Alexander Michael Duenas

01 Open checkbook

Will you vote for legislation requiring a searchable online database of all government of Guam expenditures, and for the appropriations to build it?

This is contingent on several factors such as how much the system will cost, how many users it will service, and how much it will cost to maintain to name a few. Ultimately, will its cost justify the service to the masses or only serve a handful of people.

02 Procurement sunlight

Will you vote to make online posting of solicitations, bid abstracts, award decisions, contracts, and amendments above $25,000 a statutory condition of payment under the Guam Procurement Law?

Rigidly applying a $25,000 blanket can create issues. Various agencies have different operating budget sizes. $25,000 for one agency can be an anomaly, while for another it can be a regular and recurring amount. This can inundate larger agencies with reporting requirements for normal operations. Agency size must be considered.

03 Sole-source accountability

Will you support a public quarterly report listing every sole-source and emergency procurement, the justification invoked, and the approving official, by name of office?

04 FOIA performance

Will you support penalties for agencies that fail to file the annual reports the Sunshine Reform Act already requires?

05 Auditor independence

Will you commit to funding the Office of Public Accountability at no less than its own requested budget, and oppose any appropriation that reduces OPA funding below the prior fiscal year?

Appropriate resource management is necessary to maintain operations, but basing current budgets rigidly on prior year’s funding can create issues. For example, if the government were to shrink in size due to economic conditions, naturally fewer auditors would be needed because there would be fewer resources to audit.

06 Audit findings have deadlines

Will you commit to holding an oversight hearing on any agency with audit findings open for more than one year?

The materiality and nature of the finding will have to be examined before an oversight hearing could be considered. If the finding is not material and actively being corrected, then the integrity of the financial statements and audit have not been compromised and users can still rely on the reports.

07 Merit in hiring

Will you support legislation requiring that disclosure government-wide?

08 Open meetings

Will you require every board and commission within your authority to post agendas, minutes, and recordings as the Open Government Law contemplates — and support real consequences for bodies that do not?