[ad_1]
Pago Pago – American Samoa
Earlier this week, the government submitted a budget of $733,683.167 million for fiscal year 2025 to the Legislative Council.
Internal revenues of $165,907,000; a capital improvement program of $10.6 million; and special federal grants of $282.6 million, providing $274.4 million in funding for desired distressed projects.
As the issue of the government using part of the $36 million for the 2024 financial year has arisen, the legislature has worked out ways in which this issue could be addressed should it recur in the future by adding specific provisions to the currency bill.
Section 2 of the bill states that “income under this Act, or income calculated in excess of any source of income, is unapportioned income if the Government of American Samoa or any instrumentality thereof receives income from any source of income not included in the income stream for fiscal year 2025.”
“The proceeds will be deposited into the general fund and distributed immediately by the Legislature, without having to wait until the end of the fiscal year.”
Additionally, “unallocated revenues received in fiscal year 2025 will not be used for any purpose unless approved and ratified by the Legislature. Upon receipt of such money, the Governor will promptly notify the Legislature as it has not yet been allocated.”
Chapter III of the resolution is titled “Low Revenue Amounts.” It states that “if the Chief Financial Officer and the Government Budget determine that revenues are less than the approved revenues, which are two-fourths of the amount provided for in this Act, by more than two percent for the current fiscal year, the Governor shall immediately procure a proclamation to the Legislature” and “provide for a plan to change the programs of the various agencies, a reprogramming law, or additional appropriations to reorganize the reduced funds.”
and “introduce changes or reprogramming to detail the reductions in spending required to ensure that the actual revenues of the program are the same as the money actually spent by the four.”
Chapter 4 of the resolution introduces “Anulai caused by negligence”.
It states that “No revenue appropriated by this Act shall be expended, earmarked, or carried forward until the end of fiscal year 2025, when it shall be returned to the General Fund and may not be expended again unless appropriated by the Legislature.”
The government’s review of funding allocations for fiscal year 2025 will continue next Monday, from August 19 to 28.
According to the assessment calendar, the chairmen of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, Senator Utu Sila Poasa and Assemblyman Vailoata Amituanai, will begin hearings next Monday, with the participation of the Office of Budget and Finance.
In a letter to council leaders last week, the Honourable Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga announced that he had suspended all travel by Cabinet members while the forum and its deliberations were processed to enable them to attend.
Lemanu, however, requested that Cabinet members be excused from attending the review held on Tuesday as important issues needed to be discussed.
[ad_2]
Source link
