You said it!

One recommendation for the USVI to get revenue and to bring in new investment would be to sell an asset. Many cities in the states do this including selling the naming of a new stadium, etc. I know this will impact egos and those who are entrenched in these operations, so there will be a lot of self-serving opposition.

Here are several assets that are in trouble and could be sold for the USVI to benefit immediately and for future long-term improvements: WAPA Generating Plants. WAPA, as I see it, owes money for fuel and has none for plant modernization.  Our electric rates are the highest among similar sized utilities in the Caribbean including the Bahamas and Bermuda. A new experienced power utility owner would bring fresh ideas and fresh investment. WAPA could still remain as the distribution company. Both of the power companies on Grand Bahama and Bermuda have non-government owners that are for-profit companies and, as such, are dedicated to optimizing their operations.

WAPA Water Production. Due to the severe water shortages on St. Thomas, WAPA was forced to hire Seven Seas to bring in temporary reverse osmosis units. Why not make this permanent, but with a transfer of ownership and operations/maintenance. Let the experts handle it. WAPA can still distribute the water. This is what is happening all around the Caribbean, including the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.

For electric and water production, new owners are the experts, and for electric and water distribution, WAPA is the expert relative to the local infrastructure. This is an ideal technical split that should provide for more efficient operations and hopefully lower costs and bring better reliability.

The Hospitals. They owe the government a lot of money, and I suspect this would be negatively impacting the level of care and being able to attract and maintain skilled professionals. Selling the hospitals would generate revenue, but a connection back to a U.S. mainland health care provider would provide the USVI with greater depth of services and skilled professionals.

With the sale of any of the above assets or rights, there would have to be a set of conditions for both sides. In general, the USVI would need some guarantees for the provision of long-term services at reasonable cost. And the new owners would need some assurances that the V.I. government would facilitate their operations and not unjustly obstruct improvements/additions. The Alpine Energy project is one example of factions within the government holding up the project from going forward for more than three years, just because they don't like it and in spite that Alpine can quantify how they will meet local and national regulations. There is always risk/reward with anything that is new. So it is all about risk management.

Almost a billion dollars borrowed in the last three years just to meet payroll is absurd at best.  No austerity measures were implemented by the administration nor by our senators.

Park up the cars, all of them except the governor's and emergency responders and absolutely necessary job related functions. All of the cars that are perks and not needed for business. Judges, commissioners and senators should be driving their own vehicles and paying for their own gas.

Stop the travel perks to useless meetings that do not benefit the V.I. I do not see anyone using video or teleconferencing, which is readily available. No more meetings at hotels with catered free lunches. Bring your own lunch and meet in public, government areas.

Issue indictments ASAP on those found through Inspector General audits who have taken millions in unaccounted funds. Past commissioners, directors and, yes, our senators need to either pay back funds or go to jail. The Legislature alone is responsible for $6.9 million, and no one has been indicted. That is criminal, and we, the taxpayers, need to know who stole from us before the election.

A revenue measure would be to charge sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, exempting rum.

Anyone still making over $60,000 after the 8 percent pay cut needs to take another 17 percent pay cut, for a total reduction of 25 percent, including those employees who did not take a cut the first time around: WAPA, Port Authority and the Judicial branch.

R educe the number of days the government is open.

Most government offices could close one day a week, which would allow the government to save on WAPA by having the building closed. Also, instead of additional layoffs (or in lieu of even more layoffs), these office workers in the offices that are now open four days could work a 32-hour week. They would still be entitled to health insurance and other benefits, but it would reduce the overall salary costs.

Reduce the government motor pool. It is disgusting to see government vehicles at Home Depot on Saturday when the license tags read "For Official Use Only." Why do we have so many government workers driving around in government cars? Because they can. The cost of gas and maintenance for all of these cars could save us taxpayers a lot. More than enough for my 2010 income tax refund and then some. Also, stop the purchase of new government vehicles. Why does the government purchase new vehicles every couple of years? Try maintaining the vehicles you have, and if it is a taxpayer-paid-for vehicle, then it doesn't need to have fancy wheels with all the options. I see these government cars with the Z71 package or the XLT package and I just cringe.

Reduce the number of senators. As a town or a small city of 110,000, we do not need 15 senators. This is equal to one representative per approximately 7,333 people. A ridiculously high number of representatives for the population size. Obviously, the salaries are way too high for part-time work, and the staffs are too big, etc. 

Layoffs should be part of a strategic plan. And if layoffs are inevitable, as it surely seems that they are, then make them make economic sense.  There are many lawyers in government office who in my experience do absolutely nothing besides collect a paycheck. Why does the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands need a general counsel? Or the Office of Lieutenant Governor? Or the Department of Education? Or the Department of Health? Or the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs? Or the Department of Property and Procurement? These are relatively high-paying government positions and if a department needs legal advice, can't they call upon the attorney general's lawyers in the civil division? 

Also, the layoffs should be part of a strategic plan, such as layoffs due to combining Department of Health with the Department of Human Services as these departments were once one agency back in the day, which would reap additional savings by reducing the number of vehicles and office space necessary to maintain both offices.

Why not put the Waste Management Authority back under the executive branch as was recently considered? Wouldn't this save us taxpayers' money? It is time the V.I. stops thinking it's a mini federal government with unlimited funds for unlimited number of agencies and departments. It's not. It's a municipality with a population of around 110,000. A town or a small city at best, not a country. 

Enforce the tax laws. There was a study done ages ago that reported the taxi drivers do not file tax returns and/or underreport their income. What about people who receive rental income from tenants? Are all the landlords on this island reporting their rental income as additional income on their income tax returns? How hard would it be to find out who has an additional meter at their place of residence? Or who owns more than one home that has electric service? And since the V.I. is a known conduit of drug trafficking, get those persons to pay their taxes. That's how they put Al Capone away, after all. We don't necessarily need to raise the Gross Receipts Tax.

COAST had an excellent idea of adding a 10-cent tax on alcoholic beverages. I would make it a 25-cent tax on all alcoholic drinks whether purchased at a bar, restaurant or C-store. And we could also put a deposit on the cans or glass bottles. The deposit would encourage people to recycle their cans and bottles. I understand there is no place on island to recycle glass, but perhaps there now will be if the Alpine waste-to-energy proposal is approved. And if the purchaser doesn't collect the deposit, all the homeless in town digging through the trash could use the extra change.

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