Council’s annual budget review underway

The Kaua’i County Council and the council’s committee of the whole have begun a review of department budgets in developing the county budget and capital public improvement budget for the next fiscal year.

On March 15, Mayor Bryan Baptiste submitted to the council a proposed $95.2 million budget for the next fiscal year. Baptiste also submitted a proposed $17.7 million capital improvement budget.

In May 2002, the council approved a $90 million operating budget and an $18.4 million capital improvement budget.

In developing next year’s budget, council members began the first of department reviews at the historic County Building on March 31. All meetings were scheduled to start in the county facility at 9 a.m.

The March 31 reviews were conducted for the mayor’s office, the county fire department, the county attorney’s office, the county prosecutor’s office and victim witness program and the county office of economic development.

Reviews held include:

• On April 1, the county police department, the Office of Community Assistance, the county liquor department, the civil defense office, the county personnel department and the county planning department.
• On April 2, the county clerk’s office, finance department and Kaua’i Humane Society.

On Friday the public works department and the capital improvement projects will be reviewed. At the reviews, department heads generally attempt to explain and justify their budget proposals to the council.

Public hearings are scheduled for the proposed county budget and the capital improvement budget on May 6, followed by the mayor’s submission of a modified budget, if one is necessary, on May 8.

On May 12 and May 13, the council’s committee of the whole will begin deliberation and preliminary decisions on the mayor’s proposed budget.

By charter, the full council must pass a balanced budget by June 30, the last day of the current fiscal year.