Improving service, fighting poverty, repairing an economy
Building a new economy and the community of the future - these were just some areas that the island's chief executive focused on his second address last year.
By KUAM NewsGuam - It was over a year ago when Governor Eddie Calvo delivered his second State of the Island Address as the island's chief executive. And Monday evening, he's set to deliver his third speech.
Improving services, fighting poverty, and building a new economy and the community of the future - these were just some areas that the island's chief executive focused on his second address last year. For Tamuning resident Allen Lee, he hopes Governor Calvo focuses on these same key issues along with others to move the island forward.
"Education, and public safety and balancing the budget - there's a lot of things on his plate, but so far I think he's been doing a good job," Lee said.
A week ago the governor submitted the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget that requests a total of $774 million in appropriations with projected gross revenues for the General Fund at $702.4 million - about a 2% increase over the current year. Calvo called the budget "a conservative one."
And while she believes the island has seen many improvements in the past two years, Malojloj resident Mary Cruz wants the governor to tackle healthcare and the state of the Guam Memorial Hospital in his address. "If we could have services where in the emergency room and we don't have to sit on a folding chair and we can lay on a bed because we're sick and we're in there for emergency, that'd be great," she said.
Cruz adds in addition to adequate healthcare on Guam, she hopes something can be done about the ever-rising cost of power and water. It's a similar issue Sinajana resident Doris Valentine hopes will improve, as well. "The rate of course keeps going up and we're not getting increase in our pay, so that hurts, especially big families," she said.
Paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in tax refunds was definitely a highlight of the Calvo Administration's first year in office. And now, the Government of Guam will be under a permanent injunction to ensure it pays tax refunds out within six months of the claim being filed. Mangilao resident Jerry Macaraeg says the payout of tax refunds has definitely helped the economy and hopes Calvo addresses ways to improve it even more.
"Everywhere not only Guam even in other global places in the world, the economic problem and the unemployment, so overall time this a part of business cycle and a cycle in our lives, sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down," he said.