Bill Creating Commission To Set Pay Of Public Officials Passes Full Senate

ST. THOMAS — The full Senate on Monday voted 15-0 to send a bill dubbed the Public Officials Compensation Act — which seeks to create a compensation commission with the goal of setting salaries of public officials every four years — to Governor Kenneth Mapp for his ratification or veto.

Senators revisited the infamous 2006 measure, passed after dark, that raised the salaries of the governor, lieutenant governor and all senators. They also spoke of the controversial salary increases that Mr. Mapp gave to his cabinet members soon after he took office.

“I think that by putting a commission in place that would look at the need for increases when there is a need for increase, or for no increase when there is no need for increase — that it would take the responsibility and the pressure off the elected officials and place it in the hands of people in our community, and those who can actually evaluate our performance from a more objective point of view rather than subjective,” said Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly, who has said the 31st Legislature may be her last cycle as a senator.

The commission would take effect on January 15, 2017 and would be comprised of three members appointed by the Senate president, three by the sitting governor and three by the Virgin Islands Supreme Court’s chief justice. Once the commission completes its work of setting salary increases, it would be disbanded and reformed four years later.

Those who stand to be affected include the governor, members of the governor’s cabinet — including all commissioners and directors of government agencies, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, judicial officer, senators and all elected officials in the territory who receive remuneration.

“This bill addresses attempts to depoliticize the issue of compensation for public officials,” said Senator Positive Nelson, the bill’s chief sponsor, during a recent Committee on Government Affairs, Consumers and Veterans Affairs hearing. “The truth of the matter is, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to increase your salary by five cents or five thousand dollars, there is always going to be a concern of an appearance of conflict.”

The bill’s unanimous approval on Monday at the Earl B. Ottley Legislative Hall follows contention last year between the Mapp administration and 31st Legislature senators, after Mr. Mapp unilaterally raised the salaries of his cabinet members, including that of then-Finance Commissioner Nominee Valdamier Collens by $28,000. The matter was later settled when the governor agreed to cap cabinet members’ salaries at $105,000.

Also passing by a 15-0 vote on Monday was a Senator Sammuel Sanes-sponsored bill that allocates 60 percent of funds derived from traffic fines directly to the Virgin Islands Police Department, instead of the government’s general fund. An amendment from Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly would see an unstated amount of the funds being used to buy citation books.

And bill No. 31-0130, calling for the Department of Human Services, which runs the Youth Rehabilitation Center, and the Bureau of Corrections to have secure facilities where firearms can be safely stored, instead of allowing employees to go home with them, won the full Senate’s approval as well.