by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Following last month's reorganization of the government land agencies, Governor Eddie Calvo rolled out another reorg plan this time regarding the cultural and learning resource services. Effective today, the island's chief executive signed Reorganization Advisory No. 6, merging the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority, the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, the Guam Public Library System and the Guam Education Telecommunications Corporation (aka, PBS Guam) into the Department of Chamorro Affairs.

"These are like minded areas in terms of culture and learning resources and communications and putting them together where we do believe that those areas with contact in the general public, there is this system of care. And with that, we do believe this will enhance and improve the quality of these services that were once provided in their different agencies," said the governor.

Joseph Artero Cameron will remain the president of the Chamorro affairs agency. As the last reorganization, No. 6 will identify redundancies and eliminate them but will also revamp the Library System meeting the demands of the community, create a learning resource outside of DOE, GCC and UOG, and focus and synthesize the Xhamorro language education and increase the use of multimedia technology.

Cameron said, "The implementation of this agency, governor will quantitatively reduce our costs but we need to be focused that we increase efficiencies and capacity building the Department of Chamorro Affairs will serve as that catalyst in the preservation, and the development and the learning and the education."

The merger will provide an immediate savings to the General Fund of approximately $217,000 per year due to the elimination of directors for the Guam Public Library System, Hagatna Restoration and CAHA. Cameron says he will submit a layoff plan to the Department of Administration as other positions will follow.

The reorganization will also provide the mayors of the villages of Merizo, Agat, Yona, Barrigada and Dededo to use several satellite libraries to be turned into community learning centers of excellence.

Dededo mayor and Mayors Council of Guam President Melissa Savares says it allows her to help expand the skills of people in the villages who most need it to ultimately enhance their education thus providing more for their families. "We can bring those programs into the communities and use these facilities to expand and enhance the education process...so it helps with the graduation rates, increasing in the high schools as well and thank you for allowing us this opportunity and getting this facility back," she said.

Cameron says Chamorro Affairs will continue to be the content providers of issues of the Chamorro culture and with the merger, PBS will serve as the broadcast station for local production whereas the library may serve as a repository. Governor Calvo says many of the plans within the reorganization advisories were raised within the transition report that the Administration put forth once taking office.

Ultimately, the governor says he feels the reorganization is part of a bigger story, saying, "If you look at what these agencies are and who our partners are, it focuses on again there is a philosophical sense of reenergizing our people and our culture - what has made Guam a special place to live for thousands of years and what makes this community special."

With regards to a home for Chamorro Affairs, Cameron says he had placed a bid out to the Guam Services Agency to incorporate a facility to provide more opportunities such as an exhibit hall for CAHA. Currently Chamorro Affairs is in the DNA Building, where its lease expired at the end of last month.