Rev & Tax making use of detailed workers

by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - The Department of Revenue & Taxation is trying to collect some serious dough.  While the agency had anticipated 30 temporary detail employees with financial background experience to help with collection efforts, the agency has only received half of those details. 

And you may be surprised to learn what types of employees were sent to help out. 

Herbert Fukuda told KUAM News, "We can't expect them to enforce collections; we can't expect them to audit; we can't expect them to do our criminal investigations. But they can help us with support."  An enforcement administrator at Rev & Tax, Fukuda is talking about the temporary support staff assigned to the department. He tells us the employees come from different positions with in Public Works, Labor, GEDA, and Public Health.

"Customer service reps, management analysts, bus drivers, data control clerks, law enforcement specialists, admin assistants analysts and clerks,"

When asked if he was expecting such positions to be sent over to help with the operations of his agency, director Art Ilagan said, "Well, in the beginning, we asked for staff with a little more financial background."  He admits he wasn't expecting the help he's been requesting for months to come from bus drivers and clerks, but he'll take whatever he can.  Ilagan says those without the financial background the agency was looking for have been detailed to do entry level positions, such as data entry.

Rosemary Garrido is a temporary detail from the Guam Economic Development Authority, and says "It's pretty much clerical - anything that I don't understand, I'm referred to staff and a supervisor."

So far Rev & Tax has only received 15 workers and he's still waiting for the other half to report to work.  Apparently it's been a challenge for the government to tear employees away from other agencies that are not properly funded, either.  "For example, the Department Parks and Recreation - if they don't have enough staff there and we are asking one to come over, it is very difficult to give up when they already behind in their work."

Ilagan says the temporary workers continue to trickle in, they expect another to report tomorrow, but getting Rev & Tax up to speed for the long haul is what he really wants to see.  "I think Rev & Tax should be staffed properly with the experts in these fields be here for career, not just for 90 days," he said.

Worth of note is that the temporary workforce is being assigned only to positions they have been trained for - they will not be thrown into positions they have zero experience in.  The details were supposed to look at specific programs such as GEDA's tax rebate program and withholding taxes to help collect what officials had hoped would be in excess of $10,000,000.