Comm No 0021.019 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fund

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Charter Commission 12.14.2018 Good afternoon commissioners- my name is Debbie Hecht and I have been the Campaign Coordinator for the 2% Land Fund since 2005. That is almost 15 years we have been revisiting the land fund and each time 63% of people voted in favor. I will be commenting on two issues today, I am opposed to CA -7, which guts the fund, and I support the new proposed CA -9. The Save our Lands Citizens Committee is working on an amendment to strengthen the Maintenance Fund for your February meeting. CA7 reduces the 2% Land Fund to 3/4 % to about $1.5 million per year, and caps the fund. It moves the Maintenance Fund, which provides money to community groups and the county to maintain these lands. It is proposed to put the Maintenance fund into the Hawaii County code where the mayor and council can stop deposits to the fund, just like Mayor Kenoi did as his first piece of legislation in 2006. Did you know that the the Land Fund only receives 1.5% of the total income stream of the County? I've owned my own business for 40 years and I can cut 1`)/0 of the budget in 5 minutes. The new legislation CA -9 proposed by Commissioner Galimba will strengthen the 2% Land Fund Program by paying for a full time staff person out of the 2% monies who will ONLY work on the Land and Maintenance Fund. This will save the Finance Department one senior staff salary. What you are considering today are also deletes the clause that says: "This property (or easement) was acquired with money from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. It shall be held in perpetuity for the use and enjoyment of the people of Hawai'i County and may not be sold, mortgaged, traded or transferred in any way." This would also delete the potential matching funds, which is the great gift of the Land Fund. WHY would these generous donors keep helping with matching funds if these lands could be sold and the money put in the general fund? That would be a consequence of deleting this clause. Approximately 1/3 of the money used to purchase land in the past 14 years was obtained from the USFWS and State Legacy Lands. Soon after you were seated as commissioners, Mayor Kim said he wanted to sell some of these lands because they couldn't be cared for. That is just not true. The Maintenance Fund cares for these properties. Government entities traditionally have Memorandums of Understanding to care for jointly managed lands. For example, The National Park Service has the Ala Kahakai Comm. No. 21.19