2015-01-15 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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Motion and Vote : Mr. Espejo moved to approve the recommendation as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Matsuda and all Commissioners present voted aye. L. Urge County Council to increase the current County fuel tax of 8.8 cents/gallon, to a level commensurate with other Counties, for the purpose of increasing funding available to repave roads in a timely manner. Ms. Maddox said this recommendation came from Warren Lee’s presentation when he talked about the inability to pave and repave roads and pointed out the County’s fuel tax is 8.8 cents which is significantly lower than all the other counties. Discussion held and recommendation amended to read as follows: Urge County Council to increase the current County fuel tax of 8.8 cents/gallon to a level commensurate with other counties, for the purpose of increasing funding available to repave roads in a timely manner. Motion and Vote : Mr. Matsuda moved to approve the recommendation as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Espejo and all commissioners present voted aye. M. To promote transparency in County government, recommend that each County department make public in a user-friendly format on a regular basis the professional audits, reviews and plans that assess, guide and steer County government debate and course of action. An example is the federally mandated 20-year transportation plan that does not appear in public debate and County officials seem unaware of. Likely, officials and the public are unclear or unaware of such research-based plans, reviews and assessments that can support debate and decision-making. Mr. Mitchell said it would save the next Cost of Government Commission an enormous amount of time if there are references or links to these reports on the website and that information should be readily available to the public. Ms. Garson suggested recommending the County website be updated to provide links. Mr. Mitchell thinks the website is difficult to navigate. Discussion held and recommendation amended to read as follows: Regularly update the County’s website to provide easy-to-find links to the professional audits, review, and plans that guide County decision making. Examples include the federally mandated 20-year transportation plans and the International Association of Assessing Officers Technical Assistance Report Evaluating Property Tax Policies and Administrative Practices in Hawai‘i County (March 5, 2012). Motion and Vote : Mr. Mitchell moved to approve the recommendation as amended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Espejo and all commissioners present voted aye. 14