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• The Honorable Chairman J Yoshimoto and Members of the Hawai`i County Council Page 2 March 1, 2010 To fully grasp the impact of these deep budget cuts, it is important to remember that departments were instructed to reduce their budgets by 5% last fiscal year, and then to cut another 10% in the current budget year. Now, for the new budget year that begins July 1, departments were instructed to reduce expenditures even more, by up to 20 %. Operations have been reviewed to identify additional efficiencies that can help maintain services in the face of reduced resources. Departments have aggressively pursued grant funding and have succeeded in increasing total revenue from grants for the upcoming budget year. In particular, I would like to take this opportunity to extend special thanks to Hawaii County Council Chair J Yoshimoto and the Hawaii County Council for cutting Council spending by $718,591, or more than 19% for the coming year. The steps we took last year and this year are reshaping County government. The percentage of County spending devoted today to activities such as General Government and Culture and • • Recreation has decreased significantly, while the share of the County budget devoted to core functions such as Public Safety, Highways & Streets and Health, Education & Welfare has increased. This is part of a continuing strategy to shift County resources to the essential services that are most important to our residents. As part of that effort, this budget continues the County's free island -wide bus service, and maintains County spending of $1.5 million per year in support of non - profit organizations that deliver social services. The Department of Parks and Recreation faced a particularly difficult challenge this year because it was required to reduce spending, and at the same time was required to meet our directives to • protect programs essential to the well -being and enrichment for our seniors, children and the most vulnerable in our community. Faced with high demands and scarce resources, the department made the most difficult decision of this budget process. Funding for the Hawaii County Band and the West Hawai`i Band has been eliminated from the FY 2010-11 budget. The members and director of the two bands, all part -time employees except for the director, have been notified that theirjohs will be ending. • Also impacting our employees was the decision to implement a furlough plan to reduce costs while retaining employees in their positions. The budget, as submitted, includes the implementation of two furlough days per month for employees other than those in UPW • Bargaining Unit 1, SFIOPO Bargaining Unit 12 and Firefighters Bargaining Unit 11. The furlough plan includes elected officials, appointees and excluded managerial employees. Police and Fire employees in the identified bargaining units are currently covered by contracts that do not include furloughs. Negotiations are ongoing with UPW. The furloughs will result in a 9.23% pay reduction for affected employees. County oil lawaf i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.