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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PWIRC 058 11/17/2009 2008-2010 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS DATE: November 17, 2009 Re: Comm. No. 607/Reso 268-09 PLACE: Council Chambers Ben Franklin Bldg, 2nd Floor 333 Kilauea Ave. Hilo, Hawaii 96720 TIME: 11:43 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Public Works and Intergovernmental Relations, to which was referred Communication 607 and Resolution 268-09, reports as follows: Resolution 268-09, transmitted via Communication No. 618, dated October 30, 2009 from Council member and Hawaii State Association of Counties (HSAC) representative Dennis "Fresh" Onishi includes the five measures proposed to be included in the 2010 HSAC Legislative Package. Two testifiers spoke in opposition to Item 3, relating to the State Land Use Commission. Chair Enriques proposed to divide the question for vote on each of the five proposed measures in the 2010 HSAC Legislative Package. Mr. Onishi moved to divide the question. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ford and unanimously carried. The parts and vote were as follows: 1. A Resolution allowing counties to access State Department of Taxation income tax database. Council member and HSAC Representatives Dennis Onishi stated this resolution can aid the counties in several manners, one of which is to check if properties owners are legally eligible for residency tax credits, and to otherwise inspect records. Council member Brenda Ford stated she feels the language in this proposed resolution will weigh efficacy of income against property taxation, which in turn could raise privacy issues, and may lead to problems with fair treatment. Council members Hoffmann and Ikeda agreed there are problems with the language and construction of the resolution. County Finance Directory Nancy Crawford commented the county real property tax office would primarily use the proposed access as a tool to learn if property tax credits relating to questions of residency may be valid or warranted. Access to state income tax system records may be helpful in determining if low income residents are eligible for support programs. Mr. Onishi stressed there was no time to amend language this year, as it is HSAC's intention to present these resolutions before convening of the next State Legislature. The vote to approve Item 1 failed; there were nine "no" votes. 2. A Resolution urging the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF) to study feasibility of establishing a captive insurance program. PWIRC Rept. 58 P WIRC Rept. 5 8 Page 2 Mr. Onishi explained the question brought by this proposed feasibility study is that it would be better to have the counties independent health care funds rather than a program administered by the state. Implementation of a captive program may result in a method to cut costs. Item 2 also requires a representative from the county to be included on the EUTF board, which is currently lacking. Nancy Crawford stated the Finance Department strongly supports establishing at least a single representative on the board. She reported that Rix Maurer, Director, Budget and Fiscal Services from the City and County of Honolulu said he doesn't believe Hawaii County is very well suited for a captive insurance program, but he is also supportive of doing a feasibility study. Council member Ford stated she cannot support Item 2 without having a better understanding of a "captive program." Item 2 was approved with two dissenting votes. Ms. Ford and Mr. Yagong voted "no." 3. Resolution requesting State Land Use Commission to transfer duties, functions and responsibilities from itself to the various County Planning Commissions. Mr. Onishi stated Item 3 is intended to put control of state-owned land use decisions into local hands. Council member Ford stated she believes Hawaii County lacks ability to handle the work currently performed by the State Land Use Commission (LUC). Further, the LUC provides a check and balance, as current county zoning ordinances are too loose. She also said that this bill would have the adverse effect of eliminating environmental assessment requirements for large development projects. Council member Greenwell agreed with Ms Ford. He said that if this resolution is primarily being proposed as a cost savings, that is not a valid reason for the change. Mr. Hoffmann agreed with this position. The LUC is a valued watchdog and Mr. Greenwell feels that maintaining the state LUC is a better idea. Norman Hayashi with county Planning Department was called by Council Member Ikeda to comment. Mr. Hayashi initially noted that the HSAC resolution has a conflict of nomenclature wherein the duties of the LUC are to be assigned to the county Planning Department in one section, and a county Planning Commission in another. Despite this being unclear, the county Planning Department supports the resolution. The proposed resolution changes are expected to cut down on processing time. The county has the necessary staff and knowledge to carry out the duties, and has an existing involvement with State LUC. Council member Dominic Yagong stated that while he agrees with Ms. Ford's concerns, ultimately this resolution is about making land use decisions under home-rule. It gives more power to our people and helps us make our own land use decisions and therefore he is in support. PWIRC Rept. 58 PWIRC Rept. 58 Page 3 Council member Emily Naeole wanted to draw attention to how agricultural lands on Maui have been changing to millionaire's estates, so it might benefit our county if we control our lands at more at the county level, less on state. Mr. Hoffmann stated he feels the State LUC should be preserved and that the language in the resolution with conflict of Planning Department versus Planning Commission makes it unsupportable. Council member Ikeda quoted from the State HRS Chapter 205 and other parts and he believes these statutes would clarify any potential problems with title or naming in the resolution. Item 3 was approved with three dissenting votes. Ms. Ford, Mr. Greenwell and Mr. Hoffmann voted "no." 4. A Resolution asking State to provide appropriate levels of service for the 2010 elections. Mr. Onishi stated this resolution is to alert the Governor's office and State Office of Elections the counties need to be funded or reimbursed more quickly for election expenses that are supposed to be paid by the State. State Elections does not provide direct services on our island. Precincts are not all paid for now, and this Resolution asks State Elections to reimburse county expenses. As examples of expenses incurred by Hawaii County Elections, Hawaii County Clerk Kenneth Goodenow testified county ballot machines are paid for through Federal, State and County funds. As things stand, ballot machine costs may not be covered or there might not be enough machines for all precincts. If something goes wrong with Request for Proposals (RFP), which is currently in litigation, there may not be any recourse; the funds may possibly be shifted to other elections funds. Costs of operating the precincts start fiscal year preceding the election year. Committee Chairman Enriques asked what happens if the state fails to provide funding. Mr. Goodenow responded that responsibility of costs of elections is split in various manners. The State may have to close precincts, but expenses to the counties will likely rise. Item 4 was unanimously approved. 5. A Resolution requesting the state to use the Wireless Enhanced 911 Special Fund only for purposes designated by Act 159 (2004); and to remove the spending cap on the fund. There was written testimony from Department Police Chief Paul Fierra strongly supporting this resolution. PWIRC Rept. 58 PWIRC Rept. 58 Page 4 Mr. Onishi stated this resolution eliminating the cap will protect funds if they exceed $9,000,000. There was no debate or discussion. Item 5 was unanimously approved. Mr. Hoffmann moved to amend Res. 268-09 by deleting the disapproved Item 1 and renumbering the remaining items accordingly. The motion was seconded by Mr. Onishi and unanimously carried. Your Committee on Public Works and Intergovernmental Relations is in accord with the purpose and intent of Resolution 268-09, as amended to Draft 2, and recommends its adoption. bdw AYES NOES A&E EX Respectfully submitted, ENRIQUES X FORD X COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND GREENWELL X INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS HOFFMANN X IKEDA X NAEOLE X ONISHI X EN ES, CHAI YAGONG X OPIWIRC REPO O. 58 YOSHIMOTO X ADOPTED: 0 0 2 2M