By The Star Staff
Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez said earlier this week that the additional funds for the payroll of the judicial branch, as included in the 2023 Fiscal Plan for the Government of Puerto Rico, were not enough.
The Financial Oversight and Management Board announced Wednesday it had certified the government fiscal plan.
“For the past few years, we have sought the necessary allocation of funds to implement new pay scales for our staff, including the judiciary,” Oronoz Rodríguez said in a written statement. “Today, the Fiscal Oversight Board [sic] published the 2023 Fiscal Plan, in which it allocates $42 million for several public entities, including the Judiciary, without establishing the exact amount that would correspond to us. This lump sum is less than the one we are requesting in order to establish competitive remuneration for judicial officials.”
She said the Supreme Court will continue discussions with the oversight board to advance a compensation review that meets the needs of all.
“We are confident that over the next few weeks, the data will be refined and we will be in a better position to communicate the final result to our officials,” Oronoz Rodríguez said. “Even so, the determination of the Fiscal Oversight Board to identify additional recurring funds for salaries is the product of years of work by the administration of the Judiciary and an important step on the road to achieving competitive compensation for the benefit of our sheriffs, secretaries, social workers, mediators, bookkeepers and other personnel, as well as for our judges.”
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