Tinian Public Works urges salary increases, equipment and clarity on revolving funds

Joel Ontellon, the resident department head for the Tinian Department of Public Works, told the House budget committee that his department is short-staffed, struggling to recruit for a key building-inspector post and seeking new equipment and clearer accounting of several revolving funds.

Ontellon said DPW is mandated to maintain paved and unpaved roads, safety signs, guardrails, drainage and building-safety inspections. He said the roads and grounds division currently employs five people — four operator-1s and one operator-3 — and that operator-1 pay is low compared with private-sector rates, contributing to turnover. “The operator ones are making ... I believe these staff should have a salary increase,” Ontellon said.

The department requested one or two building-inspector positions; the materials show funding at $25,000 for the inspector post. Ontellon told the committee the open building-inspector vacancy has been reannounced after receiving no applicants; he said the current closing date is Oct. 10, 2025. He and committee members said they expect higher pay would attract applicants.

Why it matters: Building inspection capacity affects the pace and safety of construction on Tinian, and roads and solid-waste services are core municipal functions. Committee members pressed for precise fund balances before clearing purchases.

Committee members and finance staff disputed several account balances that appear in DPW materials. During the hearing, the Department of Finance reported the Tinian building-safety account balance as $37,801.23. The department’s solid-waste revolving account was reported as negative $49,985.14 after project-ledger overexpenditures. Committee members said inconsistent numbers among DPW, the Office of Management and Budget and Finance are causing confusion and recommended a reconciliation meeting among the agencies.

Ontellon described several specific budget requests and operational needs. DPW asked for a truck and a trailer to pull equipment; Ontellon estimated a new truck at about $50,000 and a trailer at about $5,000. He said the department has asked for cleaning services line-item funding in class code 63300 (the department’s documents show a request near $123,000) and for a vehicle for solid-waste operations, and that some purchases were to be supported from revolving funds when available. He also said DPW plans to use ASADRA grant resources for landfill design and to upgrade the existing landfill to a small-community exempt landfill, but that new landfill construction lacks an allocated appropriation at this time.

Several members recommended using existing cleaning-services or other line items differently (for example, partially funding travel for training) and asked DPW to check procurement inventory before buying a vehicle. Finance staff agreed to run account lookups if DPW provided organizational and object codes; DPW provided an organization code during the hearing and finance produced the building-safety balance at the committee’s request.

Quotes: “The Department of Public Works is mandated by law to maintain all public roads, including but not limited to paved and unpaved roads for safety of all motorists,” Joel Ontellon said in his opening remarks. Katrina Lynn of the Department of Finance reported a building-safety balance of $37,801.23 when asked to confirm DPW’s figures.

The committee asked the mayor’s office representative, Alan Perez, to coordinate memoranda of understanding for the positions now filled temporarily by mayor’s office staff; Ontellon said two mayor’s-office staff are currently carrying out building-inspection duties after being trained in Saipan.

Ending: Committee members asked DPW, Finance and OMB to hold a reconciliation meeting to align account totals before any large purchases are cleared. Ontellon thanked committee members for visiting Tinian and expressed willingness to provide follow-up documentation.