LIHU‘E — In its first full meeting since Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. delivered his “State of the County” address and budget proposal for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the Kaua‘i County Council received numerous funding requests and approved a handful of
LIHU‘E — In its first full meeting since Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. delivered his “State of the County” address and budget proposal for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the Kaua‘i County Council received numerous funding requests and approved a handful of bills for first reading, setting the stage for next month’s crucial budgeting process.
Among the communications received — but not approved for funding — by the council was a $500,000 stimulus grant for the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau to fund the first phase of a program designed to bring additional tourists to the Garden Island in the second half of 2009.
“The mayor feels strongly that we need to support the visitor industry through a targeted marketing program that will produce increased occupancy and spending in local businesses over the next six to 12 months,” Director of Economic Development George Costa said in an e-mail. “We feel this proposal will be able to do that and will be measurable so that we can track its success.”
“The main emphasis of the program is working with wholesalers to drive new bookings to Kaua‘i over a wide variety of properties and to encourage spending in local businesses through a coupon book that will be created in partnership with the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “Based on Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism visitor spending statistics, the $500,000 being requested for the marketing program is estimated to generate approximately $15 to 17 million in our island economy.”
In testimony to the council, Kapa‘a resident Glenn Mickens asked for a more detailed plan and for the council to explore other possibilities before approving the funding.
“Certainly the visitor industry is the main engine that keeps our economy running and I understand this,” Mickens said in his prepared statement. “But we had a previous mayor who took trips to some of the poorest countries in the world to promote tourism and I believe that the taxpayers are entitled to a more detailed plan than was done then or is proposed now to show where their money is going.”
The proposal shows that the $500,000 described as “Phase I” would include $250,000 to be split evenly among five wholesale partners or online travel agencies, and the coupon book described by Costa will likely be a part of that plan.
The proposal listed the top five such partners for Kaua‘i as Pleasant Holidays, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Blue Sky Tours.
“Sixty-five percent of our room nights on Kaua‘i come from 12 major wholesalers,” said Council Vice Chair Jay Furfaro in response to Mickens’ testimony.
This isn’t being directed at trade shows, he said, it’s being directed at “key customers we refer to as wholesalers.”
Also included in the proposal was $170,000 for a kama‘aina campaign encouraging locals on other Hawaiian Islands to visit Kaua‘i, with a special focus on military personnel. The 50th anniversary celebration for South Pacific, scheduled for September, would receive $30,000, and $25,000 apiece would go to a radio show and to Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau administration fees.
Phase II, which would cost another $500,000 and could be funded through the upcoming budget process, would allocate another $250,000 to five wholesale partners, $170,000 to the kama‘aina campaign, $40,000 to a “Northwest Blitz” and $25,000 apiece to a radio show and to Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau administration fees.
An attempt to reach Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Director Sue Kanoho was unsuccessful as of press time.
Other proposals included a $300,000 request for the Office of the County Attorney for “a shortfall of anticipated expenses associated with litigation and outstanding special fees and costs,” while resolutions pertaining to the establishment of a real property tax rate for the next fiscal year and the operating and capital improvement budgets proposed by Carvalho were moved to council’s Committee of the Whole to be heard in coming weeks.
All that sets the stage for the council’s month-long deliberation process on the proposed budgets for various county departments and agencies.
On April 6, the council will evaluate the Mayor’s Office, the Office of Economic Development, the County Attorney’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
On April 7, the council will take a closer look at the budget proposals for the Fire Department, Liquor Department, Civil Defense Agency and Humane Society.
On April 9, the council will deliberate on the Police Department, Personnel Department and County Clerk.
The next week, on April 13, the council will review the budget for the Housing Agency, Agency of Elderly Affairs, Transportation Agency, Finance Department and Planning Department.
On April 14, the council will evaluate the Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Public Works.
Weeks later, on May 8, the mayor is expected to submit a modified budget proposal and the council is scheduled to conduct its final deliberations on May 11 and May 12.
For full coverage of the ongoing county budgeting process throughout April and May, see future editions of The Garden Island.
• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com
