Bryan submitted balanced FY 2023-2024 executive budget to Legislature

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. submitted a balanced fiscal year 2023-2024 executive budget to the 34th Legislature on May 31, 2022, according to Government House.

The proposed biennial budget included $919,493,992 in general funds for fiscal year 2023 and $921,636,078 in general funds for fiscal year 2024. The total operating budget, including appropriated, non-appropriated and federal funds, was $1,333,735,753 for fiscal year 2023 and $1,325,418,495 for fiscal year 2024.

Government House said revenue growth was projected in the territory’s five main revenue categories: personal income tax, corporate income tax, real property tax, gross receipts tax and excise tax.

The proposal included more than $16 million for public employee wage increases; funding for more than 1,200 new and vacant positions across agencies in fiscal year 2023; $2 million for the Office of Disaster Recovery; $225,000 for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention; $1.8 million for expansion of the Government of the Virgin Islands Financial Fellows internship program; and full integration of emergency medical services staff from the Department of Health into the Virgin Islands Fire Service.

It also included an additional $2 million for the Judicial Branch for salary increases, $25 million in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 for retroactive wages owed to retirees, $5 million for the rainy-day fund, and $5 million for the Transportation Trust Fund for road maintenance.

Bryan also said the budget package included legislation to approve adult-use cannabis as an additional revenue source. He said during a May 31, 2022, Government House briefing that the government faced a $40 million funding gap for that year.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-submits-balanced-fy-2023-2024-executive-budget/