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From: Debbie H <hecht.deb@gmail.com> <br />Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 7:11 AM <br />To: Charter Commission <br />Subject: Please place CA -9 on the agenda for the April 25th meeting <br />Aloha Chair Adams and Vice Chair Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter, <br />Our core group is made up of people from the County Council, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, Conservation <br />Groups, the non-profit stewardship groups, the Trust for Public Lands, land use attorneys and our original Save Our <br />Lands Citizens Committee members from 2006. <br />We have discussed at length the existing CA -9 and we cannot support it at this time. The language is ambiguous and <br />could open the door to the 2% Land Fund paying multiple salaries for staff. Our concern is that this amendment as <br />presently written, could diminish the purchasing power of the 2% Land Fund which was what was originally <br />intended. We proposed this compromise, because we believe that the money is not being spent to obtain lands because <br />of lack of dedicated full time staff to accomplish the tasks necessary to acquire the lands proposed by the public. <br />We have proposed the following compromise language to strengthen the Land Fund. I believe this was submitted by <br />Commissioner Hopkins. <br />"Pay for the salary, wages and benefits of one full-time staff member, employed by the <br />Department of Finance dedicated only to advancing administering the activities <br />contained within this section and Section 10-16 of this charter. This is in addition to a staff <br />person provided in Section 2-215 of the Hawaii County Code." <br />We view our work with the Charter Commission as an opportunity to strengthen the 2% Land Fund program. We hope <br />that working together, we can create solid legislation that we can support when these measures are on the ballot. <br />We respectfully request that you place this on the agenda for the upcoming meeting on April 25th to be discussed fully <br />by the Commission. <br />Mahalo! <br />Debbie <br />Debbie Hecht <br />Website: Ramblings, Thoughts and Theories: www.debbiehecht.com <br />1 Comm. No. 24.101 <br />