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wherever the government needs it. An enterprise fund is more specific. Enterprise fund <br />money can only be spent on a specific purpose, such as parks and recreation. Most of <br />thefundingcomes from fees related to thefund's mission.Governments don't have to rely <br />on fees to cover all thefund's spending. If necessary, a government can pay for some of <br />the services with tax dollars. Most of the financing, however, is based on the fees or <br />bonds backed by future fee payments. <br /> <br />Tying fees and services together through anenterprisefundhas advantages. Users and the <br />general public can see how much it costs to provide particular services, and why the fees <br />are set at a certain level. It's not always possible to balance fees and the cost of services <br />perfectly, though. A fundmay run in the red one year, which is a sign the government <br />needs to raise fees. If the fundturns a profit, the money carries over to operations in the <br />next fiscal year, and fees might drop. <br />The City and County of Honolulu adopted an ordinance to establish an enterprise fund in 1998 <br />for its Sewer Fund. While Hawai‘i County does not have, nor will likely have, the installed <br />customer base that Honolulu has (80 percent of homes connected), the Honolulu wastewater <br />enterprise fund can provide initial guidance to the consultant. The Office of Council Services <br />there can also provide assistance in drafting appropriate legislation. On the capital side, bond <br />counsel will need to be consulted as an enterprise fund is also an investment vehicle and needs to <br />offer the transparency and stability that investors require. Additional resources are available <br />through the National Association of Counties (NACo) as enterprise funds are commonly utilized <br />around the country and exemplify good governance. <br /> <br />We anticipate that a knowledgeable consultant could provide a combination of feasible options. <br />For example, EMC has recommended innovative funding via Energy Savings Performance <br />Contracts (letter to Council October 10, 2020). <br /> <br />Please consider this recommendation as critical to effectively managing our wastewater <br />resources and take prompt action. <br />Sincerely, <br />Georjean L Adams, Chair <br />Environmental Management Commission <br />C: Ramzi I. Mansour, Director, Department of Environmental Management <br />2 <br />