HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0711.031 2008-2010Yoshimoto, J
From: Richard Toledo [r.toledo.jr @gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 9:27 PM
To: J. Yoshimoto; Donald Ikeda; Guy Enriques; donishi; Pete Hoffmann; Dominic Yagong
Subject: Proposal to increase property taxes.
Aloha all,
The current state of the economy of Hawaii, or our national economy for that matter,
should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention for the past 40 years.
Many of you were in office for most of the past 8 years and participated in the rapid
growth of county spending and supported most of it. We all knew the spending was
unsustainable and you were warned about the coming day of reckoning - I testified myself
for all the good it did.
This week I read that one of the measures being taken to reduce county spending is the
termination of the county band - $350,000 + /- or about 3% of total budget shortfall of
$11.2 million (Didn't we just grant the county band full civil service benefits ?) It
doesn't take a Finance PhD. to recognize that a 3% reduction in county expenses will not
put much of a dent in our deficit.
I cannot readily find the numbers but, how much does our "free" bus service cost us? I'll
bet it's more than $350,000. Isn't it time to charge just a small portion for this free
service that property taxes payers now subsidize? How much would a Dollar ($1.00) per
trip offset our transportation cost? That is certainly a-lot less than the probable
property tax increase on families who mostly never use the bus service.
The 2% taken from property taxes for the "Open Spaces" piggy bank would substantially
offset our proposed budget deficiencies. Why do we continue to set aside this money when
there is not now nor will there be in the near and distant future, any money to develop
these properties? Much like the Paauilo lands which sat idle for 15+ years, purchasing
private lands to "land bank" - not a function of county government - removes lands from
the tax inventory and productive potential inventory. If we do not buy lands than the
money sits wastefully unused. How long can this continue?
We spend a lot of money recycling and yet much of the recycled product sits in warehouses
waiting for a buyer. Is that the proper use of MY property tax money? We sure could use
that incinerator now.
I only mention a few of these examples because they have been a burr under my hat for a
long time. There are many more areas for cost savings if we only have the guts to look.
As a mortgage broker for over 16 years, - know the tough time families are now having
because I saw how many of them in the past were $100 to $150 a month away from foreclosure
during austere times. Jobs have been lost, hours cut, federal, state and county fees have
been increasing, gasoline costs are skyrocketing along with electricity costs and NOW we
say we may increase property taxes? That's crazy!
Foreclosures are at an all time high and it is not because of the much maligned sub -prime
loans.
NO MORE TAXES!! Enough already! It is not preordained that the default position for
gutless policy makers is to increase taxes.
Government spending is the problem, not insufficient taxes
Look at county operations. If you can find a service in the phone book, ask why the
county is doing it. Why is government competing with private business? Private
businesses employ people who pay county taxes whose county is in competition with them?
That's backwards! It's like playing basketball with the referee.
Please, no more taxes!!
Rick Toledo, Jr
Hilo
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