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Rota commerce director seeks four FTEs, committee flags revolving‑fund shortfall
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Summary
Rota Department of Commerce requested four additional full‑time equivalents for ABTC, statistics and administration; senators discussed using a local revolving account (1959B) to fund one FTE this year and noted year‑to‑date collections of about $78,000.
Rota resident director Roni Taisken told the Senate budget committee on Aug. 22 that the Department of Commerce is requesting four new full‑time equivalents (FTEs) for its Alcohol, Beverage and Tobacco Control (ABTC) division, statistics and the administrative office.
The request, Taisken said, responds to staffing shortfalls including an officer who may retire and the need for cross‑training and backups for certification and enforcement duties. “I’m requesting at least, you know, for somebody there to be trained at the same time to familiarize with the ABTC department,” Taisken said.
Senators pressed finance and department officials on funding options. The House had earlier passed a budget version that included four FTEs for the First Senatorial District with a personnel impact of $159,978 and about $1,500 for operations (a total listed in committee remarks of $161,578). Committee members and finance staff noted the ABTC revolving fund (identified in testimony as account “1959B”) had a running balance of roughly $78,000 year‑to‑date and an average monthly collection that finance staff described as about $500–$800 in recent months.
Senator Donald Manglona and others discussed a practical approach: authorize one FTE in the Senate budget now and use the ABTC revolving account to fund that position for the coming fiscal year while seeking general‑fund support in FY27. “We can authorize the 1 FTE now and then use that as a funding source to pay that FTE,” Manglona said, noting the committee would consider a fund certification request from finance staff before budget adoption.
Committee members also asked about expenditure authority and interagency support. Taisken described occasional rejections of municipal invoices routed through the secretary’s office and said the Office of Information Technology (OIT) was assisting the municipal administrative officer with technical problems. Senators urged closer coordination between the municipal director and the central secretary of commerce on opportunities such as SelectUSA and other investment outreach, and suggested splitting the cost of additional ABTC personnel between the revolving account and municipal or central funds if necessary.
The session produced no final budget vote during the hearing; senators directed staff to follow up with finance to verify exact year‑to‑date collections and any required certifications before the budget is finalized.
Ending: The committee left open the option of funding one FTE from the ABTC revolving account for FY26 while the department and finance verify collections and submit a formal fund certification before final budget adoption.
