Public split on cost of county proposal LIHU’E — The power was only turned on for about half the speakers commenting before the Kaua’i County Council Thursday on Mayor Maryanne Kusaka’s proposal to spend another $165,000 on utility consultants to
Public split on cost of county proposal
LIHU’E — The power was only turned on for about half the speakers commenting before the Kaua’i County Council Thursday on Mayor Maryanne Kusaka’s proposal to spend another $165,000 on utility consultants to study buying Kaua’i Electric.
It’s been half a year since a cooperative effort spearheaded by local business people to buy the private firm was disallowed.
The proposed $165,000 the county is seeking would be added to $100,000 already spent on consultant fees and studies.
A council decision on whether to spend the funds should be made within the month.
Turk Tokita, longtime power in the Democratic Party on Kaua’i, spoke against the expenditure.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. To be successful” in purchasing Kaua’i Electric, the county would have to declare public domain, Tokita said. “This takeover is a hostile takeover. The cost will be astronomical. It’s a hostile takeover of a private enterprise. Why do you assume the county can operate more efficiently? What is the county’s compelling reason to spend $2,265,000 on a fishing expedition?”
The county administration has also put a $2 million request in next year’s fiscal-year budget for more studies and legal fees.
Walt Barnes said the county’s hiring of a consultant is flawed.
“We hired the wrong people to do the job. You would not ask your mechanic how much a used car was worth, you would ask your banker,” Barnes said.
He and Walter Lewis, a Princeville attorney who has been studying the county’s proposal, think a Wall Street firm should be retained.
But Lewis is in favor of the county’s plan to buy the utility as long as it hires a private firm to run it. Lewis said he thought the county’s purchase would be advantageous to Kaua’i Electric ratepayers, saving them as much as $10 million per year.
“It’s in the best interest (of ratepayers) if the business is operated in an insulated manner – county ownership, a private operator,” Lewis said.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
