HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0193.038 2008-2010GoM M. 1~ 3 Page 1 of 3
Murashige, Laura (a~-,GFd~~,
From: Ruby Tzimeas [rubyolili@gmail.com] ~ppg I~flR 25 P~1 2 04
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 1:34 PM
To: Council member Yagong; cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us ~t~ ~. : ,~ q {;;~pJ;'!!]
~ )UI~~~~
Cc: Council member Onishi; Council member Naole; Council member Yoshimoto; Council member
Ford; Council member Greenwell; Council member Enriques; Council member Hoffman; Council
member Ikeda; Council Testimony
Subject: correction
Aloha,
In my communication below, I stated that I had received no response to my previous email, regarding NOT
freezing or removing money from the 2% Fund. This was incorrect, as I did receive a letter back from Mayor
Kenoi.
Mayor Kenoi, I appreciate very much that you are considering this matter seriously and that you took the time to
respond. I continue to believe that there must be other areas where the savings could be made. Council Member
Yagong has proposed many options -- some of them must be viable.
Mahalo,
Roberta (Ruby) Tzimeas
Kailua-Kona
----- Original Message -----
From: Ruby Tzimeas
To: Council member Yagong
Cc: cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us ;Council member Onishi ;Council member Naole ;Council member
Yoshimoto ;Council member Ford ;Council member Greenwell ;Council member Enriques ;Council member
Hoffman ;Council member Ikeda ;Council Testimonv
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 12:59 PM
Subject: Budget woes -mahalo
Aloha Council Member Yagong
,S friend forwarded your response (below) to her communication regarding NOT using the 2% funds to balance
ttie budget.
I mphatically agree with her, but that is not why I am writing. I just wanted to say mahalo for your efforts to find
other ways to cut expenses for the County. In a previous email to you and the rest of the Council, I said "hard
tunes require creative solutions". It is so nice to see that someone is actually attempting to do that!
i
I didn't receive a response from anyone to the email that I sent, so I will repeat my suggestion:
",4s an ex-government employee, my agency offered employees the opportunity to voluntarily take one or two
days off each month, without pay. No one was forced into a furlough, but many people thought it was worth
giving up some of their income to spend more time with their families. Additionally, perhaps some Hawaii
County employees consider the 2% fund important, and would feel good about doing something to support it.
Please don't assume that you know the answers to these questions. Why don't you ask your employees what
ttiey think of this idea? Hard times require creative solutions." n
Thank you for your interest and diligence, Comm. No. ~Q 3.3g
Ref. To: ~-~
Ref. Date P+IAR 2 5 205
3/25/2009
Page 2 of 3
Roberta (Ruby) Tzimeas
Kailua-Kona '
From: Dominc Yagong [mailto:dyagong@co.hawaii.hi.us]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 2:56 PM
To: 'Joan Kinchla'
Subject: RE: County Council Committee on Finance: COMMUNICATION 115- Open Space Commission Report
to Mayor
Aloha Joan,
Thank you very much for your testimony. This will no doubt be the toughest budget I have ever faced in the 5
terms that I have served on the County Council. As you know, the Mayor has submitted his budget to the
Council which includes deferring any payments into the 2% fund for the next two years. He is required by law to
submit a balanced budget to the Hawaii County Council. That means that if the Council disagrees with the
Mayor, we would have to amend the budget by coming up with the nearly $5 million dollars elsewhere in the
budget.
It is my hope that the 2% Fund is not utilized to balance the budget. I am working very hard to look at different
aspects of the budget to see if the 2% contribution can be spared and not utilized to balance the budget. If you
have any suggestion for the Council and Mayor in regards to where you would like to see the $5 million
amended in the budget, please feel free to contact me via email or call me at 961-8538.
Much Aloha - Dominic Yagong
From: Joan Kinchla [mailto:islandhopr@hawaii.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, March Ol, 2009 8:56 AM
To: cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us; donishi@co.hawaii.hi.us; enaeole@co.hawaii.hi.us; jyoshimoto@co.hawaii.hi.us;
'Dominc Yagong; bford@co.hawaii.hi.us; kgreenwell@co.hawaii.hi.us; 'Guy Enriques'; 'Pete Hoffman';
dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us; counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: County Council Committee on Finance: COMMUNICATION 115- Open Space Commission Report to
Mayor
Dear Mayor Kenoi and County Council members:
DO NOT RAID THE 2% FUND to MEET the BUDGET SHORTFALL
I recently sent a letter to you asking that the 2% Fund be lefr alone for it's dedicated purpose. I also
recently received a response from you saying that a contribution from the Public Access, Open Space
and Natural Resources Preservation Fund may be possible.
I again request that the County Council members:
1. Honor the work of hundreds volunteers who collected 9,782 signatures on the Initiative petitions
to get the question on the 2006 ballot. At 5 minutes per signature that is over 800 volunteer
hours away from their families and work.
2. Honor 57% of voters who voted for this measure at the polls in November of 2006.
3. Honor the time and accomplishment of the Open Space Commissioners and staff who are
3/25/2009
Page 3 of 3
submitting this report to you with their recommendations, by continuing the deposits to the fund
so that parcels can be acquired. Their time and reports represent thousands of hours of volunteer
time. This is the Open Space Commission's 3rd report to the Mayor.
4. There are two pazcels approved by the Council for acquisition that are actively for sale:
Kaiholena in Kohala and Puapua'a in Kona. Why aren't these being pursued for acquisition?
5. NOW is the time to buy while the prices are depressed, we may never see land prices this low
again. NOW is the time to buy Hawaii Island's best lands for parks, open space and recreation
for Hawaii Island residents, so that we may preserve them forever for our families and
grandchildren.
DO NOT RAID THE 2% Fund to MEET the BUDGET SHORTFALL.
Mahalo.
Joan Kinchla
77-6393 Kaheiau St.
Kailua Kona, HI 96740
808-327-1529
3/25/2009