A handful of critics blamed government for the continual growth of the county’s budget, the way the budget is being developed and the lack of funding for lifeguard services at Donkey Beach during a Kaua’i County Council meeting Tuesday. Residents
A handful of critics blamed government for the continual growth of the county’s budget, the way the budget is being developed and the lack of funding for lifeguard services at Donkey Beach during a Kaua’i County Council meeting Tuesday.
Residents filed their concerns during a council-sponsored public hearing at the historic County Building on Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s proposed $95.2 million operating budget and $17.7 million capital improvement budget.
The hearing also dealt with proposed property tax rates for next year. Baptiste is proposing no increase in the rates for eight tax categories.
The nighttime meeting drew eight residents. One of the three speaking, Hanalei resident Ray Chuan characterized the council as a government body that played no significant role in developing the budget and which merely fell in line with what mayors have wanted for their county budgets.
Chuan said the council merely “tinkers” with the budget process and that the budget passed by the end of the fiscal year is usually one that has been advanced by the administration.
Chuan contended Kaua’i is the only government in the United States where the county administration controls the spending and revenues of a budget.
“You have no control on how they determine the revenues,” Chuan said.
Following the meeting, councilman Joe Munechika said Chuan may not understand the powers of the council, adding the legislative body has the authority to cut and add positions during the budget process and has played a major role in fashioning the budgets.
Property owners suffer because they must continually pay more each year to balance the county budgets, Chuan said. And more and more renters are finding it more difficult to find housing they can afford, Chuan said.
County officials may praise themselves for not raising property tax rates or even reducing them, but property owners still pay higher tax bills because property assessments continually climb, Chuan said.
“It is a neatest trick anybody can think about, outside of the federal government,” Chuan said.
The council, however, has instituted a circuit breaker bill for a year to help longtime homeowners stay in their homes.
A county tax revenue commission should be set up on the island to monitor the revenue collection and expenditure process, Chuan said. Council members said, however, that a state body like that already exists.
Chuan also complained that because there are no county policies or rules in place, assessments of properties are done arbitrarily. As result, the assessments of two different homes of similar size and quality can vary dramatically, Chuan contended.
Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura said that all counties in Hawai’i use some structure in arriving at assessments. She added that while there “may be too much leeway” in property assessments, property owners can take legal action against the government.
Chuan also called for implementation of the integrated solid waste management plan, which was developed during the time Yukimura was mayor between 1988 to 1994.
A workable plan is needed to prevent the burial of garbage and debris and to dispose of washing machines, dryers and refrigerators stored at a county facility by the Lihu’e Airport, Chuan said.
If a plan were in place, the county would have an efficient and cost-effective way to dispose of abandoned vehicles as well, Chuan said.
Chuan said officials on the Big Island have required motorists to pay an additional $4 when they pay their yearly vehicle registration fees. The extra funds ensure the vehicle will be properly disposed of in the future, Chuan said.
Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro said the council had considered that option in the mid-1990s but decided not to go along with it based on a legal opinion from a deputy county attorney at the time. The attorney felt the proposal was illegal.
Kaneshiro said it appeared to be the best decision at the time, and that he would welcome looking at the initial proposal again.
In discussing the proposed county budget, Kapa’a resident Glenn Mickens asked where funds will come from to transfer recreational components of the county’s parks and recreation division to the Kaua’i County Offices of Community Assistance (OCA).
Mickens also said only two full-time workers maintain Lydgate Park and more workers need to be hired to maintain it.
“No matter how efficient Bernard (Carvalho Jr., who heads OCA) makes the system, he cannot fix the maintenance problem without more workers,” Mickens said. “As councilman (Mel) Rapozo showed, we aren’t taking care of what we have now, so expansion (the proposal to build three new multi-purpose fields at Lydgate Park) only exacerbates the problem.”
Mickens also said that the “bike path, campgrounds and future sports field will require huge sums of tax dollars,” and “where in the budget is that appropriated?”
“And will someone on this council please tell me what benefit the majority of the people of Kaua’i will derive from the millions of dollar we have spent and are going to spend on the path?” Mickens asked.
The project could cost upwards of $30 million in federal grant funds – based on partial matching funds from the county — to build.
Mickens also said he was astonished to hear that three bulletin boards – built with Brazilian hardwood – put on parts of the bicycle path that run through Lydgate Park each cost $20,000.
Mickens also noted that the council set aside $30,000 for an audit of the solid waste program, but that no progress has been made on the plan because no contractors want to take on the job at $30,000.
Another critic of Baptiste’s budgets, Kapa’a resident Richard Stauber said $40,000 was set aside for a lifeguard and a safety truck at Donkey Beach in last year’s budget, and wondered why both items had not been budgeted.
The council is expected to review the public comments, make adjustments to any amendment to Baptiste’s budget and then approve a balanced budget by June 30, as required by the county charter.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
