House questions acting treasurer on compensation for Police and EMS

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Overtime for Police Officers and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel was highlighted during the administration’s $7.4 million supplemental budget hearing in the House last week.

Tualauta faipule, Larry Sanitoa queried the Acting Treasurer, Levi Reese as to why the government has not paid over time for the first responders, police officers and Emergency Medical Services technicians.

“Is there a reason why their overtime is not being compensated,” asked Sanitoa. Vice Speaker of the House, Fetu Fetui Jr said he met with DPS officials about the issue on overtime and the was response was “overtime is ok to be paid” but not sure if that will happen.

Ms Reese told House members at the moment the Department of Treasury was working on paperwork for overtime checks to be issued.

(Samoa News should point out that there was no ‘definite’ timeframe given to when exactly this will happen.)

Earlier this month, Governor Lemanu P. S Mauga said in a general memorandum that it is the general policy of the American Samoa Government not to incur overtime or compensatory time if avoidable.

“Directors are ultimately responsible for management of work schedules to avoid overtime or compensatory time,” according to the governor’s order, which also revealed an ongoing practice that was to have been halted some four years ago but its appears to be still ongoing.

The order noted that in the past, some agencies developed a practice of only submitting 80 hours per pay period and then maintaining internal logs to keep hours in excess of the standard 80-hour pay period.

 “Directors were instructed that this practice was to cease immediately” under a 2017 Executive Order, the governor said, adding that this “practice shall not be resumed and is forbidden” under the new executive order.

 “Time cards are to reflect all of the hours worked during the indicated pay period,” he said, and noted that directors and management staff are responsible for preparing weekly work schedules to help ensure that forty-hours will not be exceeded and anticipate whether overtime will be required.

And they must closely track the hours worked by each employee to gauge potential overtime and to take corrective actions available to ensure that employees do not exceed 40 hours of work during the week as often as possible said Lemanu.

Regarding the supplemental budget, the Vice Speaker urged the Acting Treasurer to make sure they were following what is in the supplemental budget regarding funding allocation.

The supplemental budget for FY 2023 was approved in final reading in the Senate last week with Sen. Togiola T.A Tulafono the only “no vote.”

Yesterday, the House approved the budget, which includes the appropriation of $1 million for the 75th birthday celebrations of the Legislature and $500,000 for Fono expenses not covered in the FY2023 budget.

The three House members who voted against the bill were Larry Sanitoa, Vesiai Poyer Samuelu and Ape Mike Asifoa.

As Samoa News reported last year, the Senate amended the FY2022 supplemental bill of $7.4 million by allocating $5.9 million to the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS) — a move that was proposed by Togiola, who is also the bank’s board chairman. However, it was not supported by the House.