[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6527268,"mediaKeyId","3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f","parentId",3638689,"title","Officials describe rising insurance costs, recruitment push and $19 million in retroactive pay already disbursed","audioSeconds",233,"startMs",3367000,"endMs",3600000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f&start=3367&end=3600","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f/thumbnail_3367000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6527268/Officials-describe-rising-insurance-costs-recruitment-push-and-19-million-in-retroactive-pay-already-disbursed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527268-8003a0023db15f88d2773a530a3dd1b5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153175&Signature=Hgx9ku6kAgEA5E9x6AmgwSEizLdvfQnFgQ54nJIDJ0AeuXaiHbsL-u3sbar8Twl4vi4bhRjLUQkWSFvFQ9vWaIe18ZXawS5PO3tyy1pwXxZJ5N66UHFKr~WjnahvefTNndIBJwhdNImgQw1wHyrnRd3mtYsvhtD0MgrPevnZSVorYYAFv90J4EuVuanBkOPWZY7G7fmYQ7Eckqf9yz5DdYvDxwk29E~sJPx3ngGmsY0X4~lFHHNxxYiGsMoHJxn1FHXLVizOS7v6G4vxG3sFqQTxHLTw9k~luljSP1Bqc9C~rVL8D3VLu52OJEoj2k2hgwWzvy6PE6wVOht106q0kA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Virgin Islands Legislature","date","2025-06-03T20:27:11Z","article","Officials at the June 3 budget hearing detailed workforce numbers, bargaining status, health‑insurance cost trends and the administration’s approach to retroactive wage payments.

Cindy Richardson, director of the Division of Personnel, said central government employed 5,887 people — 3,008 in the St. Thomas–St. John district and 2,879 in the St. Croix district — and that the total government workforce (including semi-autonomous agencies) is roughly 10,008. She highlighted ongoing turnover: the division processed 2,362 personnel actions year-to-date, including 418 hires and 2,225 separations.

Richardson said health insurance costs rose to about $226.1 million in FY25 from $206.2 million in FY24, an increase of roughly $19.9 million (about 9.7%). She said employees currently contribute approximately 27% toward premiums and that the health-insurance board is negotiating new contracts; the administration is anticipating a rate increase effective Oct. 1, 2025.

Josh Springett, chief negotiator for the Office of Collective Bargaining, said the office negotiated six contracts in FY25 and is in active negotiations with 15 bargaining units overall. Director Reimer and Springett referenced Act 89‑85 in the hearing; OMB said $19 million has been paid to date in retroactive wages under that law to current and retired employees.

Lawmakers pressed officials about overtime in public-safety agencies and the government’s plans to reduce it. McCurdy said finance and OMB are working with agencies such as the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Bureau of Corrections and fire/EMS to reduce overtime costs. McCurdy said the VIPD has implemented a plan that he expects will generate about $5 million in savings.

Personnel officials described a forthcoming recruitment campaign they plan to deploy locally, regionally and nationally; Richardson said the effort is intended to attract a broader pool of applicants for vacancies, including skilled trades and technical positions needed for recovery-related construction. The Division of Personnel also said it is coordinating with schools and colleges for outreach.

The committee asked for a breakdown of hires by job category and whether the FY26 budget includes money for salary increases or pension changes; OMB said the FY26 budget includes a small fixed amount for salary adjustments and that a proposed 3% employer GERS contribution increase was not included in the current FY26 projections because it could not be reliably quantified at the time the budget was prepared.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","06-03-2025 Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance","oneSentenceSummary","OMB and personnel officials told the committee that government health-insurance costs rose about $19.9 million from FY24 to FY25, that a recruitment campaign is under way, and that $19 million in retroactive wages have been paid under the referenced statute; collective bargaining and overtime remain fiscal pressures.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature, Virgin Islands","taxId",77876,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6527273,"Office of Disaster Recovery: officials project hundreds of millions in FY2026 disaster spending, push to speed contracts",2350,3034000,5384000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f&start=3034&end=5384","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f/thumbnail_3034000.jpg","/articles/6527273/Office-of-Disaster-Recovery-officials-project-hundreds-of-millions-in-FY2026-disaster-spending-push-to-speed-contracts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527273-03979db0fca359cad3bd54a451584f9c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153175&Signature=RDyJPjPk5I7QhhgCaEt22~r0K6cQVIm1~nqlDR8Rlu~lJrInHo7xZwf3IWq61x-csKe~ioxpX-wBkBpwwcDdjm6yxrpat6Gt0rjtoPmrhbszcObyyMBZRg8K0zt8VoWlNuBSuv2VhkD12Mbbwz2-2nJcqk~sjC~hq7FAWLhy1bBrs9EzmKi2GgRSOdV-d0PdYTU9Jghsgtjn~hJxVVSydA1IHNGK4lfdiLrfj324C7q7TiqjS~KMeeXO0b8OwyrPEclky0J9Y7kKcSSTyj9CxCXVi3p2aOHth4~-jFXUGn~e-6azpW~pod4hIa0Zq6BEng7V2m28C7WVZY0IdUZ5aA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Adrian Williams Octalin, director of the Office of Disaster Recovery, told the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance that the office expects to obligate and spend a substantial portion of disaster recovery funding in FY2026 but that executing large construction projects will require an aggressive contracting schedule.

“The expenditures come as the projects progress,” Williams Octalin said. She added that hospitals, schools and other large projects will have multi-year construction timelines, and that the ODR’s FY26 projection of $643.5 million is conservative but achievable if contracts move promptly from preconstruction to construction.

Williams Octalin told the committee that rebuild planning now has significant project volumes out to bid. She said the office expects the bidding process for Roy Lester Schneider and the Huang F. Lewi hospitals to close in mid-June and noted the administration has bundled certain solicitations to expedite procurement. In one solicitation the office extended the deadline to June 20 for two major hospital projects bundled together.

The director said the territory must accelerate spending on mitigation and recovery work; to meet the larger recovery timetable for billions in federal awards the territory will need to ramp expenditures to roughly $2 billion a year, she said. ODR officials said routine project milestones — design, permitting, preconstruction and contracting — generate invoices before visible construction begins, so expenditures will appear on financial reports in advance of major on-site construction.

ODR officials also noted that different federal grant programs have different administrative rules. Some federal funders allow project closeouts even when new spending freezes are in place; others pause disbursements pending additional documentation. That variation affects whether contractors already in contract can be paid and whether project timelines can be sustained when federal agencies issue pause notices.

The committee asked ODR for updated schedules and bidding information. ODR agreed to provide bidders’ lists, solicitation timelines and the agency’s estimate of obligated versus unobligated recovery and mitigation funds for FY2026.","The Office of Disaster Recovery told the budget committee it expects to spend a conservative $643.5 million of obligated disaster recovery funds in FY2026 and urged rapid contracting to meet federal timetables while flagging the need to accelerate annual spending to roughly $2 billion to move the larger recovery program forward.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6527278,"Officials outline vendor-payable backlog, cash-on-hand and plan to prioritize local vendors",76,3866000,3942000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f&start=3866&end=3942","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f/thumbnail_3866000.jpg","/articles/6527278/Officials-outline-vendor-payable-backlog-cash-on-hand-and-plan-to-prioritize-local-vendors","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527278-71827a8463a97bc537655f3505e7ce78/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153175&Signature=Mn4J6D1nyLHPYhFMH-T0pP4yk7HBVRKpocWiwNL9bT6mb3wRe4oU0wDQt1txb3wzPkR1cdznIboqxr~P9bou2T7VGbk0l5R3The4Xq3LtlqjBt8WBnlQbATOpI1u~niGo4RuByeOxesdk8CmXZXkmMX9ssxPLgHPzIZgE8m5ZqhSpnJ~tCmcpL3w4mLQxs6zeCL54RoTkb-4zRdgaubKxHBlkAYZhCs94RhtlPMWnMK5Xoija~Yo7cqMeL724CVrqByxxoTgU4m-VeIxO6LgMbvoqhcob~w5zVoflKKKP6lp75rvTsG4XIypm6sl2yOPL2vvgD03rYH-OMhzSTvHRw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Members of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance pressed finance officials on outstanding vendor payables, cash flow and a plan to reduce late payments at a June 3 hearing.

Kevin McCurdy, commissioner of the Department of Finance, told the committee the government reported $48.4 million in outstanding vendor payments, $42.2 million of which is attributable to the general and special funds. After accounting for a large monthly health insurance premium that was due June 1 and later paid, McCurdy said the adjusted outstanding balance was roughly $23 million.

“We are focusing on our local vendors, making sure the local mom-and-pop are prioritized and are addressed in a timely manner,” McCurdy said. He told the panel finance now meets with chief financial officers (CFOs across agencies and holds weekly payments meetings to determine what can be paid. The department said it prioritizes payments that keep essential government operations running and looks to get overdue invoices into the finance system so they can be settled.

Officials said the government currently reports about 25 days cash on hand — roughly $94 million — and an outstanding balance on a line-of-credit used for operations and hazard mitigation of about $89.8 million as of April 30. Reimer and McCurdy said the administration also has a $50 million operational tranche and a separate $100 million tranche for mitigation and recovery within the territory’s borrowing facility.

On prior-year obligations, McCurdy said the administration is preparing legislation and said the government requires the Legislature’s authorization to use current-year funds to pay certain prior-year liabilities. “Part of the issue is they the director has allowed for those budgets to be online so that ... folks can address those payments,” McCurdy said. He said a bill to address prior-year vendor obligations was being prepared for the committee’s consideration.

Committee members pressed finance staff on the cause of late payments. McCurdy and other witnesses said common problems include invoices not being entered into the finance system, duplicate internal collection efforts across agencies and agencies’ inconsistent capture of obligations. McCurdy said Treasury and Justice met to coordinate collection of bounced and non-sufficient-funds (NSF) checks and to reduce duplication of recovery efforts. Joel Lee, director of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, added that many returned checks result from banks rejecting signature cards rather than from true NSF cases.

The administration listed steps to reduce payment delays: tighter oversight of agency CFOs, consolidation of rental/leasing where possible to lower recurring costs, targeted efforts to reduce overtime in agencies with large overtime bills, and better invoice-processing discipline by agencies. The committee requested written breakdowns of outstanding vendor payables by vendor type and locality, and finance agreed to provide the data.

The committee also asked for details about the contingency use of the line of credit for payments and the administration said it will provide the governing documents and updated balances in writing to the committee.","OMB and Department of Finance officials told the budget committee there were roughly $48.4 million in outstanding vendor payments reported for FY2025, which they adjusted after a large insurance payment; the administration described weekly payment prioritization and a plan to submit legislation to address prior-year obligations.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6527282,"Territory’s FY2026 executive budget: proposed $936.4 million general fund, officials warn federal uncertainty could alter plans",1252,2466000,3718000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f&start=2466&end=3718","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3638689-17557e2158ca39027a4b07af68b2285f/thumbnail_2466000.jpg","/articles/6527282/Territorys-FY2026-executive-budget-proposed-9364-million-general-fund-officials-warn-federal-uncertainty-could-alter-plans","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527282-404be4ffd2e7b67dc0c5e22c85db9b54/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153175&Signature=J5qvzpJwc~uhbkIfDRbMeBmFWn6RsblwoUmnbru79KVIgPg9S2gRJm7KjCPhxDMB7rTXOwtSPxogkxhFMXVhp1boVsSpXs0vBO~Kzw5qj2sG-9gZBwLnlyz7uV3BMSa0Gt78CbSbZS~2KqWGmDbyn1B3ii06x7w7-2JWFvpUShLNxcevQsPbEdP0t2vaSpwSYAhMx-8OC4iTN15RXcxbntZMGKnxI1cYrr9SoXwNn30FIKyq9FHfEaGAIPNK1NJxEBw1IbHbf-eQBf5RHV8hoUfM3tpULZAoebprfi4-52GMFX3NgDdOYxIh-8gB0pXzoie6UKaFq4m9XOnyMyqh-g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance heard an overview of the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ proposed fiscal year 2026 executive budget on June 3, 2025. Julio Reimer, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the committee the proposal includes a general fund of $936,426,140 and takes a conservative approach because of federal and global uncertainties.

The budget matters because federal grant rules and disaster recovery funding will drive large swings in territory revenue and spending. “This is not a quick or easy process. It’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Julio Reimer said, urging caution as the territory calibrates revenues and allotments amid shifting federal rules.

Key projections in the administration’s presentation: individual income tax collections are projected to decline roughly 2% (from about $423.4 million in FY25 projections to about $414.1 million for FY26); corporate collections are projected to fall about 5% (from about $78.8 million to $74.8 million); real property tax receipts are forecast to rise about 2.5% (from $64.0 million to $65.6 million); gross receipts tax collections are forecast to increase about 3% (from $213.8 million to $220.2 million); and excise taxes are forecast to rise about 1.5% (from $36.4 million to $37.0 million). The administration reported gross-revenue collections of roughly $1,028,803,846 in its FY26 outlook.

Reimer’s presentation flagged a substantial projected increase in federal grant availability compared with FY25, driven by disaster recovery and mitigation dollars. The Office of Disaster Recovery expects a sizable amount of those funds to be obligated and spent in FY26, and OMB counted those federal flows in its all-funds outlook. The administration also described an all-funds spending plan in the mid-to-high billions range and characterized the FY26 plan as conservative to avoid overstating revenue.

Several other figures highlighted by the administration: a government-wide net available cash balance of roughly $75 million (about $59.7 million in the general fund and $15.3 million in special funds), an outstanding line-of-credit balance of about $89.8 million as of April 30, 2025, and a budget stabilization fund balance of $11 million. The administration said it aims to add at least $5 million annually to the stabilization fund going forward.

Why this matters now: Reimer and other witnesses repeatedly emphasized that the territorial budget is exposed to shifts in federal grant eligibility and federal agency pauses or rule changes. “Overall, due to the uncertainty, we must remain adaptable both to the challenges and opportunity in a federal grant environment with an aggressive approach to expend all funds in a compliant and timely manner,” Reimer said at the end of his overview.

The committee asked departmental and agency leaders to return with additional detail and documentation; lawmakers and the administration signaled multiple follow-up hearings this summer to refine revenue assumptions and review implementation plans for federal awards.","The government’s financial team presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 executive budget on June 3, 2025, proposing a $936.4 million general fund and flagging large federal disaster grants, fiscal uncertainty from Washington and conservative revenue assumptions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Officials describe rising insurance costs, recruitment push and $19 million in retroactive pay already disbursed

Office of Disaster Recovery: officials project hundreds of millions in FY2026 disaster spending, push to speed contracts

Officials outline vendor-payable backlog, cash-on-hand and plan to prioritize local vendors

Territory’s FY2026 executive budget: proposed $936.4 million general fund, officials warn federal uncertainty could alter plans