Jenniffer González Colón says the Board intends to lengthen its stay

On July 9, 2026, NotiCel reports that Governor Jenniffer González Colón again accused the members of the Financial Oversight Board of putting up obstacles to extend their stay in Puerto Rico. The reaction, according to the outlet, arose because the body emphasized that its presence serves as a shield against possible deficits in future budgets. "The Board does not want to leave," she said. "It looks for any excuse not to go, and meanwhile, that is paid by the people of Puerto Rico with their taxes. Anyone who thinks the salaries and the contracts the Board spends are paid by the federal government is quite mistaken."

Jenniffer González Colón stressed that, under her administration, two balanced budgets have been presented to the Board, though they have not been audited. She acknowledged that she delivered the 2023 revenue and expense audits and that she expects to do the same for 2024 before 2026 ends. "It is billions of dollars that have been spent. With that money roads would have been repaired, many people's retirements paid. We adjusted the budget, we made a surplus, we balanced, there were reductions in some agencies' budgets," she said. She reads the Board's writings as pretexts for not validating the budgets. "It cannot be that they show up at the last minute with excuses so they do not have a balanced budget to justify that they have to stay reviewing even the budget line items," she concluded. When an agency head has to move line items to make another payment, she added, they are intervening even in that. That, she said, is not what the law says, nor that there has to be a certified budget. That is her reading. NotiCel does not publish here the Board letter she is answering. The conference stands.

On July 1, Ey Boricua covered the $635 million surplus and the exchange with Robert F. Mujica Jr. On the same July 1, NotiCel covered the imposed budget and, separately, the Board's PROMESA recount. On July 5, Sin Comillas published the 2023 audited statements that she now says she delivered. Four dates. This note covers the July 9 accusation that the Board intends to lengthen its stay. The reader who wants the conference has the NotiCel URL at the foot.

Source: NotiCel. https://noticel.com/noticias/gobierno/20260709/gonzalez-colon-afirma-que-la-junta-pretende-alargar-su-estadia/