MIN CHARTER 2018-12-14 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -6 December 14, 2018 Commissioner Hamano. MR. HAMANO: Thank you Chair Adams. I have read a lot and heard a lot of public testimony against reducing the two percent PONC fund set aside and I accept and I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of the testimony that supports the PONC fund. But again, the question is really at least one of the questions is how much you know, should the County of Hawai`i be required to set aside and your ad hoc committee you know investigated whether the amount of the set aside was appropriate and found that it was too high in light of the County revenues and in light of what other counties allowed. The majority of the ad hoc committee thought that the appropriate set aside should be reduced from two percent to point five percent. CA -7 you know, tries to seek a balance there of setting aside a total of one percent which would include a .25 percent for the maintenance fund. Hawai`i County's two percent set aside for the PONC acquisition fund is more than double the next highest set aside which is Maui County, which has a one percent set aside. There appears to be no justifiable reason to mandate a spending provision in the County Charter which is a non-essential government service that is more than 100% greater than what other counties in Hawai`i provide for. The proposed Charter Amendment which is a one percent set aside for PONC related activity is only the minimum amount that is mandated. There is nothing to prevent the County Council from appropriating more if there is a great need for PONC funds for the fiscal year. And if the public so wishes, it can come to the County Council. But this is a Charter provision and with a Charter provision there is no out out of it and the Council nor anybody else can set that aside unless there is a you know, Charter amendment which comes through a long process or through this process which comes along every ten years. Moreover, while I think it is still a good government public policy to set aside funds to acquire lands for public use as stated in the proposed amendment, we need to be mindful of the fact that Hawai`i County has about 1.3 million acres of land classified by the Hawai`i State Land Use Commission (LUC) as conservation lands. More than half of the land in Hawai`i County is classified by the LUC as conservation land. The proposed amendment to the current PONC provision is a more reasonable and fiscally responsible approach to the PONC related activity. Lastly, though often stated testimony that the voting public approved the current PONC set aside about three straight times is not I think, entirely correct because at least in one of those times, the voting public voted for the one percent. I think that was made clear. There was one time when the voting public voted for the one percent you know. I strongly believe that if the voting public were informed that Hawai`i County's PONC Charter provision of essentially a 2.25 percent set aside from RPT (Real Property Tax) revenues, is over 100% greater than other Hawai`i Counties, that they would approve a lowering of the PONC set aside rate. Page 42