The Committee on Budget, Appropriations, and Finance, chaired by Sen. Novelle E. Francis Jr., met Tuesday to receive fiscal year 2026 budget testimony from the Bureau of Corrections and the Justice Department. Lawmakers also considered a lease agreement for the St. John Taxi Services Corporation but ultimately held the measure in committee.
Wynnie Testamark, director of the Bureau of Corrections, presented a $37,702,232 budget request — a 4.08% increase from FY 2025. Of the 222 positions at the bureau, 158 are filled and 61 remain vacant. Payroll accounts for $15.5 million, or 41.34% of the budget, with $6.5 million (17.41%) dedicated to fringe benefits. The remainder is allocated to operational needs, including $13 million for other services, $1.8 million for supplies, $600,000 for utilities, and $50,000 for capital projects.
Testamark noted that correctional officers — who make up 43% of the workforce — have received salary increases averaging 45.4%, with some officers seeing up to 72% more in pay. Since 2019, 26 recruits have joined the bureau, and 14 became full-time officers. As of June 16, the Bureau had expended $12,184,810.30 — 51.42% of its FY 2025 budget — and incurred $2,984,481.50 in overtime expenses for the current fiscal year.
The bureau houses 351 inmates, 191 of whom are held locally. On-island housing costs the agency $320 per day per inmate — more than three times the $103 per day rate off-island. A total of 160 inmates are housed on the mainland, including 21 in Florida, 32 in Virginia, and 107 in Mississippi. The bureau remains under two federal consent decrees and in April filed a joint motion with the U.S. Justice Department to remove medical care provisions from one of them.
Testamark cited a local recidivism rate of 11% — significantly lower than the national rate of 68%. She also raised concerns about the increasing number of mentally ill individuals in custody. “These facilities are not the place for them,” she said.
Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea presented the Justice Department’s proposed $18,755,216 budget. Personnel services comprise $10,375,145, fringe benefits total $3,875,684, and additional allocations include $302,344 for supplies, $3,907,843 for other services, and $294,200 for utilities. The Department has 166 positions, with 23 vacancies.
Rhea said the DOJ remains understaffed and identified critical needs: both criminal divisions require four additional prosecutors, along with litigation assistants and victim advocates. The Civil Division is short two attorneys, and the Solicitor General’s Division is down by four.
He also voiced concern over the ongoing lack of a functional morgue on St. Croix. While St. Thomas has a working facility, St. John lacks even refrigerated storage. The DOJ’s modular morgue on St. Croix is nonoperational due to funding, contractual, and interagency issues. A new facility is expected to be installed by late summer. For now, bodies are transported from St. Croix to St. Thomas for autopsies.
Later in the day, the committee reconvened on St. John to consider Bill No. 36-0092, which would authorize a 20-year lease between the Virgin Islands government and the St. John Taxi Services Corporation for Parcel No. D-2 in Estate Cruz Bay Town.
Vincent Richards, assistant commissioner of Property and Procurement, testified that the lease includes two optional five-year renewals. Rent would begin at $9,600 per year — payable in $800 monthly installments — and escalate to $12,000 in years three and four, then to $14,400 in years five and six. Future rent increases would be tied to the Consumer Price Index.
Sean Claxton, president of the St. John Taxi Services Corporation, spoke in favor of the lease, saying it would allow the nonprofit to invest in infrastructure and enhance service. The group, made up of 34 licensed drivers, reinvests revenue into maintenance, operations, and member support.
Opposition testimony came from Carmen Wesselhoff-Hedrington, an independent taxi driver, who argued that the Cruz Bay stand is designated by a 1980 law as a public taxi stand for all operators. She warned that leasing it to a single entity would lead to chaos, citing the 2013 eviction of the corporation for misconduct. Management was later assigned to the Port Authority, then transferred to Property and Procurement in 2015.
Taxi driver Patrick Hendrickson Sr. echoed opposition, criticizing strict dress codes, allegations of verbal abuse at the stand, and his own suspension without a hearing. He described the environment as hostile and lacking due process.
Francis acknowledged the need for structure and unity among St. John’s taxi operators. The measure was held in committee.
Senators present included Vice Chair Marvin A. Blyden, Angel L. Bolques Jr., Dwayne M. DeGraff, Hubert L. Frederick, Ray Fonseca, Kenneth L. Gittens, Marise C. James, Franklin D. Johnson, Carla J. Joseph, Clifford A. Joseph Sr., Avery L. Lewis, Milton E. Potter, and Kurt A. Vialet.