Council overrides mayor’s budget vetoes Earlier this month, Kaua’i County Mayor Maryanne Kusaka exercised her line-item veto privilege to cancel 12 sections of the council’s proposed fiscal year 2001-02 budget. Thursday, the council overrode all of the mayor’s objections. Eleven
Council overrides mayor’s budget vetoes
Earlier this month, Kaua’i County Mayor Maryanne Kusaka exercised her line-item veto privilege to cancel 12 sections of the council’s proposed fiscal year 2001-02 budget.
Thursday, the council overrode all of the mayor’s objections.
Eleven of the veto-override votes were unanimous (7 to 0), and on the 12th vote, only Councilman Bryan Baptiste voted against the majority.
Kusaka’s vetoes and the subsequent council action are “simply the carrying out” of each branch of government’s view of the county’s operation. “We are now doing our job the best way we see fit,” Councilman Ron Kouchi said.
Kouchi added that he foresaw no “lingering effect’ in relations between the council and the mayor stemming from the all-but-unanimous override.
“I think for us, this went as expected,” mayoral assistant Wally Rezentes Sr. said.
The majority of Kusaka’s vetoes had been waiving time requirements for turning in reports to the council. The administration had said it could not realistically meet the council’s timeline.
Councilman Jimmy Tokioka, who voted with his fellow council members, noted that requests to the county attorney’s office concerning the legality of the council’s timeline requests had not been returned yet.
“We can always amend the budget later on if the county attorney advises us to do so,” Councilman Gary Hooser said.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
