End of contract payments for directors in the administration of Governor Lolo Moliga and Lt. Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga would be incorporated into ASG’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
That’s according to the budget call for ASG’s proposed FY2017 budget issued by Director of Program Planning and Budget, Cathy Saelua on May 25.
She says the FY2017 budget is a transitional budget given that the “authority of our administration ends January 3, 2017 and simultaneously terminated the tenure of all directors. Thus the accommodation of the end of contract payments must be incorporated in the budget.”
The director says the amount of the directors’ end of contract payments “should be determined based on at least 500 hours of annual leave. The directors salary adjustments should be accounted for in department’s budgets.”
Saelua has set the FY2017 budget ceiling based on departments’ FY2016 approved budget.
She directed that positions must be aligned with a department’s organizational chart and all vacant position “need to be omitted.”
However, she said, if positions are critical to the implementation of a department’s mandated functions thorough justification must accompany the request.
Additionally she said if the position has been vacant for over one year, the director must explain why there’s a need to retain it.
The budget call says all annual step increments should be incorporated in the budget.
Saelua also stated that directors must include estimated utilities and communication costs in their budget submissions.
She warned that each agency or department would be held responsible if these costs are not included in their budget.
According to Saelua, if a director wants to include other requests above the mandated ceiling allotment, they must identify available funding within their submitted budget by reshuffling other items in their budgets.
The due date for budget submissions is 4pm June 10 .
