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January 30, 2007
Governor and Lt. Governor meet with senators on Tuesday Gov. John deJongh and Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis met with the 15 members of the Legislature to advance talks on the administration’s legislative priorities and to expand on some of the broader themes offered in the State of the Territory address on January 22nd. “We want this to signal a new working relationship between Government House and the Legislature with our aim being to improve government operations, stimulate our economy, improve lives for our children,” deJongh said as he began the luncheon meeting held at Estate Catherineberg. DeJongh told the senators that he sees both the budget process and the Senate consideration of nominees to be a collaborative, not adversarial effort. He used the opportunity to lay out several priorities, many of them will require legislation, including: creation of a Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation; transfer of the Housing component and the Community Development Block Grant program to the V.I. Housing Finance Authority; move the Energy Office back to the Office of the Governor and take action to spread out the payment deadlines for two real property tax bill that will become due in this calendar year. And he stressed the need for the legislative and executive branches of government to brainstorm on a healthcare bill, strategies to improve the quality of life for all and to address the needs of both the homeless and the deficiencies in the mental health care system. In the first few weeks in office, deJongh said several issues have come to his attention which will require funding authorization from the Senate. “We are facing the summer maintenance for schools with no monies budgeted in the fiscal year 2007 and there is a need to revamp the process for next year’s budget cycle,” deJongh added. The governor tackled other items in the discussion including the need for an appropriation for generators in three schools that have been designated as emergency shelters. “These generators should be in place before the hurricane season begins,” he added. He also spoke of the need for a $300,000 appropriation for bird flu anti-virals, consistent with an existing agreement between U.S. Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General. DeJongh also spoke of the critical nature of the territory’s 9-1-1 system and the requirement to identify local monies to secure federal matching funds. “This system is fundamental to the basic security of our population,” he said. |
