By The Star Staff
The Financial Oversight and Management Board has certified a $12.7 billion general fund budget and a $31 billion consolidated budget for fiscal year (FY) 2024, which began July 1, allocating the bulk of expenditures to critical areas such as education, health, public safety, social welfare and economic development, as well as providing more funding for the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).
While the 2024 budget is balanced, it is not yet certain how many balanced budgets Puerto Rico has had because audits have not been completed on previous budgets. For the oversight board to end its tenure in Puerto Rico there must be four balanced budgets approved in a row.
Late last week, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia signed the $12.7 billion general fund budget adopted and submitted by the island Legislature. The oversight board certified the general fund budget as compliant with the Fiscal Plan for Puerto Rico, along with the $5 billion special revenue fund budget and the $13.3 billion federal fund budget, bringing the consolidated budget for the Puerto Rico government to $31 billion.
“A government budget submitted by the governor and approved by the Legislature that is compliant with the Fiscal Plan for Puerto Rico is a significant step toward implementing the fiscal responsibility and stability that Puerto Rico needs and deserves,” the oversight board’s executive director, Robert F. Mujica, said last week.
The consolidated budget provides $6.3 billion for health, $5.4 billion for education, $3.4 billion for families & children, $2.6 billion for retiree payments, $2.2 billion for housing, $1.4 billion for public safety, $1.2 billion for economic development, $1.1 billion for gaming services, $980 million for the Pension Reserve Trust and $1.1 billion for debt payments.
The oversight board had certified UPR’s $1.3 billion budget, which includes an additional $102 million in commonwealth funding contingent on UPR establishing and committing to goals, objectives and milestones for fostering academic excellence, economic development and financial responsibility.
The budget also includes additional funding for municipalities. The commonwealth’s direct support to municipalities includes $44 million through the Municipal Equalization Fund, and an additional $30 million to support funding to municipalities in need. Further, the budget includes an additional $66 million in unused funds carried over from the previous fiscal year’s cost-sharing programs to support municipal services related to changes to the inventory tax.
Regarding the $12.7 billion general fund budget, about $428 million was allocated to the courts and Legislature, and $852 million to the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.
The Municipal Revenue Collections Center’s FY 2024 proposed balanced budget of $33 million, meanwhile, consists of the 5% administration fee from property tax collections and a continued increase in revenues from charges to banks, sales of maps, and charges on rental income and interest income.