The Leon Guerrero Administration is seeking approval for a $916 million spending plan in the 2021 Fiscal Year.
In her budget message to the legislature last night, the Governor writes that her spending plan is focused on making the community safer, increasing the pay for teachers and nurses and investing in Guam’s physical and emotional health.
“The Executive Budget Request” said the governor “is prudent, conservative, and balanced.”
However, she warned that the impact of the Trump tax cuts in December 2017 is still being felt, writing that it “shrunk our income tax base by over $80 million” and “this shortfall crippled public safety, courted the possibility of massive layoffs, and brought us to the brink of economic disaster.”
The governor noted that GovGuam is “paying for more debt and working with less General Fund revenues that its predecessors.”
The governor also highlighted the need to pay down the deficit saying, “ignoring our cumulative deficit in favor of short-term political satisfaction is dangerous.”
The Gross General Fund revenue totals $824.6M, an increase of 2.5% over last fiscal year. However, only $664.8M is available for appropriations, $95.9M is dedicated to debt service obligations on GovGuam’s bond borrowings.
INCOME:
*Total General Fund – $664.8M
-$315M from the Business Privilege Tax
-$286M in income taxes
-$68M in section 30 funds, minus the deduction to pay war claims.
* Special Fund Revenue – $251.3M
– Healthy Futures Fund – $41.7M
– Guam Highway Fund – $23.8M
* Federal – $142.5M in matching grants in aid revenue
EXPENDITURES:
– Public Safety – $125.4M
– Education – $298,6M
– Health – $122.7M
– GMH – $20.4M from the GMHA Pharmaceutical Fund
– Debt Service – $95.9M
– COLA – $15.06M for a single lump sum Cost of Living Allowance
– Rainy Day Fund – $13.5M
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