January 13, 2009
Mayors Look For Help From Legislature
With all four Hawaii counties facing a decline in property tax collections of ten to fifteen percent, balancing their respective budgets for the upcoming fiscal year will be a daunting tax.
During a joint briefing Tuesday at the state Capital before the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Finance Committee, mayors Bernard Carvalho, Mufi Hannemann, Charmaine Tavares and Billy Kenoi told lawmakers their respective counties are trimming costs wherever possible.
"It is our highest priority to avoid a reduction in the workforce and to keep all current employees working; therefore we have placed a moratorium on any new positions,” said Carvalho, mayor of Kauai.
While the three other counties have implemented similar cost cutting strategies, all of Hawaii’s mayors are hoping for help from the legislature.
Along with other items on his wish list Mayor Kenoi wants $4 million dollars to expand the Big Island's Hele On bus service. “We believe a transit system in our community will benefit everyone,” Kenoi told Lawmakers, “from our children, our keiki to our seniors and our kupuna.”
Mayor Carvalho highlighted several capital improvement projects for Kauai, including the expansion of the Waimea Waste Water Treatment Plant ($6 million) and construction of the Wailua Emergency Bypass Road ($950,000).
"There are many critical projects that simply must move forward now if Kauai is to deal successfully with its challenges,” said Kenoi.
With the state facing a budget shortfall of up to $1.8 billion over the next two years, Mayor Hannemann urged lawmakers not to cut the counties share of the transient accommodations tax, also known as the hotel room tax.
Honolulu’s mayor also wants lawmakers to release the ten percent administrative fee collected by the state for administering the rail transit tax. The counties receive 44.8% of the tax, with Kauai getting 14.5% of that amount, the Big Island 48.6%, Maui 22.8% and Honolulu 44.1%.
Hannemann also requested the release of any surplus collected by the beverage container deposit program. To date the state has collected $33 million for administering the transit tax. Figures on the beverage container surplus were not readily available from the Department of Health.
Charmaine Tavares of Maui was the only mayor who did not request funds from the legislature. Instead she prodded lawmakers to move quickly on the priorities facing her county.
"Our county's focus this year is on agriculture, healthcare, reef protection and conservation funding by the state,” said Tavares. “In light of what's happening throughout the state and the counties, the county of Maui is not actually asking for any money items this time.”
Meanwhile, all four mayors have submitted "shovel ready" projects to the U.S. Conference of Mayors as part of a $97 billion economic stimulus package to be considered by President-elect Barack Obama.
All four Hawaii mayors plan to be in Washington, D.C. from January 17-19 for the organization’s 77th winter meeting.
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