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Governor Palacios: CNMI finances ‘‘could be better’’ but administration reports progress on audits and collections
Summary
In a State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Arnold I. Palacios said the commonwealth inherited a large fiscal deficit, reported progress on audits and tax collections, and warned of a projected FY2026 budget gap without further action.
Governor Arnold I. Palacios told a joint session of the Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature that the commonwealth inherited ‘‘a large deficit’’ and that ‘‘the state of the Commonwealth could be better’’ but said his administration has taken steps to stabilize government finances.
Palacios said on taking office he found the government’s books ‘‘a mess’’ and a cumulative fiscal deficit that exceeded $500 million. He said a later single-audit process identified $104,000,000 in questioned costs and that prior administrations failed ‘‘to fully account for $36,300,000 in CARES funds, $93,000,000 in community disaster loan program funds and $481,000,000 in ARPA funds.’’
The governor described cost controls and enforcement…
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