Governor Albert Bryan Jr. confirmed to the Consortium on Wednesday that all salary increase recommendations made by the V.I. Public Officials Compensation Commission for officials in the central government have been implemented. While the governor had previously acknowledged the raises for himself and Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach, this marks the first time he publicly stated that the full slate of recommended adjustments across central government leadership was enacted.
“All the recommendations were implemented,” Governor Bryan told the Consortium.
In total, twelve central-government public official positions were recommended for salary increases in the VIPOCC study. These include top posts such as the governor (+21.9%), lieutenant governor (+25.7%), and attorney general (+13.8%). Other positions with recommended adjustments include the commissioners of Labor (+8.2%), Licensing & Consumer Affairs (+7.0%), Planning & Natural Resources (+11.0%), and Human Services (+2.2%). Also listed were the executive directors of the Career & Technical Education Board (+9.1%), Public Employees Relations Board (+6.3%), and Taxicab Commission (+15.3%), as well as the Virgin Islands Inspector General (+3.4%) and Supervisor of Elections (+13.8%). All other executive branch positions were recommended to remain at existing salary levels with no increase.
The revelation came as Governor Bryan defended the salary adjustments while pushing back against Lieutenant Governor Roach’s recent call for the raises to be rescinded.
“You can’t just rescind the law. I’m trying to understand what the issue is with the increase,” Mr. Bryan said.
He argued that leaders of government instrumentalities — such as WAPA, the territory’s hospitals, and the University of the Virgin Islands — earn significantly more, with UVI’s president making over $350,000 annually in addition to other benefits.
“The report lays out the judicial salaries at 225k, which they already made before the report was issued. The Delegate makes 174k. Is the report flawed? No one has said that. So it has to be sour grapes because the Legislature wasn’t adjudicated. This salary hasn’t changed in 20 years. If an independent commission isn’t trustworthy enough to suggest government salaries, what is?”
The Consortium countered by highlighting the public’s frustration, noting that many Virgin Islanders believe the raises are poorly timed — especially as they struggle with stagnant economic mobility, deteriorating infrastructure, and inadequate public services.
In response, Governor Bryan pointed to several achievements by his administration: “The territory is paying out a 40-year retroactive debt that was previously ignored. We paid back the 8% [salary cut imposed on government employees in 2011 under the John P. de Jongh administration], college education is free, we’re subsidizing housing with 100k grants, we’re rebuilding 400 homes to the tune of 450k a pop,” he stated. “We subsidized the light bills. We honored every contractual raises Mapp signed and all the ones we signed. We paid out premium pay and nearly caught up with income taxes. We saved a retirement system that would be broke today and we totally paid of our light bill which the government owed 20 million for years. When in the history of the VI was this true?”
He added: “Please note. If the central government didn’t give money to the instrumentalities we would have had a budget surplus every year and already caught up on our backlog of taxes,” he said, referring to the semi autonomous and autonomous government entities. “All the people who run these instrumentalities make more than the governor.”
Governor Bryan then questioned the Legislature’s stance:
“So what the Legislature is saying is that no government employee should be given a raise? At the same time they trying to raise the minimum salary in government? What are they saying?” he said.
His comments follow continued backlash from the community, with criticism directed at both the 36th Legislature and the executive branch. Lawmakers are under fire for failing to block the raises, while the executive branch faces scrutiny for implementing them.
Lieutenant Governor Roach, who is weighing a run for governor, on Tuesday urged the governor to rescind the increases, expressing concern over the integrity of the compensation commission. He specifically referenced the appointment of Haldane Davies — former chairman of the commission — as the new director of the Bureau of Economic Research, suggesting it casts doubt on the commission’s impartiality.
British Caribbean News
