Ranger Corps salary hikes on hold pending fiscal board evaluation, identification of resources.

Officials from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and other agencies acknowledged that the process of implementing salary hikes for the Ranger Corps is still under evaluation by the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

By THE STAR STAFF

The implementation status of the salary increase and retroactive payment provided for by the “Special Base Salary Law for the Rangers Corps” was the subject of a public hearing in the island Senate earlier this week.

“The members of the Ranger Corps of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources [DNER] don’t want excuses, they want an explanation,” said Senate Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Gregorio Matías Rosario. “The budget hasn’t been presented yet, and we have a month and a half for our colleagues to receive their raise in June. … For me, it’s important that they start receiving their raise.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, the DNER, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF by its initials in Spanish) detailed the actions taken related to the implementation of the measure and acknowledged that the process is still under evaluation by the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

Attorney Carla Marrero Bishop, representing the DNER, stated that multiple administrative and budgetary actions have been taken to facilitate the implementation of Law 156-2024. She noted that on Feb. 26, 2025, the DNER formally requested a statement from the Office of Administration and Transformation of Human Resources regarding the implementation of the legislation and that meetings were subsequently held to discuss the salary structure of the Ranger Corps and the feasibility of the measure.

It should be further noted, the lawyer said, that the Ranger Corps has a total of 308 employees, including 30 sergeants, six lieutenants and two first lieutenants, while the rest of the staff is made up of agents in charge of surveillance and protection of natural resources in Puerto Rico.

Marrero Bishop said that on July 17, 2025, she submitted a budget proposal to the OMB requesting funds to implement the salary increase, estimated at some $1.3 million annually. However, the oversight board subsequently instructed that the evaluation related to the Ranger Corps be conducted comprehensively within the corresponding government structure, and therefore the budget proposal was returned pending further evaluations and certifications.

“The DNER continues to carry out the necessary procedures and is awaiting the completion of the corresponding processes by the relevant agencies,” Marrero Bishop stated, reiterating that the effective implementation of the measure depends on authorizations and certifications from the corresponding fiscal and regulatory entities.

OMB attorney Carmen Guillén González stated in a joint memorandum to the AAFAF that “the [oversight board] has stated that its implementation is not appropriate at this time,” referring to Law 156-2024. Both entities indicated that the measure remains under evaluation and subject to the requirements and controls imposed under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act and the certified Fiscal Plan.

“Until this analysis is completed and the [oversight board] determines that Law 156 is consistent with the Fiscal Plan and the current budget, any decision regarding the identification or allocation of resources remains conditional upon that process,” Guillén González said.