Office of Management & Budget Director, Jenifer O'Neal. Photo: V.I. Legislature

The funds, sought by Senator Dwayne DeGraff through Bill 35-0118, were earmarked for critical environmental clean-up initiatives but faced scrutiny over their potential impact on the territory's strained finances.

Ms. O’Neal's concerns centered on the precarious financial balancing act the territory faces, particularly with the 2024 fiscal year's allocation of funds and the ongoing obligations for retroactive wage payments. The debate underscored the challenges of funding essential services while meeting financial commitments, and it ultimately led to a decision to hold the proposed legislation in committee for further consideration.

Mr. DeGraff lobbied for the funds as he admitted to being “on a quest to clean up this territory.” However, he ultimately had to accept that his proposal was not ready for prime-time, with his colleagues siding with Ms. O’Neal. 

According to the proposed legislation, the funds would be used for activities such as payment of waste haulers, roadside clean-up and disposal of tires and motor oil. Mr. DeGraff suggested appropriating $1 million each for the islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, and $500,000 for St. John. 

Executives of WMA itself also testified in support of the bill. Chief Financial Officer Daryl Griffith welcomed the proposed funding, reminding legislators that “the cost to dispose of solid waste exceeds the amount of the appropriation we presently receive.” Mr. Griffith suggested one change to the proposed measure, telling committee members that roadside clean-up was the responsibility of DPW, and therefore “we request the phrase ‘roadside clean-up’ be deleted from the bill or that it be changed to bin-site cleanup.” 

Ms. O'Neal's concerns, however, overshadowed the discussion. A percentage of the money from the Timeshare Environmental Infrastructure Impact Fee – 85% in the current 2024 fiscal year –  is allocated to the territory’s general fund, with the remainder going to the Tourism Revolving Fund. Ms. O’Neal’s fear  is rooted in the fact that “this proposal shifts the cost share percentage due to the general fund to slightly under 50%.” She reminded legislators that “we are using all sources of funding to make the $25 million payments for retroactive wages since fiscal year 2021.” Ms. O'Neal recommended that the funds in question should not be used for any other purpose until the territory has fully settled all outstanding retroactive salary payments.

“In this case, reallocation of funds would affect not just the current fiscal year's projection, but also all subsequent years,” she warned. Responding to a query from Sen. Novelle Francis about an alternate source of funds, Ms. O’Neal grimly stated that the “short answer is there is none.” Unless collections improve, she bluntly noted that “there is no way that I can advise on any funding source to pay [for] anything that was not already appropriated in the fiscal year 2024 budget.”