$200K Designated for Mayors’ Offices Accrued COVID Differential Pay
Hagåtña, Guam – Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and Lieutenant Governor Josh Tenorio are honoring their commitment to the Mayors’ Council of Guam (MCOG) by allocating them $17,599,913 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds after receiving verification from the United States Treasury. Upon receiving clarification, the Bureau of Budget Management and Research immediately transferred $200,000 to satisfy COVID differential pay incurred by the mayors’ offices.
In light of earlier disputes, Governor Leon Guerrero has been seeking clarification from the U.S. Treasury regarding the allocation of ARP funds and definition of non-entitlement units of government (NEU). The U.S. Treasury confirms “Guam does not have any non-entitlement units of government (NEU), and has allocated Guam’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund NEU allocation of $17,599,913 to the County of Guam, which allows the government to use the allocation consistent with program eligible uses.” As a result, Governor Leon Guerrero has authorized the allocation of these funds to Guam’s mayors, including funds earmarked for village needs as requested by MCOG. The initial release of funds will benefit the following:
- $2,500,000 to supplement village recycling initiatives and beautification efforts
- $1,380,000 to lease and or purchase heavy equipment for village maintenance, including backhoes, air curtain burners, heavy duty mulchers, dumptrucks, and tractor mowers
- $1,140,000 to purchase new heavy duty pick-up trucks for each village
- $65,750 to repair Federal Emergency Management Agency approved typhoon damages
- $50,000 to provide insurance for various village facilities
“Our administration is encouraged by the clarification we received from the U.S. Treasury regarding use of these funds. We further reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that our village mayors are granted the spending power they need to serve our people,” said Governor Leon Guerrero. “The projects and resources earmarked represent requests made by our mayors, who know their villages best and are capable of determining their utmost needs. We will continue working collaboratively to maximize the potential of these funds in line with village priorities.”
“In previous discussions, it was indicated that our mayors would only receive about half of what our administration just allocated. Through the determination and diligence of our fiscal team, we not only cleared the path for our mayors to finally receive this funding, we achieved our goal of securing even more funding and nearly doubled their initial spending power,” said Lt. Governor Tenorio. “We extend our appreciation to our federal partners for working with us to get this money into the hands of our mayors and we look forward to seeing our villages flourish.”
###