Following the revelation that board members of the government-owned West Indian Company make $1,500 per board meeting, with the chairman making even more at $2,000 per meeting, the Virgin Islands Consortium has been examining the cost to the government for running these boards, appointment to which are often considered a service to the territory, thus compensation is generally thought to be minimal except for travel and lodging expenses.
The University of the Virgin Islands Board of Directors, for example, are not paid, and board members actually provide an annual donation the university. The UVI board holds committee meetings by teleconference.
WAPA board members get a stipend of $50 per meeting; Board of Elections members get $75 per meeting.
Board members of the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network who are not employed by the Government of the Virgin Islands are paid $500 per in-person board meeting and $350 for telephonic attendance, according to information provided to The Consortium upon request via the territory’s Sunshine Act law. Government employees serving on the viNGN board are not compensated, according to viNGN. The board has seven members, three of whom are government employees.
viNGN did not say whether it provides payment for committee meetings. A followup email seeking said details has been sent to the government-owned firm.
“These rates fall far below the $1,000 compensation fee set by the 29th Legislature,” viNGN said in its document providing the details.
At $500 per meeting, with four board members being compensated as the remaining three are government employees, it costs viNGN up to $2,000 per board meeting and $8,000 annually with the board meeting once every quarter, viNGN said.
viNGN seems to have suggested that the current compensation amount for non-government employee board members is reasonable in light of the important work members perform. “The board of director members serve as subject matter experts in fiber optics engineering, telecommunications engineering, government leadership, government operations, business and/or finance,” viNGN said.
viNGN board members are:
- Chairman: Governor Albert Bryan
- Vice Chair: Elizabeth Armstrong
- Mark McGibbon (viNGN CEO/president)
- Peter Scultz (Secretary)
- Jose Luis Garcia Serrano (Assistant Secretary)
- Johann Clendenin
- Gordon Ackley
viNGN describes itself as a public corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority. The firm was primarily funded by grants from the Department of Commerce with a charter to provide wholesale broadband middle mile service to providers and to promote local economic growth, innovation and global competitiveness, according to information found on its website.
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