Veterans Affairs asks for $1.22 million local budget as office presses for lottery and taxi‑medallion proceeds and raises concerns about costly air ambulance ev

The Virgin Islands Office of Veterans Affairs (OVA) asked the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance on June 30 to approve a $1,219,369 local FY2026 appropriation to support personnel, operating costs and a $450,000 pool for mainland elective medical travel and burial benefits.

Director Patrick Farrell told senators the office relies on a mix of local appropriations and non‑appropriated sources—historical lottery transfers and 20% of the proceeds of annual veterans taxi‑medallion auctions—to support operations. He said the office has not received expected transfers from the Virgin Islands Lottery for FY2025 and has not received proceeds from the taxi medallion auctions for 2021–2024.

Missing lottery and taxi proceeds

Farrell told senators a 2024 lottery release intended for the veterans office passed through OMB and Finance but "did not get to the office of veterans affairs." He said the lottery funds were redirected into the general fund at the executive level and that inquiries to OMB had not yet produced a clear trail showing final disposition to the OVA. Farrell said taxicab commission auction proceeds historically earmarked for veterans had not been delivered to OVA since 2021.

"The last allotment was released by the VI lottery and that funding released to OMB and finance, but never got to the office of veterans affairs," Farrell said. Senators pressed for written documentation; Senator Clifford Joseph requested a copy of OMB's correspondence acknowledging the redirection.

Burial benefits and veterans' funerals

Farrell continued that the office has reimbursed funeral homes for families of deceased veterans, and said the legislature recently allowed the office to pay funeral homes directly under Act 8991 so families no longer must pay thousands up front and wait to be reimbursed. The OVA told the committee it has reimbursed 35 families $162,741.91 to date and projects remaining funeral‑related obligations in FY2026.

Mainland medical travel and air ambulance costs

Farrell warned senators that legislation authorizing OVA to cover emergency or elective mainland medical travel could prove financially unsustainable if interpreted to pay costly air‑ambulance evacuations. He recorded federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) emergency medical evacuations for 26 veterans in an 18‑month span (Oct. 2023–June 2025) that cost roughly $611,085—individual flights ranged from about $17,500 to $58,615. "Is this a resource that we want to lose? More importantly, is this something that we can afford?" he asked. Farrell recommended the legislature re‑examine language in Act 8991 to avoid duplication with federal VA coverage for emergency evacuations.

Capital project: Clarence Beaver Senior Veterans Complex

Farrell reported work on a Clarence Beaver Senior Veterans Complex funded by a prior appropriation of $1.5 million is in design. NV5, Inc. has completed roughly 50% of the design and the project team has encumbered $237,160 for design. He said representatives of the Department of Public Works are serving as project manager and that the design team had concluded site constraints prevent a planned third floor the VA Caribbean Health Care System had hoped to use. Farrell said the office will likely request additional appropriation once final design yields a full cost estimate.

Cemeteries and crypts

The OVA said it now recommends pausing pursuit of a stand‑alone National Cemetery Grant and instead using local funds to build multi‑vault crypts and columbariums as a space‑saving, locally managed alternative; two crypts and one columbarium are already in use on St. Thomas and a crypt on St. Croix is ready for interments. Farrell said a pilot in which the VA reimburses crypt and columbarium interments could be pursued for partial cost recovery.

Other operations

Farrell told the committee the OVA had a small staff (the office is currently staffed at "80–83% of authorized positions") and that the office reimbursed medical travel and burial claims and maintained outreach. He said the office is exploring oversight of two veteran memorial parks currently managed by the Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation and that the OVA plans to host the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs annual conference in the territory in 2027, subject to legislative and logistical approval.

Senators pressed for records of missing lottery and taxicab proceeds and for a clearer schedule of outstanding vendor payments, and asked Farrell to provide OMB correspondence showing the redirection. Farrell said he will provide the requested documentation. The committee did not vote on the OVA appropriation; OVA asked for the committee's "favorable action" on the FY2026 request.