Bryan submitted two-year executive budget proposal for fiscal years 2022 and 2023

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. submitted a two-year executive budget proposal to the 34th Legislature on May 31, 2021, outlining projected revenue increases for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

The Office of Management and Budget proposed a general fund budget of $963,020,472 and a total budget of $1,485,472,985 for fiscal year 2022. For fiscal year 2023, it proposed a general fund budget of $976,372,193 and a total budget of $1,513,302,379.

The proposal included government employee wage increases of 4% in fiscal year 2022 and 3% in fiscal year 2023, $110 million over the two years for tax refunds, and $38 million to repay the 8% salary cut. It also included funding for more than 1,200 vacant government positions in fiscal year 2022, up to $10 million in fiscal year 2023 for unfunded obligations tied to the GERS judgment, $2 million for ongoing payments to medical providers for workers' compensation, and more than $15 million for the rainy-day fund across both years.

According to the administration, the fiscal year 2022 budget was about 20% higher than fiscal year 2021. It said several departments, including the Department of Justice, Bureau of Corrections, Motor Vehicles Bureau, Department of Human Services and Department of Agriculture, received increases of more than 30% from fiscal year 2021. Schneider Regional Medical Center, Juan F. Luis Hospital and the Waste Management Authority also received increases of 7% or more.

The budget proposal also included creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and the Office of Health Information Exchange within the Office of the Governor, development of the Virgin Islands Territorial Park System in collaboration with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, and $12 million over two years for an expanded Workforce Development Program at the Department of Labor.

Bryan said the biennial format was intended to allow more time for management, oversight and implementation of spending programs, with adjustments anticipated before the start of fiscal year 2023 as projections were updated and additional needs were identified.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-submits-first-ever-2-year-executive-budget-revenues-projected-to-increase-for-fiscal-years-2022-and-2023/