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The Honorable Chairman J Yoshimoto and Members of the County Council May 5, 2010 Page 3 proposing no increase in the homeowner tax rate. We also plan to keep the affordable rental tax rate the same to help maintain the stock of affordable housing for our residents. We are also extending targeted tax relief and additional resources to the agricultural industries in our community. The hard truth is that if we stand by while our diversified agriculture sector struggles through this recession, we may lose our small farmers forever. We must support agricultural initiatives including the Kapulena agricultural park on 1,739 acres of County -owned land, which will become the largest agricultural park in the state when it is complete. It will help our residents to launch new initiatives in diversified agriculture and foster development of the grass- finished beef industry. The proposed agricultural tax plan will result in a reduction of more than 4 percent in the average per - parcel property tax on agricultural lands, which will benefit our farmers. At the same time, we must develop and launch a series of initiatives to help restore our local economy to robust good health, and to lay the groundwork for future successes in the County of Hawaii. To that end, this budget incorporates financial incentives to encourage the airlines to fill the void left by the suspension of Japan Air Lines' direct service from Narita to Kona. Airlift is essential to our small businesses, our hotels and our working families, and we intend to pursue restoration of direct flights with all of our partners in the visitor, tour and hotel industries. Our proposed tax plan for hotels and resorts will result in a reduction in the average tax per parcel, providing relief to the _ largest employers of our working families. This budget was crafted to preserve public safety and other essential core services today, while positioning the County to navigate the new difficulties we know will confront us tomorrow. We have cut overtime, travel, police cadet scholarships and more. We have eliminated most equipment purchases. We have also implemented furlough days for HGEA, UPW, exempt and appointed employees, and unfunded many positions. This budget represents a decrease in County spending on activities such as General Government, and increases the share of County resources devoted to core functions such as Public Safety, Highways and Streets, and Health, Education and Welfare. We have honored our commitment to maintaining nutrition and other services for seniors, and have preserved programs for our children and youth. 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. This continuing realignment in County spending is gradually shifting County resources to the essential services that are most important to our residents. • County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer