Small businesses say government bottlenecks are stalling island’s economic recovery years after hurricanes
STT News Staff
Years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated St. Thomas, the island’s construction and contracting sector remains trapped in a frustrating limbo, with dozens of local business owners reporting that Byzantine permit processes and understaffed government offices are preventing them from completing reconstruction projects and moving forward with new development.
The delays, which contractors say can stretch from months to more than a year for a single permit approval, are threatening the viability of small contracting firms that have managed to survive the past six years of recovery efforts. The bottlenecks are also slowing the broader economic recovery of the island, which remains heavily dependent on construction activity and tourism-related development.
“We have projects that are ready to go,” said Marcus Thompson, owner of Thompson General Contracting, a 15-person firm based in Estate Bovoni that has operated on St. Thomas for 23 years. “We have clients ready to pay. We have workers ready to work. But we cannot move forward because we’re waiting on the government to review paperwork. It’s not acceptable anymore.”
The challenges stem from multiple points in the permitting process. Contractors must navigate the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Building Permit Office, the Department of Health, the Fire Marshal’s office, and various other agencies, depending on the project scope. Many of these offices remain understaffed, some still operating with reduced capacity compared to pre-hurricane levels.
“The government has good people working there,” said Jennifer Santos, who runs a design and renovation firm serving residential clients on St. Thomas. “But they’re overwhelmed. One person in a department is trying to do the work of three. The system is broken, and the people in those offices know it, but they don’t have the resources to fix it.”
The Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources did not respond to requests for comment about current staffing levels or processing timelines. However, sources within government offices, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that several critical departments remain below pre-hurricane staffing levels and that many positions have gone unfilled for extended periods.
The economic implications are significant. Construction and related industries employ roughly 8 percent of the island’s workforce, according to the most recent available data. The sector has been a crucial engine of recovery spending and employment since the hurricanes.
Local economist Dr. Rebecca Grant, who teaches at the University of the Virgin Islands, said the permitting delays represent a hidden drag on the island’s economy that often goes unnoticed by policymakers.
“Every month a project is delayed is a month that workers aren’t employed, materials aren’t being ordered from suppliers, and money isn’t flowing through the local economy,” Grant explained. “When you have dozens of projects held up, the aggregate effect is substantial. This is money that could be circulating in our community right now.”
The issue came into sharp focus during a recent meeting of the St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce, where contractors shared their experiences. One builder said he waited 18 months for final approval on a commercial renovation project. Another reported that a routine residential permit took nine months to process. Several contractors said they’ve had to reduce their workforce because they cannot reliably schedule jobs around permit uncertainties.
“I had to let people go,” Thompson said. “Good, experienced people. I couldn’t keep them on payroll not knowing when projects would be approved. That’s demoralizing for everybody, and we lose valuable skilled workers to the mainland.”
The problem extends beyond new construction. Many homeowners are attempting to rebuild from hurricane damage using insurance proceeds, but cannot access those funds until the Department of Planning and Natural Resources approves their renovation plans. This has created a cascade of delays throughout the residential sector.
Some contractors have begun working with private consultants who specialize in navigating the permitting process, paying additional fees to expedite reviews. This adds cost to projects, which ultimately gets passed to clients and homeowners who are already financially strained by recovery needs.
“It’s essentially a tax on reconstruction,” Santos said. “We’re paying private consultants to do what the government offices should be doing. That money could be going toward actual construction and job creation.”
Local government leadership has acknowledged awareness of the permitting challenges. During a recent legislative session, two senators introduced a bill calling for a comprehensive review of permitting processes and an evaluation of staffing needs in relevant departments. The bill has not yet advanced out of committee.
“This is a real problem, and we’re listening to the contractors,” said Senator Marcus Johnson, who co-sponsored the legislation. “But it’s also a complex problem because it involves multiple agencies and limited government resources. We’re trying to find solutions that are both practical and sustainable.”
Some contractors have suggested establishing an expedited review process for reconstruction projects, creating dedicated staff positions for permit processing, or allowing certified private inspectors to sign off on certain categories of work to reduce government bottlenecks.
“These are not radical ideas,” Thompson noted. “Other jurisdictions have dealt with this after major disasters. There are models we could follow.”
For now, projects continue to move slowly across St. Thomas. The contractors say they remain committed to the island and to supporting the community’s recovery. But without action to streamline the permitting system, they warn that momentum will continue to fade, workers will continue to leave, and the island’s economic recovery will stall further.
“We’re not asking for special treatment,” Thompson said. “We’re just asking for the system to work.”
