News

Photo Caption: Police Commissioner Trevor Velinor responds to a question posed by a Senator during
the VIPD’s 2021 Budget Hearing at the VI Legislature.

ST. THOMAS, USVI – The Virgin Islands Police Department completed its Fiscal Year 2021 budget hearing today. Commissioner Trevor Velinor and his leadership team defended the budget of $62,039,293 to fund the Department for next fiscal year, beginning October 1. The team advocated for funding to

support the men and women of VIPD, who have often been tasked to do more with less.
During the hearing, members were asked a series of questions related to the consent decree, strategic plan, and federal grants to name a few. VIPD has made significant strides to be released from the consent decree, complying with more than 90 of 104 paragraphs. Through continuous training, monitoring and
accountability, the Department is hopeful the end of the consent decree is near.
A strategic plan to span the next three to five years is being developed and will incorporate employee and community engagement. To build community trust, all stakeholders must play a role in its creation. To ensure strategies and processes that are established are sustainable, the plan must be crafted and
completed in phases.
As a recipient of multiple federal grants, the Department must adhere to federal guidelines. Submittal of project proposals and request for subgrantees to apply for funding are ongoing to expend the designated
funds.
In a recent communication to employees, Commissioner Velinor remarked, “We must be good stewards of our finances, maximizing the strength of every dollar spent.” He projects VIPD will spend approximately $10 million less this fiscal year than was expended last fiscal year. The Department is thankful for the taxpayers of the Territory and must do right by them. The employees of VIPD remain
committed to provide services and protection to our residents and visitors.
Communication, professionalism, and accountability continues to be emphasized by the Department.

ST. THOMAS – Members of the Committee on Finance chaired by Sen. Kurt A. Vialet convened in a meeting at the Capitol Building on Wednesday to receive testimony on the FY 2021 proposed Executive Budget. Invited testifiers were the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of Finance, and the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority.

“This marks the first of many meetings regarding the proposed FY 2021 Budget. The finances in the Territory are very scarce. Therefore, I hope that each department or agency that comes before the Senate will present a lean budget,” said Sen. Vialet.

The recommended FY 2021 Budget for the Office of Management and Budget totals $25.9 million. Not only did OMB Director Jenifer O’Neal defend the proposed budget but she noted that OMB strategically crafted a reformed budget for each department in alignment with the Governor’s Management Agenda, the Executive Order 497-2020, and the OMB Memorandum 06-2020 to mandate each agency to develop and implement an Agency Reform Plan. Sen. Novelle Francis inquired about the timeline to complete the performance-based budget. O’Neal indicated that the process began with the Agency Reform Plan, and there is still a need to hire personnel to review and overlook the plans. Separately, The FY 2021 budget breakdown is as follows: $24 million for the General Fund, $300,000 for the Tourism Advertising Revolving Fund, and $1.5 million for the Indirect Cost Fund.

Furthermore, O’Neal stated that the FY 2021 budget includes $8.9 million for supplies, $290,000 for capital outlay, $118 million for personnel/fringe benefits. The budget is also inclusive of $1.5 million for Competitive Grants, $2.7 million for Third-Party Fiduciary, $4.8 million for the Economic Development Authority, $2.6 million for wage adjustments, and $5 million for critical vacancies. In response to Sen. Janelle Sarauw’s inquiry whether the proposed budget is sufficient, O’Neal indicated that additional monies are needed and that’s the reason why $5 million is required to fill critical vacancies. Sen. Vialet disclosed that despite the previous allocations of funds for vacancies, the monies were not utilized. “The Senate has funded vacancies for the past four years and each government agency made excuses as to why no one was hired,” Sen. Vialet said.

Consequently, Kirk Callwood, Sr., Executive Director of the V.I. Public Finance Authority stated that the recommended budget for FY 2021 totals $10 million. In comparison to FY 2020, this is a budget increase of $1.5 million. Callwood noted that the budget request intends to fund business operations inclusive of payroll, office, and administrative expenses. The budget breakdown is as follows: $2,685,000 for Administrative Services, $6,315,000 for Professional Service Agreements, and $1,000,000 for the Office of Disaster Recovery. Lastly, Kirk Callwood, Sr., Commissioner for the Department of Finance noted that the recommended FY 2021 is comprised of four major funds: $17,973,747 for the General Fund, $1,102,525 for the Government Insurance Fund, $112,023 for the Indirect Cost Fund, and $79,582 for the Data Processing Fund.