COM 0660.000 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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•'+SY Oi N, i COUNTY OF HAWAII _�. \, \�'/ STATE OF HAWAII ,• N��'- BILL NO. 199 ORDINANCE NO. 12 35 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE THAT FINDS AND DECLARES THAT A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY EXISTS AND MAKES AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION OF$200,000 TO ALLEVIATE HUNGER IN THE COUNTY OF HAWAII BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Emergency Ordinance. The Hawaii County Council hereby finds and declares that a public health emergency exists necessitated by the fact that 16% of the residents and 26.6%of all children under the age of 18 residing in the County are food insecure and do not know from where and when their next meal is coming and pursuant to Section 3-11, Section 10- 8 and Section 13-23 of the Hawaii County Charter (2010 edition) and Section 2-210 of the Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), finds that there is an immediate need to address this county-wide issue by making an emergency appropriation to alleviate hunger in the County of Hawai i. This ordinance is adopted pursuant to Article XIII, Section 3-11, of the Hawai`i County Charter (2010 edition), and pursuant to Article X, Section 10-8 of the Hawai`i County Charter (2010 Edition) and 2-139 of the Hawaii County Code makes an emergency appropriation to The Food Basket, Inc., Hawai`i Island's Food Bank in the amount of $200,000. SECTION 2. Findings and purpose. The Hawai'i County Council finds that: The current economic downturn has caused a substantial increase in the number of families and individuals seeking food assistance and a significant decrease in donations of food and money. The Food Basket, Inc. serving as Hawaii Island's Food Bank has determined that 20% of the County residents use the Food Basket on a continuous basis and reported a 41.6% increase in services accessed, from 619,344 in 2010 to 876,679 in 2011. The County of Hawai`i 2011 year end unemployment rate was 9.5%, per the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development&Tourism. This figure does not include those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits, can no longer claim any benefits and are not included in the current unemployment percentage. Further, these figures do not reflect the number of residents who are "under-employed" in the County, and have continuous difficulty in meeting basic living expenses.