GERS Warns Justice Department Over Nearly $170,000 in Rent Arrears as Dawson Says Late Payments Cannot Continue

The Government Employees' Retirement System is again facing problems collecting timely rental payments from the V.I. Department of Justice, with Administrator Angel Dawson Jr. telling trustees during the system’s monthly meeting that arrears have climbed to almost $170,000 during the first quarter of the year. “I must report to this board that the Department of Justice is a growing problem,” Mr. Dawson said, describing the situation as one GERS can no longer overlook. “This is unacceptable and unsustainable,” he declared, while emphasizing that the system has so far attempted to avoid confrontation. According to Mr. Dawson, GERS has “been very courteous and cooperative with our tenant…and we certainly don’t want to be involved in a legal imbroglio with the government’s legal arm.” Still, he made clear that the Department of Justice’s status as a government agency does not change its obligation as a tenant. “They’re also a tenant, and we will not be accepting this continued late paym...