HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0193.051 2008-2010
OLLL ¢A Page I of2
COMM. ~~I3 P/F;G
Murashige, Laura
From: Doug Perrine [perrine@hawaii.rr.com] 2009 MAO 30 AM 8 27
Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2009 6:21 PM
To: Dominic Yagong; Donald Ikeda; Larry & Brenda Ford; Kelly ~ H;;:Bllly_K qi; pily Naeole; J
Yoshimoto; Bob Jacobson; Pete Hoffmann; Guy Enriques; Frd's Onishi; Angel'Pilagd
Cc: County Council
Dear Sirs:
When the voters of Hawaii County approved the 2% funding initiative for acquisition of open
space lands, we sent a clear and unambiguous message to our County government: the preservation of
these scenic, sacred, historic, and irreplaceable treasures is the highest priority for our County, and takes
precedence overTunding all the normal expenditures of government. The intention was to prevent the
government from failing to fund preservation of the aina in order to make it easier to balance the budget
during the normal and inevitable downturns in tax revenues, such as is occurring now. The message
was: "98% of our tax dollars is plenty to operate the bureaucracy. Trim where you must when revenues
are down, but stay within those constraints and do not fail to protect the aina that will be lost forever if
we miss this opportunity."
I would like to remind our Mayor and our Council Members that our system of government is a
democracy, where decisions are made by a majority of the voters. It is impractical to hold a referendum
for every matter to be decided, therefore the voters choose candidates whom they believe are most
likely to carry out their wishes. But in matters upon which the voters place great importance, they may
choose to make decisions directly through voter initiative referendums. In such cases, it is not the
prerogative of elected officials to overturn the voters' wishes. An attempt to do so would be tyranny,
and not democracy. Do you need to be reminded that you are public servants and not masters?
At the current moment in history, it is worth noting that the current budget shortfall may be
ascribed to the poor decisions of the last administration during the recent budget surplus. At that time
the County had funds in excess of the operating expenditures of the government and could have wisely
either added those funds to the land acquisition fund or spent them on repairs, new buses, or other one-
time expenditures, or even put them into a rainy day fund for the inevitable economic downturn. Instead
Mayor Kim chose to hire new County employees, who would have to be paid regardless of whether
revenues continued at a high level or not. This is just as the voters foresaw, and is why we chose to
protect that land fund. Our message is: "If you can't afford those new people you hired - then let them
go, or find other places to make cuts. Each government crisis soon passes, and won't be remembered in
a few years, but land is forever."
To look at the County's choices in a different way, consider that raiding the land fund is
equivalent to selling the park lands that would be purchased with that money. If the County has decided
to sell some lands to balance its budget, shouldn't it consider which of its lands are the best candidates
to be sold for potential development? Should it sell the irreplaceable treasures that are on the highest
priority list for acquisition and preservation, or should it sell the weed-choked former sugar cane lands
which it owns in abundance? Should it sell sites of great scenic and historical value which are planned
for public parks, or should it sell the municipal golf course, which is utilized by only a small portion of
the population (although admittedly by a high proportion of politicians) and costs the County a reported
$1 million per year in maintenance? Can you justify this decision to sell the highest priority lands rather
Comm. No. I'7 3. S 1
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than the junk lands?
Any Council Member or Administrator who acts to steal the lands that the Citizens have chosen
to purchase with, our tax dollars should remember that this blow against Democracy will neither be
forgotten, nor forgiven; not by the voters, nor by your grandchildren, who will look at the old
photographs of the majestic lands that were lost forever, and know that those were lost so that you
could fritter away the money that the taxpayers assigned to protect those lands on things like $65,000
lifeguard stands,, $2 million bathrooms, paving roads and then tearing them up again, building additions
to County buildings and then tearing them down again, and paying consultants millions of dollars over
and over again to endlessly plan projects that are never even started, let alone finished.
Clearly some of our elected representatives do not believe that Hawaii is paradise and do not
feel that this aina is sacred. Please be aware that many of your constituents feel a deep spiritual
connection to this land. We are the ones paying your salaries. You work for us, and it is our money that
you are spending. We've wisely or unwisely entrusted you to make many decisions on our behalf, but
not this one. Don't cross us. Saving these special places is your highest priority. And by the way, that
2% is a minimum, not a maximum.
Sincerely,
Doug Perrine
76-223 Haoa St.
Kailua-Kona HI 96740 U.S.A.
+1 (808) 329-4523
3/30/2009