt continues to grow, as a weight and shackle on our children and grandchildren, and our debt per capita now is more than twice of any other state and 30 percent more that Puerto Rico. We have an unfunded pension fund liability of more than 1 billion dollars, and we continue to increase future benefits even as we fail to fully fund our current obligations. Now there is a move to issue pension bonds to fund this deficit, which will further increase our debt burden. I cannot support the further issuance of debt under the allusion that this will solve our problems. We must develop a comprehensive solution. That solution must address our pension problem that includes a commitment to responsibly fund all future benefits. And, yes, as the last administration came to an end, we again saw the movement of exempt and unclassified employees to classified service, and contract extensions. The fragile financial condition of the government mirrors the social conditions across our community. Thirty-five percent of our children are living in poverty. Our family incomes are a third lower than the poorest state in the union, even as our cost of living is higher. Problems of crime continue unabated. Fears over safety undermine our life at home, our communities and our schools. Criminal activity perpetrated by minors is growing, and safety concerns undermine our efforts in economic development. Across each of our islands, our residents rightly complain of crumbling infrastructure, deteriorating roads in their neighborhoods, traffic congestion, inadequate parking and failing sewage systems. Many across our community lack adequate access to basic health care. Families are overworked and parents working two jobs cannot take time off to take their children to the doctor. Many families exist one major illness away from slipping into poverty. Problems of homelessness and mental illness remain largely unaddressed, and we are failing to address the needs of our elders. And worst of all, our schools are failing our children. This is a problem today that threatens our future. Our children are not learning to read early nor well, and are not building the skills in math and science that they will need to compete in the economy of the future. But the state of the territory is not defined just by problems. Indeed, I believe that––above all else –– the state of the Virgin Islands is one of great expectations –– great expectations that you and I and the lt. Governor, by working together, will bring change and progress to the Virgin Islands, and to our Virgin Islands government. The hope and Faith of our people is our greatest asset, and an enduring strength of our community. In that hope and faith, the state of our territory is strong. Together, as their elected leaders, we must respond to their call and build a government built on competence, and a new politics that no longer pits island against island and people against people. The expectations of our people are high because they know that if we work together, if we Act with integrity and if we set aside parochial interests, we can in fact achieve great things. During the forty days of the transition, the lt. Governor and I worked hard to assess where we are and where we need to go in the months and years ahead. We called on hundreds of dedicated virgin islanders to help us in our work, and they responded with energy, professionalism and commitment. The work of the transition was daunting. Nine teams explored over fifty separate departments and agencies in depth. In two weeks, each team compiled information, interviewed people throughout the government, in the private sector and in Washington, evaluated the current state of affairs, and came back to the lt. Governor and me with detailed reports, recommendations, thoughts, insights and concerns. The transition teams have provided us with many volumes of data, and details of a wide range of problems that need to be addressed, including many that are quite urgent. But to be honest, few of the problems were surprises, because the truth is that we all know much of what needs to be fixed. After all, we live here, we work here and we send our children to school here. I do not intend to spend my time or yours this evening looking backward to assign blame. Our goal in the transition was to deepen our understanding of where we are and the challenges that we face in order that we might move forward on a solid and well-constructed foundation. Of course there are issues of corruption and wrong-doing that must be pursued by the appropriate authority –– be they our inspector general or department of justice –– and we will support them fully in all their efforts. But that is not the purpose of being here tonight. Instead, tonight, I am going to address some broader themes, and suggest where we must go. Let me begin by telling you one quick story. One day, just a few days before Christmas, the Lt. Governor and I, and our transition team, spent twelve hours in a conference room, meeting with the individual task groups and listening to and discussing their reports. One task group touched on the deterioration of relations with the cruise lines, and the conflict between the West Indian Company and the Virgin Islands port authority about the docking of cruise ships in the port of Charlotte Amalie. Meanwhile, even as we were meeting here at home, a meeting was being held in Washington D.C. at the offices of the federal maritime commission. While we were discussing the challenges facing the West Indian Company and the port authority, relations with the cruise lines and the prospects of rebuilding the cruise industry in St. Croix, representatives of these two agencies, both of which are agencies of this government, were in Washington, D.C. asking a federal agency to mediate and resolve a dispute between them. Let me repeat that, so there is no misunderstanding. Two agencies that are owned and controlled by the government of the virgin islands, and whose operations are critical to our future, were sitting before federal officials because back home in the virgin islands, we were not taking care of our business. I bring this up because it is not an isolated case, but rather it underscores two of the central themes that emerged from the transition reports: the absence of leadership, and a failure of communication. I am a strong believer in the sovereignty of the Virgin Islands –– and I will return to the issue of federal relations later––but this was not a case of the federal government sticking its nose in our business. This was a problem of one Virgin Islands agency having a problem with another Virgin Islands agency. It was the result of the government’s failure to plan, to lead and to deal with the problems at hand. It is also illustrates why we must appoint a true public-private cruise ship task force to bring all parties to the table, and I commit to following through on its recommendations. Meanwhile I will be sending to the legislature, the names of members of the Port Authority Board and I will be naming new members to the West Indian company board all of whom will understand their broad obligations and will be prepared to make tough decisions. I could go on, and on, but the lessons are crystal clear. We face a range of challenges and a range of problems. Yes, money is a problem. Yes, there are people who need to be more responsive. Yes, too many things have languished for too long. But the problems that resonated across the government were problems of management, problems of Communication and problems of accountability. In sum, problems of leadership. Management. Communication. Accountability. Leadership. These are the problems that we must face, that we must address, and that we must overcome. Together. I will begin by rebuilding departments and agencies that have been hollowed out as people have left or retired, and those who remain struggle to keep their heads above water. Consider the problems of crime and criminal justice. The ranks of the police department are depleted, from the bottom to the top. We cannot have safe streets and safe communities if we do not rebuild and reinvigorate our ranks. I will see to it that new recruits dedicated to law enforcement are hired and trained without delay, and that the department has the resources to pursue its top priorities. These priorities are and must be solving open cases, addressing the growing problem of gang violence, increasing foot patrols and auxiliary units in our communities, operating a crime lab with a forensic staff, and treating incidents of domestic violence and the abuse of women and children as the unacceptable crimes that they are. To ensure that you reach the police when you need them, a fully working and effective 911 system must be in place. Collectively, these efforts will restore our trust in our police department, trust in the community and the community’s trust in the police department, which is the missing ingredient for us to successfully fight crime as a community. Similarly, almost half of the attorney positions in the attorney general’s office are unfilled. When we arrest criminals, we must be able to prosecute them. These convictions will be a clear message to our community that crime will not be tolerated. However, the problem in the attorney general’s office is not just about a lack of lawyers, and it is not about money. Rather, it is about a system that cannot identify and hire people on a timely basis, and that does not train nor mentor employees to succeed and grow. Our personnel system is a nightmare, with every NOPA requiring approval all the way up to my desk. We have to reform our practices. We have to let managers hire the best people they can find, and hold them accountable for the performance of their departments. Managers cannot lead if we do not give them the power to lead. In that vein, I would like to introduce my nominee to be the attorney general, attorney Vincent Frazer. In other areas, we need to rationalize how we provide services, and the organization of our departments and agencies. For example, given our commitment to children, and to people of all ages, who need more and better sports and recreation facilities, I will send to you legislation that will create a new department of sports, parks and recreation, and that will transfer housing to the housing finance authority. This change will result in improved development and management of our sports and recreational facilities, and of our parks and public areas. It will also allow improved coordination of our housing programs and resources, and enhance our ability to address the urgent need for affordable housing in our community. I wish to be clear, it is my view that our people must have a realistic opportunity to buy and own a home. That will be one of the primary missions of this agency: to find and to fix whatever obstacles might stand in the way of this goal, be they the problems of construction, problems of financing or problems of permitting. And on the subject of housing, I wish tonight to reiterate my strongly held position that there must be prompt return of control of our housing communities to a locally constituted housing authority. Additionally, I remain committed to the creation of an independent and highly professionalized division of banking and insurance. Across departments, and across agencies, we need to get back to basics. We must focus on fundamental tasks. And we must pay attention to our customers. The areas in which we are failing are basic. The bureau of internal revenue needs to collect taxes. The government cannot function without taxes being collected, on time and from everyone who owes them. This is not rocket science, but if we have made it too complicated, it is time to make it simple again. For years we have been told that we are collecting far less in taxes than are owed. How better to solve our financial problems than by collecting taxes that are legally and fairly owed, but that until now remain unbilled and uncollected. We are going to aggressively collect back taxes and broaden our tax base, and enforce collections fairly. It is simply not fair for most of us to pay, and pay on time, while others cheat or evade their obligations. And as we do this better we gain the credibility needed to ensure our autonomy. As with many of our problems, the problems related to taxation and revenue collection cut across agencies and need to be addressed. We need to consolidate taxation and revenue collection services in the bureau of internal revenue, including those functions currently in the lt. Governor’s office and the department of finance. Most importantly, tax issues are about to hit home, as the failure to distribute property tax bills in a timely manner has led to the result that property owners and homeowners will receive two bills in one year. True, one bill will be for the prior year that was not sent out in a timely manner, but the effect remains that people will receive a 2005 bill and a 2006 bill in the same year. If anyone is not paying attention to why change is needed, hitting them in their pocketbook will wake them up. We must resolve how we are going to collect the property taxes being billed this year in a fair way. Skyrocketing real estate prices have already led to fears among many of our homeowners that the resulting changes in appraisals and tax bills will threaten their homes. I will be introducing legislation to make certain that rising valuations do not put our peoples properties or homes at risk. We will also implement changes in our economic development programs. We must quickly streamline and rationalize our permitting processes. Coastal zone management permits need to reflect the realities of the construction industry and development, without compromising our commitment to environmental protection. We all understand that it is our environment –– our natural beauty and our people –– that form the basis of our fundamentally important tourism industry. The growth of our tourism industry must be founded on recognizing the uniqueness of each of our islands and the potential of each to attract people and ensure employment. Yet central to our success will be the continued growth in resort development –– such as the projects recently announced on St. Croix ––continued increases in cruise passengers with the development of on-Island attractions, entertainment and shopping alternatives, and expanded airline service to new markets as well as to those that have proved successful in the past. To attract these visitors we will change from having a presence based on ‘bricks and mortar’ to one that is more dynamic and comprised of an innovative sales force targeting leisure and business incentive travel. I would also note that I have begun discussions with aviation interests regarding expanding airlift into St. Croix and increased utilization of the Henry E. Rohlsen airport. Across the territory, government will become a principal aide and ally to Virgin Islanders seeking to start a business and succeed in business. Small business here, as everywhere, is the true engine of economic growth. A reconstructed economic development authority will give greater attention to the government development bank and small business development agency to focus on this sector of our economy. So too, I will see to it that our government’s aid to agriculture and fisheries directly benefits farmers and fishermen in the form of land preservation, technical assistance and the development of distribution channels for their products. On St. Croix, I will personally lead the effort to attract major investors and new employers. Issues of inter-agency communications are critical to this effort. Economic development on St. Croix is closely tied to the economic development authority –– the EDA –– to our success in rebuilding the police department, improving public safety, to keeping our roads maintained, and to improving our schools. To support our efforts on St. Croix, I will appoint a single individual as the point person responsible for the coordinated implementation of development projects. On St. John, I have made a commitment to the residents that planning will come before extensive public projects. To this end, I have given instructions to counsel to see how, and how soon, we can terminate the agreements in place with respect to the ill-conceived and undersized parking project at the creek in Cruz Bay. I restate my commitment to a vigorous public-private planning process coordinated by a planner in the administrator’s office in St. John. In education, our efforts will focus increasingly on the classroom, on teacher professional development and on student performance. We are going to reorganize our school system to give management responsibility to the superintendents, and give them greater control over teacher recruitment and involvement in teacher certification. In order to address the condition of our schools, and allow the education establishment to focus on teaching and learning, we will augment the maintenance staff with private firms whose contracts will be based on strict performance standards. We must assure that all of our children learn to read, and that we meet my announced goal that within five years all of our fourth graders are reading at grade level. This is an ambitious –– and some would say unrealistic –– goal. But I say to you that this is the single most important step that we can take for our children, and for the future of our community. That goal must become central to our organizational decisions, the charge given to our superintendents and principals, and to the investments that we make in our education system. In addition, math and science education is critical to our children’s future, and to the future of our economy. And so we must expand our focus on teacher professional development in math and science, and their effective use of technology in the classroom. And we must recognize that we live in the real world and must give our children real choices. Career and technical programs properly targeted to our economy will give our children real choices and open doors for real opportunity. Our focus in education must always be on our teachers. I applaud them for their service and want to publicly recognize our teacher of the year, Valrica Bryson, from the St. Croix educational complex. Unfortunately, she is not here this evening. She is also the St. Croix teacher of the year. And I would also like to recognize the St. Thomas – St. John teacher of the year, Lurlene Gerard from the Gladys Abraham Elementary School, who I believe is here. One of the primary obligations of government is, and always will be, to help individuals prepare and train themselves to compete in the job market. This role begins with our children in school, and then becomes the mission of the department of labor as the lead agency concerned with workforce development, job training, and career development. If our economy is to thrive and our families are to build secure futures, the department must assure that our workers are provided with the assistance and encouragement they need to develop new skills and competencies over time, both to seek greater opportunity and to adapt to a rapidly changing employment reality and world economy. We have both a personal obligation and a governmental obligation to reach back and pull up those who are willing and able to improve themselves. This is an obligation both to those currently in the workforce, and those who truly are of generation now, as well as those coming along, who might well be referred to as generation next. We have not done a very good job of encouraging our young people to come back from college or advanced training and help us build our future. Many have come and then moved away when doors were closed in their faces, often by those who should have been more welcoming. In government, this has created a gap between those with long service records and those who are just beginning. I am committed to doing for young virgin islanders what was done for me, and that is providing an opportunity, taking a risk that a hard-working, ambitious and young person can grow to fill and succeed in responsible positions in our government. With that, I would now like to introduce my nominee for Commissioner of Labor, Mr. Albert Bryan. Our task is clear. We need to plan better, and we will plan better. We need to execute better, and we will execute better. It will take time to fix the problems that we face, but by working together, I believe that we can shorten that time. We shall do better. One of the great things I know to be true about our government is that across the government, even as we have problems, there are in each agency, in each department, talented employees who are dedicated to their work, who understand what needs to be fixed. I believe we have many employees who have good ideas about how to fix our problems, but who have never been given a chance or asked. Tonight, I say to every government worker: this is your government. I ask that you step forward and offer your ideas and your energy. As you reach out to us, we will reach out to you. I understand the legitimate concerns of government workers. It is not right that there are 15 expired labor contracts. These will be promptly and fairly negotiated, and we will no longer ignore the issue of retroactive pay. This evening, I would like to introduce the person to be my chief labor negotiator, Jessica Gallivan. The need for the active participation of government workers in making things better is essential. As we all know, the government has been working to implement the new, government-wide, enterprise resource planning system. ERP is a software system. It was intended to improve governmental operations and improve efficiency. The ERP should have allowed for the redesign and streamlining of our business processes. With active and focused leadership, every department and agency should have seen this as an opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce cost and improve inter-agency communications. But instead, our old and protective instincts took over, and the system continues our old practices. New thinking and communication was not encouraged. The government failed to adequately invest in employee training and to encourage employees to offer ideas to improve the implementation process. One predictable and totally unacceptable result of this has been the delay in the timely payment to our vendors who have provided goods and services to the government. At our cabinet meeting on St. Croix last week, I gave instructions that these payments must be made post- haste. We have already redirected the ERP project in hope of capturing some of the lost efficiencies that the system offers, and are now examining our government wide IT problems. Information technology is critical too much of what the government is responsible for, and the IT function must become central to our work. We are going to bring our IT professionals together from across the government. We are going to establish collective goals, rationalize our systems, and end the pervasive lack of communication across agencies that costs us so much in so many ways. Energy is an issue that we can no longer ignore. Our energy crisis is one of high cost to consumers… whether you turn on the faucet, flip on the switch or put gas in your car. Whether it is at home or in government, we need to embrace a mind-set that says: we have a problem, and it is our problem. We must all take steps to fix it, and individually do the little things that can make a difference. Government must also address the larger issues. Our energy crisis demands that we approach things differently and tie together the various aspects of our present realities. We are blessed by having many options, including one of the largest refineries in the western hemisphere, opportunities for thermal, coal, solar and wind energy, and other resources, but we do not have a comprehensive energy plan. Instead, the waste management authority is looking at waste-to-energy as part of its waste reduction strategies, and EDA is talking about offering tax benefits to energy producers, but WAPA is not fully a part of any of these discussions. How can this produce any result that is not wasteful, contradictory, irrational and ultimately rife with conflict? Through this all we must bear in mind that we must simultaneously protect our environment and safeguard our economy. We cannot afford to continue to spend what we have been spending on energy in this territory any longer. We need to approach this issue from the broadest perspective. Accordingly, to enhance our ability to focus attention on the big picture and plan and coordinate our efforts, I will be sending legislation to you to bring the energy office back to the office of the governor. Finally, we must work together to address to our healthcare and health insurance problems. The two basic facts of healthcare finance in the Virgin Islands are these. First, the costs of care are always paid, one way or the other. If they are not paid by the employer, then they are paid by the worker. If they are not paid by either the employer or the worker, then they are paid by the Government with our tax dollars, or absorbed by our healthcare providers. The second is that costs can be dramatically lowered if real attention is paid to prevention, to pre-natal care, to early childhood care, to health screening and to lifestyle. Therefore, the elements of a solution should recognize that one way or another, the costs of care are coming out of our local economy and our pockets, and that it is in all of our best interests to create a system that minimizes long-term costs. Those are the basic facts, and from there we must begin our work. I believe that we must work together to craft a bill that provides access to affordable and quality healthcare for all, so that we all can bring health and peace of mind to all our people. I would like to now return to the subject of federal relations. Today, we face a fundamental challenge to our sovereignty and home-rule. Over the past several years, federal agencies have taken over large parts of several vital governmental functions, including prisons, housing, sewers, education and taxation. Additionally, across the government there are problems with federal agencies that need to be addressed. All should know that we are currently at risk of losing substantial federal funds in areas including CZM’s failure to comply with program requirements and education’s annual funding. In the months ahead, I will be dealing with this broad range of problems with the federal government. But make no mistake –– I will defend our government from the encroaching federal takeover in the best way we know how –– and the best way is for our government to do what it is supposed to do efficiently, honestly, and in compliance with laws and regulations, local as well as federal. We cannot take federal funds and then not follow the rules that come with the money. And neither can we afford to send money back because we fail to spend it for proper purposes as has been done in the past. Our failures in this regard have been widespread. As I travel this road I will work hand-in-hand with our delegate to ensure that all we do is in the best Interest of the people of the Virgin Islands. However, even as we address our own past difficulties, we must stand up against the growing federal takeover of our government. It is now clear that the U.S. Treasury is improperly using its regulatory power to undermine and destroy the congressionally authorized EDC program. Whatever the failings of that program in the past, we cannot allow the treasury actions to continue to impair our ability to stimulate economic development and job creation through tax relief, just as is done by all the states in the United States. We must and we will stand up against these efforts. We will run the EDC program in a way that assures that it is demonstrably cost-effective, and that it grows employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for our residents. But for it to continue, we must protect our beneficiaries from arbitrary action by the Treasury –– action that includes open-ended audits that reach back years without limitation. Now, the treasury has expanded this arbitrary audit program to target non-EDC beneficiaries in a manner that threatens all virgin islanders. We will fight these actions by the treasury, as it is imperative that we protect our people and maintain the integrity –– really the sovereignty –– of our tax system. I have determined that we can no longer deal with federal issues on a piecemeal basis. Accordingly, my office of federal relations will lead our strategic effort to address the federal issues that we face across the government, and make sure that we take advantage of all funding opportunities. We must turn back the rising tide of inappropriate federal involvement in our affairs. This is a matter of territorial self-interest, home-rule and pride. And on the subject of pride, of Virgin Islands pride, let me restate my commitment to the process that will lead to a Virgin Islands constitution. But our focus on political and economic development should never detract from our efforts to support those in our community most in need of our help and our compassion. Programs for the mentally ill and the homeless across the Territory have been either uneven or piece-meal or neglected for years. Even in an environment of reduced federal aid, we will redouble our efforts and our support of non-profit, private and faith-based organizations serving these residents. Our efforts to reduce barriers which impede those with disabilities will be reinvigorated. Our traditions and our personal morality require that we do nothing less. Permit me now to restate my belief that the state of our territory is one of great expectations. These expectations are our great opportunity... And our great challenge. The hopes and expectations of our people grant us a chance to change things and make things better. The expectations of our people demand of us hard work, focus and produce results. I believe we have been given a time, albeit a brief time, to get to work and to show results. We have been given a chance to show that we can work together, that we can prioritize, that we can compromise. Our residents, our voters, are very sophisticated and very attentive. They understand that we must not let the perfect get in the way of the possible. They know that we have limited resources. But what they hope... And will rightly demand... Is that we make choices for the greater good, that we face first things first, that we cooperate and not waste time and money. We must produce, not pontificate, and we must place performance ahead of politics. I have given each of you my word and the commitment of myself and Greg Francis that we will work together. And we will. We will not always agree, but when we disagree we will always be respectful. Our challenges can only be met by bringing together the best of the Virgin Islands –– our best ideas, our best efforts, all of our people. Because I know –– and you know –– that together we can and together we will. Thank you and God bless the Virgin Islands. |
