Bryan delivered 2019 State of the Territory address outlining fiscal, pension and infrastructure challenges

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. delivered his 2019 State of the Territory address in Charlotte Amalie on January 28, 2019, telling lawmakers that the territory was in a distressed fiscal condition and outlining plans to address government finances, pensions, health care, education, crime and infrastructure.

Bryan said the government had relied on FEMA community disaster loans to meet day-to-day expenses over the previous 12 months and had borrowed $212 million. He said the government had nearly $270 million in outstanding obligations to vendors and income tax refund recipients, along with $150 million in unpaid employer contributions to the Government Employees’ Retirement System.

He said the territory also faced pressure from reduced revenues, including an estimated $65 million annual effect from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and more than $40 million in excise tax collections affected by a court injunction.

On pensions, Bryan said the government had contributed to an unfunded GERS liability of $5 billion and said his administration had begun work on dedicated revenue sources. He said reducing benefits for existing retirees was not a viable option and that the administration was proposing a restructuring of the retirement system.

Bryan also said he had signed the Virgin Islands Medicinal Cannabis Care Act into law in the week before the address and said the administration would work on regulations and could propose amendments. He said legislation would be sent to create a single hospital board for the territory’s hospitals.

In education, Bryan said the administration planned to expand early childhood education, retool career and technical training, and dedicate $2 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to apprenticeships and national certification programs.

On public safety, Bryan said five people had been killed in January 2019 and called crime a crisis. He said the administration would work with law enforcement agencies and the courts on prosecution, intervention and rehabilitation efforts, and would propose legislation to give the attorney general a six-year term removable only for cause.

Bryan said the administration also would pursue modernization of government systems, including digital services and electronic grant monitoring, and would focus on stabilizing the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, the Waste Management Authority and the Virgin Islands Port Authority.

He said the government would continue supporting major recovery and development projects, including the St. Thomas waterfront apron expansion, Gallows Bay dredging on St. Croix, the Main Street project on St. Thomas, Paul E. Joseph Stadium, Frenchman’s Reef and Caneel Bay.

The address was Bryan’s first State of the Territory speech since taking office in January 2019.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/2019_state_of_the_territory/