Virgin Islands Senate President Slams Administration For Failing To Meet Crucial Obligations

[TexasTowelie]

Senate President Slams Administration For Failing To Meet Crucial Obligations; Senate To Convene To Create ‘Stimulus Package’

ST. THOMAS — In what amounts to a scathing rebuke of the Mapp administration, Senate President Myron Jackson delivered a dire assessment of the territory’s financial condition, and revealed that the administration had failed to meet crucial financial obligations to some of the territory’s most important services — Government Employees’ Retirement System (GERS), hospitals, Fire Service, garbage haulers, the Dept. of Human Services, and the Water & Power Authority.

In a press release issued late Thursday, Mr. Jackson expressed concern for what he said appears to be a “government experiencing a financial crisis of great proportions.”

“This current wave of failure to meet vital financial obligations is unacceptable,” Mr. Jackson said. “Considering that this administration experienced a windfall of $220 million from the Arclight deal in 2016, why are we at this juncture in our fiscal landscape? As a senator in the 31st Legislature, I supported measures that provided millions of dollars to keep this government solvent. I cast those votes with the confidence that the trend of unwarranted spending and waste would stop, because it was clear that we could not afford to continue doing business as usual. Serious belt tightening measures will have to be implemented in order to stave off a full financial collapse.”

Mr. Jackson said that the territory unfortunately continues on a slippery slope in regards to its economic health. Its residents, he added, continue to experience increased levels of financial hardship: food, gasoline and electricity have become more expensive in recent days. And while most people in the territory live on modest incomes, they are continually forced to pay for more with dwindling cash reserves, Mr. Jackson said.

Read more: http://viconsortium.com/business/senate-president-slams-administration-for-failing-to-meet-crucial-obligations-senate-to-convene-to-create-stimulus-package/

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