As senators make the shift to performance based budgeting for the upcoming fiscal year, policymakers held an oversight hearing of yet another line agency. Guam Homeland Security and the Office of Civil Dense faced renewed scrutiny over staffing, funding management, and infrastructure upgrades.

Oversight hearings resumed Monday as senators examined whether GHS/OCD are prepared for the next major emergency. The hearing comes as lawmakers prepare to move toward performance-based budgeting by Fiscal Year 2027 and following a 2024 Office of Public Accountability audit that flagged non-compliant spending practices, overtime costs, and grant management issues stretching back years.

Committee chair Senator Shawn Gumataotao said, “Time, energy, and precious resources have been focused unnecessarily on Band-Aid fixes to an operation that requires systemic chances now and into the foreseeable future.”

Under questioning, GHS advisor and acting OCD administrator Esther Aguigui acknowledged progress – but also serious vulnerabilities, saying that should another disaster like Typhoon Mawar strike today, the agency would not be fully prepared. Staffing remains a central concern -- the office operating with just 12 staffers tasked with managing more than $10 million in federal grants.

Aguigui said the agency plans to hire five additional staff within six months, noting, “Managing over $1 million is a tumultuous task. What more $10.8 million? What more grant money that had occurred in the past? It’s a skill set that we don’t have readily available right now.”

At the same time, officials say the agency risks losing just over $1 million in federal reimbursements tied to older disaster expenses.  Still, GHS/OCD special projects coordinator Lucia Perez maintains that the agency is not liable to return any funding. She said, “So GovGuam pays for the equipment up front and then gets reimbursed on the backend. That’s just for our agency."

Lawmakers also raised concerns about the decades-old Emergency Operations Center.  Aguigui said the facility remains usable, albeit in an “Amber” state of readiness. “For the most part," she explained, "the EOC, the actual Emergency Operations Center, is functional and mission capable. However the systems that are in the EOC are antiquated.”

She also detailed the mold issues at the Marianas Regional Fusion Center.  “The sewage overflowed into the fusion center and it’s carpeted. It was hard to determine where the flow was, which was probably the culprit for the mold that grew in there," siad Aguigui.

On top of that, a malfunctioning air conditioning system contributed to building humidity. The Fusion Center has since been moved into a former Guam Fire Department space, new pumps have been installed to fix the sewage issue, and generators have been repaired.

Following the hearing, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero issued a statement saying administrative challenges should not be confused with operational readiness and there is no scenario in which Guam would be unprepared to respond to an emergency as emergency plans are current, reviewed, and ready for execution.

“And even with severe constraints, committed people focused on a mission can make progress," Aguigui said.