No layoffs ‘at this time’ for county

Hotel tax revenue will be key

In the economic slump from the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., there have been layoffs and threats of layoffs in Hawaii’s private sector.

But so far at least, Kaua’i County and its employees have avoided the perils of the general economic downturn.

“The county is not considering layoffs at this time,” said Beth Tokioka, spokeswoman for Mayor Maryanne Kusaka. “All county programs will be operating as currently budgeted for the time being.”

County officials have said that the financial impact to the county of the slowdown in air travel and tourism will be most immediately measured by the amount of state transient accommodations (hotel) tax that is collected and then disbursed to the individual counties, including Kaua’i.

“With visitor arrivals down, there will be an impact, although it’s difficult to predict at this time how significant that impact will be,” Tokioka noted.

Kaua’i will receive its hotel tax payment for June through November some time in December.

The county’s finance department is preparing a report for the County Council estimating the financial impact of the tourism-related revenue dropoffs on the county’s general fund.

Although no figures were available Tuesday, finance director Wally Rezentes Jr. said an anticipated surplus in the general fund will offset the hotel tax loss.

In related news, the county’s personnel officials reported a number of inquiries from county employees fearing the loss of their jobs.

Kusaka has proposed to Governor Ben Cayetano that funding available through the Workforce Investment Act be utilized to put displaced Kauaians in the private sector to work through a program much like one formed after Hurricane Iniki.

Such a project would be “in the best interest of the local economy,’ Kusaka wrote.

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net