Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The House on Tuesday approved in final reading the Lemanu Administration’s fiscal year  2021 budget proposal, which totals $465.95 million — a 10% increase from the approved FY 2020 budget of $424.20 million.

The measure was introduced in the Senate yesterday and assigned to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, whose chair, Sen. Utu Sila Poasa requested that the measure be put on the Senate session calendar for today, Thursday, for second reading as the budget has already been discussed.

Utu is referring to a nearly-one hour Fono Joint Budget Committee hearing on Monday this week where, the majority of lawmakers voted to pass Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga’s first budget proposal.

The FY 2021 submitted by the Lemanu Administration is identical to the one submitted by the previous administration last September, during the 36th Legislature, which amended the bill down to funding levels from the FY 2020 budget.

However, then-Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga disagreed with the Fono’s amendments, creating a budget-impasse between the two branches of government, and resulted in the government operating under an executive order — issued by Lolo — covering the first quarter of FY 2021, from Oct. 1, 2020 through Jan. 3, 2021, using FY 2020 funding levels.

The government is currently operating under a continuing resolution until midnight on Mar. 5th, submitted by the Lemanu Administration, on Jan. 3rd and approved by the Fono the follow-day during a special session.

GOVERNOR’S BUDGET

Among the funding sources, for the FY 2021 budget bill, is $110.16 million from local revenue; $134.72 million in Special Federal Grants; $210.79 million under Enterprise Funds (which includes the budgets for the semi autonomous agencies); and $10.28 million for Capital Improvement Projects (CIP).

Under local revenues, tax collection makes up the largest pool of ASG funds, with a projected $71 million for FY 2021.

In his State of the Territory Address to the Fono on Jan. 11th, the governor said revenue collections have met projections as proposed in the FY 2021 budget. He explained that preliminary statement of revenues, expenditures and change in fund balance reflect a collection of revenues total at more than $31.47 million as of Dec. 31, 2020

When compared to the proposed fiscal year 2021 projections of $27.54 million quarterly apportionments, Lemanu said “actual revenue collections have clearly met projections.”

JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Testifying before the Fono Joint Budget Committee hearing on Monday at the Senate were ASG Treasurer Malemo Tausaga and Budget and Planning Office director Catherine Saelua who gave a summary breakdown of the budget proposal, for the entire FY 2021 — which commenced on Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021.

This Samoa News photo shows the Fono Joint Budget Committee hearing on Monday this week discussing the Lemanu Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2021 budget. Also in attendance was the Fono’s legal team. [photo: FS]

House Speaker Savali Talavou Ale explained that the 36th Legislature amended the previous FY 2021 budget bill submitted by the Lolo Administration, lowering the final total, due to concerns that the government would be unable to collect revenues that it forecast. He pointed out that there were also concerns as to whether ASG was able to collected projected revenues for the FY 2020 budget.

Saelua informed lawmakers that $103.09 million was budgeted for local revenues to be collected in FY 2020 and unaudited figures show that ASG collect more than $108 million at the end of that fiscal year.

For FY 2019 budget, it was $98.65 million local revenue forecasted and audited numbers show that the government collected $101.26 million. Saelua said that the government collected more in both fiscal years than what’s in the budget.

She also says that spending in these years was never above the revenues collected. Except for FY 2014, in which the government was in the red, she said all fiscal years from 2015 to 2020 ASG operated in a surplus.

Sen. Magalei Logovi’i, who was the chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in the 36th Legislature, argued that based on what’s presented to the Fono, all revenue collected goes towards government operations. He said that local law, allocates 50% of all revenues collected from excise tax to pay the bonds — which is Debt Services that the administration place under the Enterprise Fund.

Saelua responded that the specific earmarks — under the law from excise tax revenues — for the bond payment is “separated” from funds for basic government operations. She said revenues for Debts Service are already separated from basic operations for the bonds.

However, Magalei along with Sen. Togiola Tulafono disagreed with how the government “separates” these specific expenses arguing that it’s the Fono that has the authorization to “appropriate” all government revenues. Togiola, a former governor, also pointed out that neither the law nor the constitution provides any authority for the government to operate under a “continuing resolution” — only a budget approved by the Fono and signed into law by a sitting governor.

Based on Saelua’s explanation, Savali said that there is no problem with the budget submission, saying that the only difference is that Debt Service is placed under Enterprise Fund, but the funding source is still the same — certain percentage from taxes.

He says that what the Fono needed was solid information on the financial status of ASG that collected more local revenues than forecast in the FY 2020 budget. And that means collections are up and that’s great, he said.

In the end the majority of lawmakers agreed to approve the budget bill, as presented by the Lemanu Administration covering the entire FY 2021 budget — from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021.