U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – Governor Albert Bryan Jr. on Monday announced his nomination of Averil George as Commissioner of the VI Department of Human Services. The announcement was made during the weekly briefing, which took place at Government House on St. Thomas.
“Averil brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to our community, making her the ideal candidate to lead this critical agency,” Governor Bryan said. Ms. George thanked the Governor and expressed her appreciation to former Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez for facilitating a smooth transition.
Governor Bryan also announced the release of $10 million in income tax refunds to taxpayers that should be in the mail presently, to those who filed their 2021 taxes by last year’s filing deadline of April 18, 2022.
Governor Bryan provided an overview of his meetings in Washington, D.C., which he said allowed him to engage with key members of Congress and senior White House officials on critical matters that directly impact the territory.
Governor Bryan said he and several members of his administration officials were able to discuss the extension of the rum cover-over excise taxes remitted to the Territory. The USVI is currently collecting $10.50 per gallon, and is seeking to have that extended to $13.25.
“We continue to lobby alongside our friends in Puerto Rico to get this done for both territories,” Governor Bryan said.This extension has been provided to the Territory by Congress as a course of business for the last several years. Governor Bryan said he hopes to see action taken on this extender by the end of the year.
Governor Bryan said he discussed the opening of the refinery, which holds the promise of job creation and economic growth for St. Croix and is pivotal for the prosperity of Virgin Islanders.
Another critical topic of discussion in Washington, D.C. was the Bryan-Roach Administration’s ongoing efforts to secure a waiver for the FEMA 10 percent match requirement for disaster recovery projects. Without this waiver, the territory would be burdened with $1.5 billion in required local dollars to see the recovery through, Governor Bryan said.
“To put this into perspective, the $1.5 billion required match is nearly half the US Virgin Islands’ total GDP,” Governor Bryan said. We have already set aside $500 million for this purpose, but as the cost of construction increases, so do the dollars required to match the federal share. So, we continue to advocate for this waiver to alleviate this substantial financial burden on our community.”
Governor Bryan’s trip to Washington coincided with the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, which allowed a delegation of Virgin Islanders to connect with Black leaders and businesspeople and make them aware of the ways that they can support the disaster recovery and economic development of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“We are hopeful that we have made some promising relationships that will bear fruit for us all,” Governor Bryan said.
Also while in Washington, D.C., the Bryan-Roach Administration was recognized for its commitment to building an integrated healthcare delivery system in the US Virgin Islands. Governor Bryan noted a government-wide Health IT Strategic Plan, the launch of the Health Information Exchange pilot with Crisp Shared Services, and the implementation of patient tracking systems in emergencies like the Joint Patient Assessment and Tracking System (JPATS) and the Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE).
Governor Bryan met with the Deputy Secretary of HUD and other HUD officials to verify that the Territory is still on target to resolve the contract disputes with WAPA’s propane provider Vitol and acquire the propane terminal as an asset of the Virgin Islands.
“It was a great trip. Making friends in Congress is something that we have to keep doing,” Governor Bryan said.
Last week Governor Bryan participated in a fireside chat during the Benzinga Cannabis Captial Conference in Chicago. The conference is where the biggest cannabis industry players meet and make deals to push the industry forward. Governor Bryan said he shared with the attendees the opportunity to invest in the Virgin Islands and receive tremendous tax incentives from the Economic Development Authority and the Research and Technology Park. Additionally, he met with potential investors who pre-booked one-on-one meetings with him and one prospective investor is visiting the Virgin Islands in a couple of weeks.
Governor Bryan said that as a reminder, public comments are being accepted by the Office of Cannabis Regulation through Tuesday, October 10th on the draft Rules and Regulations for Adult-Use Cannabis in the territory. Those rules and regulations can be viewed at the OCR website ocr.vi.gov and comments can be submitted by email to info.ocr@ocr.vi.gov
The Bryan-Roach Administration is investing in the Territory’s people, infrastructure and future through transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in the government and ensuring that recovery projects are completed as quickly as possible. Visit transparency.vi.gov
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