P.R. Oversight Board Plans Vote on Fiscal Plan Monday

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board plans to approve a 10-year fiscal plan for the territory at a public meeting on Monday.

The board has given itself until March 15 to approve the plan. The board plans to meet at 9 a.m. Monday in New York City and has the certification of the fiscal plan on its agenda.

The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act calls for a fiscal plan that, among other things, lists steps to bring about fiscal responsibility and helps Puerto Rico regain access to capital markets, fund essential public services and pensions, and achieve a sustainable debt burden.

Also on Monday the board plans to discuss a short-term liquidity plan and measures to assure that government continues to have cash in the coming months.

The board will hear the presentation of an independent analysis of a bridge between the 2014 audited statements and the fiscal plan's baseline and a presentation of the fiscal plan.

The board is seeking public comment on Gov. Ricardo Rossell-'s proposed fiscal plan, which he presented to the board on Feb. 28. These comments should be sent to the board at comments@oversightboard.pr.gov by noon on Friday.

The meeting will be held in the basement of the Alexander Hamilton Federal Building at One Bowling Green in Manhattan. Attendance by the public required pre-registration, and the period to do this has already ended. The meeting will stream live on the board's web site: www.oversightboard.pr.gov.

Late on Wednesday Rossell-'s nonvoting member on the board Elías Sánchez Sifonte sent a letter to board Chairman José Carri-n III telling him that the board was being overly pessimistic about the government's liquidity levels in the next few months.

Sánchez Sifonte said that Rossell- had signed the Puerto Rico Financial Emergency and Fiscal Responsibility Act on Tuesday in part to address the government's liquidity problems.

Sánchez Sifonte said the government and its liquidity analysts, Conway MacKenzie, were confident that the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority has already prudently taken significant protective measures to preserve cash and liquidity. The furlough program and reductions in healthcare expenditures and government contract expenses proposed by the board are unnecessary.

Rossell-'s FAFAA will appoint a working group to meet with the board and its advisors to evaluate and address the liquidity issues and the analysis by Ernest & Young that was used by the board, Sánchez Sifonte said. The group should meet with the board and its representatives "without delay."