Bryan Proposes Voter Referendum on New Taxes to Fund Hospitals and Road Maintenance

Will Virgin Islanders be willing to pay more taxes as a means of investing in the future of the territory’s healthcare and infrastructure? Governor Albert Bryan Jr. hopes so. However, it’s a decision that he wants to place directly into the hands of voting taxpayers.

On Monday, Governor Bryan presented his final State of the Territory Address, which focused in part on rebuilding hurricane-damaged healthcare facilities and hardening important public infrastructure. Currently, a massive injection of federal recovery funds is enabling the Virgin Islands to simultaneously manage dozens of capital projects. The territory’s leaders know that it’s not an arrangement that will last forever.

“If we want hospitals that truly meet modern standards and roads that are properly maintained, we cannot rely on federal support alone,” Governor Bryan said.

He added that “at some point, we as Virgin Islanders must decide together what level of service we want and what we are willing to invest to get it.”

Now, the territory's leader is asking the Legislature to “consider placing a simple question before voters at the next election.” That question is captured within Governor Bryan’s proposal of the “Private Citizen Initiative.”

Mr. Bryan wants the voting public to decide “whether to dedicate a small, targeted share of our own income toward priorities that touch every life in these islands.” Specifically, voters would be asked “whether they support a 1% income tax dedicated solely to our hospitals to help fund a basic level of universal insurance so that no Virgin Islander is left without essential care.”