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7:01 pm, Jul 25, 2025
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FDA names oncologist Vinay Prasad as top vaccine official

The FDA has named Vinay Prasad, an oncologist who has previously criticized COVID-19 restrictions, as the director of its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

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LGO Seeks $7.74M Budget Boost To Tackle Staffing Gaps and Sustain Strong Revenue Growth

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office is seeking a $7.74 million budget for fiscal year 2026— a 7.74% increase over last year — to fund at least 91 positions and continue its role as one of the territory’s top revenue generators. 

Senators highlighted the office’s financial impact, noting that it collected $124.3 million in fiscal year 2024 and is projected to bring in $132.6 million for 2026. The proposed budget increase aims to support ongoing operations, salary increases, and critical infrastructure projects, while the office continues to face challenges in filling 29 specialized vacancies. 

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office stands out as the second largest revenue-generating agency in the Virgin Islands government, In fiscal year 2024, the office collected over $124 million, and as of June 2025, it had already brought in more than $76 million, with projections reaching $132.6 million for fiscal year 2026 — a 5.45% increase in collections.

This strong performance drew praise from lawmakers, including Sen. Hubert Frederick. “Normally, my approach would be to focus on costs,” Frederick said, “but I’m not going to do that today because you’re generating revenues. You’re doing what we want most — not all — of our agencies to do: bring in money to help ease the financial burden on our community.”

According to Nadja Harrigan, acting chief of staff of The Lieutenant Governor’s Office “Despite challenges during the fiscal year, the very dedicated, experienced, qualified and competent staff across all of LG’s various divisions continue to perform their duties and responsibilities effectively and efficiently and have had several noteworthy accomplishments.”

The Recorder of Deeds and the Division of Corporations and Trademarks focused on expanding online services and improving customer access. These enhancements contributed to significant revenue growth, as more residents and businesses were able to efficiently access essential government services. “It’s very profitable, we have a lot of customers actually using the service, and so we have collected a lot of money,” said Erica Dover, recorder of deeds, who also noted that the division is on track to exceed its $5 million projection from registration fees, filing fees, and franchise taxes.

The Division of Business and Financial Management is responsible for managing the office’s budget, payroll, and financial operations, and the division not only implemented salary increases for unionized employees — addressing long-standing compensation issues — but also oversaw major repairs and office relocations. 

The Division of Banking, Insurance, and Financial Regulation collected more than $34 million and made significant strides in modernization by launching new digital platforms., The Division is also experiencing a backlog in reviewing financial statements and conducting examinations due to insufficient staffing. There are four key examiner positions vacant (one on St. Croix, three on St. Thomas), some for as long as two to three years. The main challenge in filling these roles is the inability to offer competitive salaries compared to other agencies.  

The Division of Geospatial Information Systems secured $4.6 million in federal funding for street addressing and infrastructure mapping projects. The division recently completed the Saint John SAI project, making it the first island in the Caribbean with a complete urban grid, officials said. The office is also expanding the street addressing initiative and partnering with other agencies to manage critical infrastructure data and implement the “Call Before You Dig” legislation. Upcoming plans include finishing the final phase of the street addressing project, advancing the benchmark network control project, and updating GIS data for all utilities agencies to enhance GPS capabilities.  

“The collection and provision of access to geospatial data used by public and private entities that provide emergency navigational and other essential services is one of the essential services provided by LG divisions. These capabilities have positioned the Office of the Lieutenant Governor as the Caribbean regional leader in the field of GIS in government infrastructure,” said Harrigan. 

Finally, The Division of Real Property Tax reported collecting over $62 million in fiscal year 2024, surpassing projections. The division expanded installment plan options for property owners, making it easier for residents to manage their tax obligations. Efforts to streamline property tax collection from timeshare units in the Virgin Islands remain stalled, despite a law passed over five years ago aimed at simplifying the process and boosting revenue. 

The legislation allows the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to send a single bill to each timeshare association, which would then collect from individual owners. But legal ambiguities and administrative delays have hindered full implementation.

“Part of the confusion is that a timeshare is really not real property,” said Tax Assessor Laurence Romney. “Once we clarify that, we should only need to send one bill per association.”

Senators voiced frustration over the lack of progress. “We passed this legislation five or six years ago,” said one Sen. Kurt Vialet. “And we could never reach a conclusion in getting anything done … This entity does well and I commend all of the workers, but some of these decisions are questionable.”

Additionally, leadership advocated for legislative changes to increase or remove the $500,000 cap on the tax assessor revolving fund, aiming to provide greater flexibility and resources for property tax administration.

The Virgin Islands has over 60,000 property parcels, yet in the most recent reporting period, only 883 properties were inspected — a fraction of the total inventory. This gap is not due to a lack of will, but a lack of personnel. As Romney explained, “We are short staffed, and that contributes to that so we were without basically any appraisals for a little while. We have three, and in the short time that they have been here, they made an impact in assessing properties.” 

Romney further emphasized the scale of the need: “We need about 20 [appraisers] to do what we need to do. Because when we get into full gear to do the mass appraisal and so on, we need that kind of counting among our appraisers to be able to cover the properties that need to be covered.” 

The consequences are significant. Properties that are not regularly assessed may be undervalued, leading to lost tax revenue. The outstanding amount of property tax owed in the Virgin Islands is approximately $100 million, with some of that debt dating back as far as the 1970s, according to officials. To address these challenges, the LGO is leveraging technology — implementing online payment systems and automating assessment processes to reduce delinquencies and streamline operations. 

To close the gap, the LGO has conducted a staffing analysis and is seeking additional funding to hire and train more appraisers. As Romney put it, “We shouldn’t even think of that as an expense. We should think of that as an investment, because as we are able to appraise the properties that exist with the improvements, then there is more money for the tax collector to collect to take care of our needs in the government.” 

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