REP FC 079 2018/02/06 (2016-2018)

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FC-79 Page 2 February 6, 2018 Council Chair Valerie T. Poindexter stated she will not be able to support this bill as it is. She stated constituents need time to understand what is going on and this needs to be taken to the.public. There is no plan, as of yet, how the money will be used. Everything is being fast-tracked and that is not fair to the people. Mayor Harry Kim responded that during the budget review process, where every dollar goes will be identified. Director Deanna Sako noted that Act 1 requires a public hearing to allow for public input. Council Member Jennifer Ruggles commented on how unfair the increase would be to the poorest of the poor. In addition to the property tax increase, doubling the minimum tax, almost tripling the fuel tax, and tripling the tipping,fees, the County is greatly increasing the cost of living and decreasing the quality of life for our struggling population. There are alternatives out there and we need to work to identify them. For these reasons, Ms. Ruggles will not be supporting this bill. Council Member Eileen O'Hara will support this bill if this Council will consider offsets that she proposes, which will be brought up at a subsequent meeting. It is important to know where the money is generated from and where it will be expended. If we want to maintain the Big Island in something of a poverty cycle, not doing anything is the best way to'perpetuate that. There are jobs but people are not able to get to these jobs. This increase is an economic driver. She stated that we need a more diversified portfolio in terms of the revenue coming into the county, which is an issue that we have to collectively resolve. Ms. O'Hara stated she wants to see a commitment from the administration; that if we adopt the surcharge and money is freed up, we need to be informed it is going to be spent on services that are needed in the community. We need to diversify our tax base as not all taxes are the same, and it is too complex to lump everything together in one bill. Ms. O'Hara made a motion to amend Bill 102 with the contents of Communication 722.1, urging the administration to consider expending money in the department of wastewater management for wastewater projects and in the County Police Department for additional patrol services in the most underserved areas of the island. The proposed amendment was tabled until end of the meeting. Council Member Dru Mamo Kanuha commented that it was tough to read about it in the paper. He stated he did not vote for the real property tax increase. He voted for the fuel tax because of public safety and how the roads needed to be fixed. Timing is really bad after all the tax increases and all the additional benefits paid to everyone; it is tough. Unless he has a list that states exactly where the funds are going, it is really hard to vote for something like that. He felt the bill will actually help the poorer districts with the transit system, however, it is hard to give a vote for a blank check at this time.