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GOVERNOR
SUBMITS BALANCED FY 2009 BUDGET TO
THE SENATE; PACKAGE OUTLINES
FINANCIAL CHALLENGES AHEAD AND
PRIORITIES OF ADMINISTRATION
MOVING FORWARD
 5/30/08
Governor John P. deJongh, Jr. this
afternoon submitted to the 27th
Legislature, the Fiscal Year 2009
proposed budget for the operations
of the V.I. Government beginning
on October 1, 2008. The balanced
budget, the second of the
deJongh-Francis Administration,
totals $867.3 million.
The
spending plan, "Financial
Planning: A Blueprint for
Success," acknowledges both
the financial difficulties now
confronting the government as a
result of the nation’s economy
as well as maps out the areas the
Chief Executive sees as priorities
in the year ahead. In a
transmittal letter which
accompanied the budget package,
deJongh wrote, "Many of the
longstanding and deeply-rooted
challenges we face as a Government
and as a community were made worse
this past year by economic and
financial developments that are
well beyond either our control or
even our ability to significantly
mitigate. All Virgin Islanders
individually, as well as their
Government, have been hurt by the
rising price of oil as well as by
the "bursting of the credit
bubble" in the US and
globally. Be it the impact on the
price of utilities or
transportation, or the disruption
of the real estate markets and the
slackening of business
investments, generally, we have
all been affected. We do not
anticipate a significant change in
the economic environment of the
U.S., and therefore its impact on
our economic affairs, any time
soon. However, we believe there is
some credible evidence that by the
commencement of calendar year
2009, there could be some
improvement in consumer confidence
and from that we draw hope that
improved economic conditions will
follow sooner rather than
later."
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