BUDGET PRESENTATION BEFORE THE LEGISLATURE OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS COMMITTEE ON FINANCE August 14, 2019 FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET CAROLINE F. FAWKES SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS ELECTIONS SYSTEM OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
INTRODUCTION 1 Good Afternoon, Honorable Chairman Kurt Vialet, distinguished 2 members of the Committee on Finance, other members of the 33rd 3 Legislature, members of the press, the viewing and listening 4 audience. I am Caroline Fawkes, Supervisor of Elections, a Certified 5 Elections Registration Administrator . Present with me today is the 6 Board of Elections Chairman Raymond Williams. It is an honor to 7 appear before you today to present the Elections System of the 8 Virgin Islands Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 proposed budget, which 9 includes the Board of Elections and the Office of the Supervisor. 10 The Elections System of the Virgin Islands was created through Act 11 936 on February 20, 1963 by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 12 The authority of the Elections System of the Virgin Islands is 13 derived from Title 18 of the Virgin Islands Code. 14 Act 7892 created the single board on July 30, 2016. The Election 15 System of the Virgin Islands comprise of the Board of Elections and 16 the Office of the Supervisor of Elections. 17 The Board of Elections is the policy-making body of the Election 18 System of the Virgin Islands whose objective is to increase 19 coordination with national and local laws through election reform. 20
The Board of Elections consists of fourteen (14) members elected 21 from the respective districts for a four (4) year term. In the St. 22 Thomas-St. John District two (2) members must be a resident of St. 23 John. 24 The Board of Elections Members are: Chairman Mr. Raymond 25 Williams, Vice Chairwoman – Ms. Alecia Wells, Secretary Epiphane 26 Joseph, Members - Glenn Webster, Lisa Harris-Moorhead, Jevon 27 Williams, Barbara Jackson-McIntosh, Arturo Watlington, Jr. Esq, 28 Maurice Donovan, Lydia Hendricks, Frederick Espinosa, Harriet 29 Mercer, Shikima Jones and Atanya Springette. 30 The Office of the Supervisor of Elections is charged with the day to 31 day administration of the Election System of the Virgin Islands. One 32 of our main responsibility is assuring that Virgin Islander s’ voices 33 are heard clearly through the election process. These 34 responsibilities include training election officials, administering 35 campaign finance, managing the territory-wide voter registry, 36 preparation for the execution of all elections and collecting election 37 returns. 38 2
Our mission is to conduct reliable elections and accurately 39 maintain voter registration records for Virgin Islands citizens. 40 Uphold the laws, policies and court decisions of federal and local 41 jurisdictions. Commit to excellence and competence by maintaining 42 the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the election process. 43 Maintain public confidence in honest and impartial elections. 44 Provide equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process. 45 Maintain a positive role in community relations by being accessible, 46 informative and receptive to both individual citizens and groups. 47 Protect the public’s interest from manipulation for personal or 48 partisan gain while respecting the rights of all. Maintain a 49 productive and efficient operation through a well-managed election 50 environment through actions and communication. Maintain the 51 highest level of integrity in performing all duties of the electoral 52 process. 53 I would like to recognize and thank, the twelve phenomenal, 54 knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated staff, who has a 55 combined total over 135 years of service. The St. Croix Deputy 56 Supervisor is Ms. Genevieve Whitaker and the St. Thomas/St. John 57 3
Deputy Supervisor is Ms. Kevermay Douglas. See Appendix A - 58 Organizational Chart 59 For me, one of the characteristic that makes truly great employees 60 who they are, is their ability to work under pressure. They just have 61 an uncanny ability to soak up the pressure, and for some, pressure 62 situations actually brings the best out of them; it becomes an 63 opportunity for them to truly shine. This is what the Election Staff 64 has proven during my tenure. They are creme de la creme. 65 OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR PROPOSED 2020 BUDGET 66 Today, I am here before this body to make a compelling request for 67 your support of our budget proposal. The Election System is a 68 critical and essential entity to this community and cannot continue 69 to operate with the funding it has continued to receive. We operate 70 three election offices and conduct three types of elections and 71 always stand ready to conduct a Special Election at any given time. 72 The Elections Systems of the Virgin Islands has received one budget 73 increase since 2011 and that was last year, 2019, eight years with a 74 stagnant budget. Although we continue to transition in the 21 st 75 century with the requirement for a larger office space, modern 76 4
technology and the purchasing of enhanced election equipment, 77 which is costly up front but pay for itself in the long run. In the 78 2019 Budget, we were given an increase of $325,000.00 however, 79 my budget request was for $360,000.00 for capital improvement 80 alone. In December 2015, I relocated the St. John Elections Office 81 from Cruz Bay to Marketplace, LLC; because of working conditions, 82 ADA concerns in concert with the election’s federal mandates. We 83 went from a rent-free office to $26,000.00 per year office space, 84 which was unbudgeted. 85 In addition, we cannot plan for unforeseen requirements, with not 86 enough funding to sustain the requirements. For example, we had 87 to request an indoor air quality & mold tests of our St. Croix 88 Election Office, disposal of old election equipment or unexpected 89 major repairs to our aged vehicles. 90 The proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020 is for $2,144,000.00. 91 An estimate of 40% of the budget is spent on Salaries and Fringe 92 Benefits, 48% on Other Services and Charges which includes 93 Professional Services, Rental of Land/Building, Communication & 94 5
Security to name a few, Supplies – 8% and Utilities – 4%. 95 2020 Budget 4% 4% 40% 48% Personnel Other Svcs Supplies Utilities 96 For FY2020 the budget proposal is as follows: Personnel Services- 97 $673,000.00, Capital Outlays - $150,000.00, Fringe Benefits - 98 $211,000.00, Supplies - $65,000.00, Other Services - $954,000.00 99 and Utility Services - $91,000.00. 100 The requested budget is an increase of $419,000.00 from the 101 FY2019 budget. 102 I would just highlight a few of the significant funding requirements: 103 a. Capital Improvement in the amount of $150,000.00 for the build- 104 out of a modern ADA complaint professional office building with 105 adequate climate-controlled storage space with integrated 106 technology. This proposal will provide us with a modern, spacious 107 6
and professional office which include a larger conference room to 108 conduct board meetings and the election nights result process 109 without having to expend funds in renting tents, TV’s and portable 110 lights to provide the public viewing access, mandated by law. This 111 proposed office building will encompass an area to conduct media 112 interviews in a sound proof environment. We will also be able to 113 secure the ballots, unused and cast, in a segregated double secured 114 storage space from our regular storage room. Projected completion 115 of this renovated office space is December 2019. 116 b. Salary Step Increases - $120,000.00 proposed budget will ensure 117 the non-unionized employees will obtain their overdue step 118 increases, including retro payment and any salary increases. 119 The unclassified employees are presently at the 2014 step and we 120 proposed having them at their current step with this Fiscal Year 121 2020 Budget. 122 c. Increases in professional and service contracts – $69,000.00. 123 This is projected due to an increase expected of 4% each year and 124 the acquisition of twenty-eight (28) additional election equipment. 125 d. Estimate of $60,000.00 for Legal Fees to pay Attorneys hired by 126 the Office of the Supervisor or the Board of Elections. 127 7
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