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tab <br /> ,w. <br /> This report includes all funds of the County of Hawai`i, including its component unit,the """ <br /> Department of Water Supply, established by the County Charter as a semi-autonomous <br /> body of the County government. This component unit is included in the County's <br /> reporting entity because of its financial relationship with the County. <br /> The County provides a full range of municipal services. These include police and fire <br /> protection; emergency medical care; public prosecutor; culture and recreation; sanitation; 411110 <br /> social services; water; planning and zoning; construction and maintenance of highways, <br /> streets and infrastructure; real property assessment and tax collection; and general <br /> administrative services. However, the County does not provide such other traditional <br /> services as public education, hospitals and courts. These services are provided by the <br /> State government. <br /> The County consists of the island of Hawai`i, 4,028 square miles in size. It is twice as <br /> large as the combined area of all the other inhabited islands in the Hawaiian Archipelago. <br /> Since there is no other local or municipal government within the County, there are no <br /> overlapping taxes and no overlapping debt. The County has an elected mayor and a nine- <br /> member council. <br /> Economic Condition and Outlook <br /> The island of Hawaii, commonly known as the Big Island, is located 214 miles from <br /> Honolulu, the state capital; 2,200 miles from the west coast of the continental United <br /> States; and 4,000 miles from Japan. The city of Hilo on the east side of the island serves tit <br /> as the county seat as well as the transportation and financial center for the Big Island. .. <br /> Hilo's infrastructure includes Hilo Harbor, a deep-water port, and Hilo International <br /> Airport, which is capable of handling fully-loaded wide-bodied aircraft. Kailua-Kona *� <br /> and South Kohala, major tourist destination areas on the west side of the Big Island, are .. <br /> served by flights from the United States mainland, and Canada through the Kona <br /> International Airport. Scheduled freight services are available between the islands by air '* <br /> and sea transport. Communities on the island are linked by a network of State and 4111 <br /> County maintained streets and highways. <br /> The Big Island is the most diversified of the neighbor island economies. As a result it is r, <br /> buffered to some extent when any one industry lags. Although the past few years proved <br /> challenging to the island's economy, it appears that the County will continue on its steady tit <br /> but slow road to improved financial health. This favorable outlook is supported by <br /> positive trends in the following key areas of the island's economy. <br /> wai <br /> The unemployment rate for the County for the current fiscal year is at approximately 4%, <br /> which represents a percentage point decline from last year's rate for the same period of <br /> 5% and an even larger decline from the high of 11% in 2011. <br /> Tourism—Tourism has always been one of the major industries on the island. In <br /> addition to the mild climate and natural beauty it shares with other areas in the state, the <br /> County features the Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. A popular attraction, the park is <br /> the most visited site in the state, with over 1.7 million visitors each year. The number of <br /> domestic and international visitors to the County for the current fiscal year was <br /> all <br /> - 2 - <br />