MIN CHARTER 2019-01-25 (2018-2020)

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission -7 January 25, 2019 So, another hat as a board member of a local non-profit conservation organization, I am very aware about how important it is to govern and pay attention to your budget and to balance the budget. However, it is also very clear that there are two types of funds. Things that can go into general funds and funds that are dedicated and should be specifically earmarked for something and the PONC funds are, they are earmarked for public access, open space, natural resources preservation, and maintenance and so I feel like it is super inappropriate to consider using them for anything else and trying to use them to balance the budget. The third hat I am wearing today is a non-profit staff member with Hawai`i Wildlife Fund. One of the non-profit organizations who did receive a maintenance grant to host community based workdays and estuary restoration work and efforts at Kawa, and we support maintaining the fund at the full two percent and we also support using some of that money to employ a full-time dedicated staff person and to transfer the management and organization and maintenance of both funds to the Department of Finance within the County. But it is also worth mentioning that this small pot of funds that we received in addition to that, about a third of the direct funds, not counting all of the thousand plus volunteer hours, but the direct funds, we paid about a third of the direct cost for our staff and part-time contractors to host these workdays and to go through the permitting process. So the amendments within the Charter amendment 9 would make this process much more efficient, so wholeheartedly support CA -9 and like many others before me, I am echoing them in opposition, strong, strong, opposition to Charter Amendment 7 and as well as 13. I think it is a misappropriation of those funds, so thank you so much for your time. Happy to answer more questions. I hope you read my testimony. CHR. ADAMS: Thank you very much. Ms. Willeford. SHARON WILLEFORD: Proposal No. CA -7, CA -8, and CA -13 in opposition and Proposal No. CA -9 in support. MS. WILLEFORD: Aloha, thank you for making it through the day and being here for us all. I think everything has been said that is important. 1 also agree on CA -7, CA -8, and CA -13 as Noes and 9 as yes. I am a 35 year elementary school teacher here. I am here to represent the children, the future. If we continue to allow foreign investors to come in and buy and desecrate our land, I am a (inaudible) protector of the land. On such things that we see going on on Mauna Kea, Pu'uhonua, polluting our water along the coast, dumping 70,000 gallons of sludge into our ocean and disturbing our fisherman and causing our surfers to get sick. Now PGV (Puna Geothermal Venture) now trying to reopen. That has damaged and harmed so many of our people and our land and now a rocket launch. Who is making these decisions? If we pollute and damage and desecrate all our lands, what will our children have left? What year is it? There is so much alternative free energy right now. We can tap the ocean, the wind, the solar, and Page 37