HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0077.013 2022-2024 etoo
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March 7, 2023 0011414.77
County of Hawaii
Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use, and Development(PCPLUD)
Hawai`i County Building "J '
March 7 2023 11:30 a.m '
7
Re: Bill 18 Draft 01 1 -- "
GN. tr;:a-74
Aloha e County Council, r-'
17,
cow .
My name is Hannah Hartmann, I am a scholar activist and.Hilo resident testifying on behalf
myself today.
I am writing to express my support for Bill 18 with amendments to section 2 subsection C titled
"Preference for rental or purchase of county-funded affordable units".
The development of a preferencing system for affordable county housing is a long standing need
for our community, and one that I am grateful you have begun to address. However, I have
concerns about the order of the proposed preferencing system.
I strongly feel that the first order of preference given to income eligible employees of the County
or State of Hawaii should be removed from the list and combined with the"income eligible
qualified workers" category. I believe the financial struggles of county employees can be
addressed elsewhere in the county's structure. While I recognize that the council does not have
jurisdiction over state employee's salaries, it does have direct influence over the salaries of
county eligible employees. The average Hawaii County employee salary is $40,000 as of
January 2023, but according to a livable wage calculator prepared by the Department of Urban
Studies and Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Hawai`i County for the 2022 -
2023 fiscal year, a single parent household with one child would require an income of $82,000/
year. The current Hawai`i county employee salary is not conducive to increasing inflation and
skyrocketing market prices. This is a problem I feel can better be addressed by returning to its
root: the county of Hawaii is not paying their employees a livable wage.
I therefore urge the council to combine the"income eligible employees of the County or State of
Hawai`i" and"income eligible qualified workers" categories into one classification strictly based
on worker income eligibility. This will show solidarity from the County with general public
workers rather than preferencing governmental ones. I do want to make clear that in addition to
amending this legislation, I strongly urge the council to do everything in its means to increase
county employee wages, so that an entire demographic can be removed from requiring affordable
housing.
While we take steps to house the most vulnerable of our community, we also want to ensure we
do so efficiently.According to the county's website, all county housing waitlists are currently
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March 7, 2023
closed due to the overwhelming amount of people in need of affordable housing. By removing
the top preference currently listed and considering all workers in the same classification
regardless of employer, we will maximize affordable county unit access to a greater number of
people in a more equitable manner.
Mahalo for your continued commitment to the people of Hawai`i.
Aloha nui,
Hannah Hartmann