HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0972.025 2008-2010 Page 1 of 1
PICOWJ XL
Murashige, Laura C- (.)&464.q12
SPECIAL. M1
From: rene siracusa [renesiracusa @hotmail.com]
y t 'a 2: 1
Sent: Monday, 29, 2010 10:21 AM 1° E . ,
To: County Council
Subject: Bill 311 - $56M Bond Float
Attachments: November 29,2010.doc
aloha -
Please distribute my testimony to the council members prior to their taking up this item on tomorrow's special
meeting.
mahalo,
Rene Siracusa
Comm. N.o3 " ( 7
Ref. To: T r
Ref. Date NO 3 Cui}I
11/29/2010
November 29, 2010
TESTIMONY TO THE HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL
RE: BILL 311 - $56M BOND FLOAT
Aloha members of the outgoing Hawaii County Council:
It appears that you are planning a "swan song" that will leave a lasting negative legacy
for the future of our island. In 20 years when the debt is (hopefully) paid off, it will be
our great - grandchildren paying it.
I read the paper every day, and this past year have been counting the number of
Foreclosure Notices printed — sometimes 29, sometimes 37, etc. Each one of these
represents a property that will not be paying real property taxes, our major income
source, until they are sold in the not foreseeable future. Add to these the number of tax
forfeitures we can expect from property owners who have fallen on hard times, and the
number of tax appeals from people whose decreased land values are not reflected in their
assessments, and the result is a greatly reduced income over the next few years. You are
proposing to increase our costs /interest + principal at a time when we should be
tightening our belts. Will we add Monday as a furlough day to make up the difference?
Or maybe we will increase real property taxes and force even more residents to move
under blue tarps?
"Sound economic policy" is the phrase I have seen the administration use to rationalize
this bond issue. We are told that now that construction bids are low, we can generate
jobs to prop up the economy. But this entirely ignores the hidden costs, which we can ill
afford. It is like a shopper spending wildly on Black Friday without the cash on hand,
putting it all on the credit card. That shopper is still spending behind his /her means and
the interest from the credit card will cancel out the savings. This is not responsible fiscal
planning.
Further, the refusal to list the projects specifically does not meet the "flexibility"
argument. There seems to be no compromising by prioritizing the projects according to
which ones are "shovel- ready ", or needed for public health and safety, or to meet some
federal mandate. There seems to be no one willing to offer an alternative of a lower bond
issue that would pay for only the top 3 or 5 priority projects. In other words, we are
being asked to indebt ourselves to pay for a blank slate. Take it or leave it without the
"or ". There is nothing sunshine about that!
The newly elected council will have the responsibility of approving a budget for FY2010-
11. If you think you had a hard time working on the budget last year, you ain't seen
nuthin' yet! You are deliberately tying the hands of the incoming council, leaving them
fewer options in their attempt to create a new budget that is balanced, fair and more
acceptable to the residents. Please do not be mean - spirited; let them do their job.
PLEASE VOTE "NO" ON BILL 311. MAHALO.
Rene Siracusa
PO Box 1520, Pahoa, HI 96778