| Police to get more resources, says governor | | Print | |
| Friday, 09 April 2010 11:34 | |||
 His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell confirmed that the police will finally be receiving the resources the community and the police themselves have been screaming out for over past months. “It is going to be an area of growth, in contrast unfortunately to a number of other areas,” the governor said Wednesday after a meeting of his Advisory Council. On April 1 the country entered the new fiscal year, and although no budget has officially been released, the governor says the police are assured an increase in funds. He confirmed the reason under the current financial crisis the police are being given this boast is the cry from the public. He said the new resources will “enable the police to rise to the full compliment to which they are entitled,” which includes several new officers. The police have been promised a number of experts to reinforce the team, which the governor said will be added in the areas of crime detection and community policing. In addition, the governor commented on the much talked about report about the police department. “I have now got a revised draft of the police report, which I will be discussing with the commissioner next week to see how we can progress that.” In his first quarterly report released in November, the governor announced that he had commissioned a study of the department. The Ministry of Finance is currently working to finalize the new budget to be put before the Consultative Forum, and Permanent Secretary for Finance Delton Jones said and he expects the new budget to be in place before the end of the month. In the meantime, he said the necessary spending warrants have been issued to operate under last years budget until that time. Jones also noted that although they have worked towards a balanced budget, it is highly unlikely. Chief Executive Officer Mark Capes has said he expects the budget for 2010-11 to run at a deficit of some $30 million. Jones also addressed the loan that the government has been seeking to consolidate debts and lower interest and fees. “We still have not signed the loan or have had any draw downs,” he said. The Ministry of Finance continues to work on the loan, but no relief is in sight yet. However, he said the loan will not have an affect on the upcoming budget. The governor also confirmed that 10 percent pay cuts for all 1,700-plus government employees is still set to take effect this month. There are no plans for further cutbacks in staff, but there may be some resizing, which means moving posts from one department to another. This includes retraining of individuals whose positions are made redundant to strengthen other areas.
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