HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0711.225 2008-2010Murashige, Laura
From: kkau03 @aol.com
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 8 PM
To: counciltestimony @ co.hawaii hi us
Subject: Fwd. budget cuts
1
2010 JUN 7 ail 8 11
C CU : r_ ; L(��'.
COUN1 ; F HAWAII
Page 1 of 2
Original Message
From: kkau03 @aol.com
To: dyagong @co.hawaii.hi us
Cc' dikeda @co.hawaii.hi.us, jyoshimoto @co hawaii.hi.us, donishi @co.hawaii hi.us; enaeole @co.hawaii.us,
genriques @co hawaii.hi.us; bford @co.hawaii hi.us; kgreenwell @co.hawaii.hi.us; phoffmann @co.hawaii.hi.us
Sent. Sun, Jun 6, 2010 8 pm
Subject budget cuts
Dear Dominic and your fellow council members,
Its so tough to do what obviously is one of the many right things to do so as to help balance / reduce the budget
and relieve the public of tax burdens.
I know its tough because myself and so many others have had to do the very same thing in the private sector.
And that is to down size your work force and freeze hiring and payroll raises instead of raising taxes and /or tax
rates to maintain current payrolls, benefits, and pension cost.
We all in the private sector had to lay off people very near and dear to us didn't want to have to do it and
hurt us much but we made the sacrifices hoping for better times and told those impacted that if government
could do the same that we all could weather the storm until friendlier skies prevail.
Its been decided that by enacting 2 furlough days a month out of 22 working days a month we can still maintain
county services to help cut public sector costs to tax payers.. than its also obvious that we could cut 2/22 close
to 10% of the county's work force (including not just cut in payroll cost which the furlough days provide . but all
associated benefits .... along with pension cost)
As for the police and fire protection personnel on the County's tax payers payroll . while I have the
utmost respect for those folks and what they do for the community how can salary raises be accepted now or
deferred to a later date .. . Mayor Kenoi uses the "indian giver" arguement ....but what do I and others say to all
their private sector work forces when they are experiencing payroll reductions and /or freezes and /or lay -offs and
hardly able to make mortgage and rent payments not to mention put food in there childrens mouth while the police
and fire personnel are given +/- 24% raises for the next 4 years (6% a year).
Please help me explain to my guys and their families in some other way than telling them its just the government
avoiding being an "Indian giver" to deals made in better times with union folks and their members. some of
whom possibly already make much more money than myself, my employees and their families and some of
whom are not willing to sacrifice as much as we in these desperate economic times
Myself and my company has not brought in a dollar of revenue this year while at the same time expending many
out -of- pocket cost to help procure work for our past and current employees who are sacrificing so much
Please know that, in know way, do I favor seeing anybody lose jobs, but its time to recognize we all must change
till its better (which will happen if we all pull together) and once better we learn from the not so better times in the
past -7
Comm. No. / ! 1. 2
6/7/2010
Ref. To:
Ref. Rafe JUN 0 R 7010
Thank you all for consideration of my thoughts in your ever so important hours of representation.
Ken Rice
6/7/2010
v
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I've lived here for 20 years I love the place and the people and while I am not saying I know it
all, coz I don't even come close, ... ... .... I am a realist .. and the reality is that if we keep going on with the
"business as usual" mentality and /or "robin hood" mentality (i.e. rob from West Hawaii and give to the County of
Hawaii ) it will most assuredly be the demise of all us true to the "big Island"