Saipan mayor urges delegation to fund village cleanup, cites possible contamination and health impacts

Ramon RBUCI Blas Komatsu, mayor of the municipality of Saipan, addressed the House during the public comment period to request consideration of local appropriations to support village cleanup and municipal services. The mayor said he had submitted written comments and an oral testimony asking members to consider the mayor when the delegation makes appropriations tied to revenues from local law; he specifically asked the delegation to consider allocating at least $100,000 of a requested $300,000 for mayoral use.

The mayor described large accumulations of scrap metal and junk cars in village areas and said he was concerned about possible contamination of soil and groundwater. He said dialysis clinics operate 24 hours and that community members are seeing high rates of illnesses and cancers, though he did not present health data on the floor. "We don't know if these things are contributing to a health issue," the mayor said, and he told lawmakers he had directed staff to collect data from health service providers to determine how many clients had been diagnosed with cancer.

He also asked for immediate assistance for day-to-day municipal operations, noting his compactor required parts costing about $500 and that municipal staff respond to many humanitarian and public-convenience needs that he said local government must address. The mayor said he had submitted a report to the finance secretary in the last fiscal year and pledged to furnish receipts for any delegation funds expended by the mayor's office.

The mayor’s remarks were made during the public comment segment and did not themselves create a legislative commitment on the floor. Representative and committee action on the related appropriation bill occurred later in the session; the record does not show a specific line-item in the adopted substitute that directly names the mayor’s office for the amounts he requested.