Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has yet to submit financial plans statutorily-required before the government’s certifying officers can sign off on 22 percent pay raises to members of the General Pay Plan. Her failure to submit plans telling the Guam Legislature how she will pay outstanding merit bonuses, increments, and grants to small businesses in need, is delaying the pay raises, which would have gone into effect April 1.
Happy belated April Fool’s Day, GovGuam employees. The administration’s political machinations have made now befall your disrupted expectations.
According to the law passed in March that authorizes the pay raises, the governor can only issue them once she submits the plans to senators. And according to the Certifying Officer Law of the island, no designated certifying officer may sign off on any payment – including pay checks with pay raises – not authorized by law.
Sen. Frank Blas, Jr., concerned the governor would pressure certifying officers to break the law, sent a memo in early April to all GovGuam certifying officers reminding them of their fiduciary and legal duties. According to the law, if they are charged and found guilty of purposely certifying an unauthorized payment, they will face up to three years in prison.
The memo reportedly caused a flurry of concern among the certifying officers, who began calling Adelup and the Office of the Attorney General of Guam in its wake. The concern was followed by statements from the director of administration, explaining pay raises would be delayed until April 28, though he attributed the delay to processing issues..
Interim superintendent of education Dr. Judith Won Pat issued a memo of her own Wednesday updating all Guam Department of Education employees on the General Pay Plan of the administration’s failure to submit the contingent plans to senators as of yet.
“As such, we have yet to receive the full allotment needed to fund the implementation of the 2023 GPP,” Dr. Won Pat wrote to her employees. “Rest assure HR and Payroll are ready to implement the respective salary adjustments. However, since GDOE did not receive the approved allotment, we reverted back to the former pay tables. You will continue to receive your regular paycheck until such funding necessary for implementation of the GPP is provided.”
