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<br /> <br /> <br />Page 6 <br />1 <br />"Where are we financially? Can we afford it? Can we <br />2 <br />not afford it?" Our job, or her job, is very simple, a <br />3 <br />difficult job: We have a budget that is given to us by <br />4 <br />the taxpayers of Hawai ʻ i, directly or indirectly. It is <br />5 <br />mainly -- 75 percent or so is from property tax. I <br />6 <br />keep looking at her because she's my source of <br />7 <br />information and she'll stop me when I'm off track. <br />8 <br />And what we are trying to push for is that <br />9 <br />there's a little -- and I don't blame anybody -- <br />10 <br />misunderstanding what a balanced budget means. A <br />11 <br />balanced budget means that we are given anticipated <br />12 <br />revenues for the coming fiscal year, which planning for <br />13 <br />us begins in December, and a budget has been completed, <br />14 <br />you know, before June 30th on anticipated revenues and <br />15 <br />anticipated expenses. I would draw, basically, to <br />16 <br />estimate this is the source of our spending. <br />17 <br />When we talked this morning -- our job is <br />18 <br />really quite simple. If, by any reason of collective <br />19 <br />bargaining or anything in regards to salaries and <br />20 <br />wages, Salary Commission, it's our job to find the <br />21 <br />money off that fixed amount, relatively fixed amount. <br />22 <br />Our job is to try to allocate it in the high priority <br />23 <br />areas. It has always been by -- we will make Priority 1 <br />24 <br />-- those expenditures that are by law. We have no <br />25 <br />choice on it, whether it be a federal requirement, a <br /> <br />ISLAND COURT REPORTING & TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES <br />(808) 933-9800 <br /> <br />