Inadequate maintenance of state roads is a key shared concern
By The Star Staff
The Puerto Rico Senate, meeting in a Special Committee of the Whole in the municipality of Villalba on Wednesday, gathered the input, concerns and recommendations of the mayors of the Guayama Senate District to outline their efforts to result in legislation for the benefit of their constituents.
“Our commitment is to guarantee broad access to the discussion of the issues that most affect Puerto Rico,” Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said. “This work is not limited to the analysis of problems, but rather translates into concrete actions. Thanks to this mechanism, senators gain direct knowledge of the complaints and needs of communities, thus facilitating the necessary legislation to address them.”
Villalba Mayor Dan Santiago expressed his concern regarding the budget crisis in the island’s municipalities, especially in the towns in his region. On his first day in charge of Villalba, Santiago declared a State of Fiscal Emergency through a municipal ordinance and created a finance committee to identify areas for debt restructuring.
“Among the most notable debts are over $2.5 million owed to the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, which, updated to date, amounts to $3.4 million,” he said. “More than $1 million is owed to the CRIM [Municipal Revenue Collections Center], $900,000 to the Employee Medical Plan, $600,000 to the General Services Administration for gasoline, and other items such as pensions, bonuses, legal claims, and other accounts payable.”
Cidra Mayor Delvis Pagán Clavijo, meanwhile, anticipated one of the biggest challenges for the District of Guayama: the compromised state of the roads and the financial deficit to cover the municipalities’ operating expenses.
“The Municipality of Cidra, like other municipalities, faces significant challenges due to the economic burdens imposed by Law 27-1993 and the “Pay as You Go” model,” he said. “We need tax reform that will ease our burden and guarantee greater investment capacity in essential projects for the well-being of our citizens.”
According to Pagán Clavijo’s presentation, the municipal budget of Cidra for the 2024-2025 fiscal year amounts to some $15,164,588; of which $10,968,903 is allocated exclusively to payroll. Meanwhile, the public debt for the fiscal year will reach $1,501,428.
Guayama Mayor O’Brain Vázquez Molina echoed the words of his counterpart in Cidra as he considers the repair of state highways in his municipality to be urgent.
“The significant deterioration of these roads affects not only citizen mobility, but also the local economy and access to essential services,” he said. “Likewise, channeling the Guamaní River is an imperative for the safety of the population, preventing recurring floods that cause material and human losses.”
Another project Vázquez Molina mentioned for his municipality was the acquisition of the former Santa Rosa Hospital for the creation of an Integrated Health and Safety Center. The initiative would seek to optimize service delivery by improving coordination between the municipal health and safety departments, he said. He added that the construction of a Combat Sports Center is important for promoting sports development.
Orocovis Mayor Jesús Colón Berlingieri concurred that maintaining the region’s main roads is essential for economic development.
“Highway PR-155 represents the main access to our municipality, used not only by our residents but also by a large number of domestic and international tourists who visit us thanks to our great culinary diversity and the Toro Verde Recreational Park,” he said.
Among his proposals, Colón Berlingieri requested an investigation into the expansion of Highway PR-155 from its starting point at the intersection with PR-137 in Morovis to the jurisdiction of Orocovis, and that the Department of Transportation and Public Works be asked to establish greater safety measures. He also requested information on the status of improvements to state highways in his municipality that were damaged by atmospheric events.
The Orocovis mayor also noted the importance of improving the Toro Negro Forest Recreation Area, which suffered hurricane damage and has not received Federal Emergency Management Agency support through the island Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
Santa Isabel Mayor Meldwin Rivera Rodríguez recommended an increase in the contribution through Law 53-2021 to mitigate the impact of the equity fund.
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