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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2018/09/04 2016-2018Committee on Finance 42nd Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii September 4, 2018 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 2:08 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Mr. Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Absent & Excused: Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS The Chair called Toni Withington, representing the North Kohala Community Access Group, who registered to speak in support of Resolution 662-18, and came forward when called. CHR. DAVID: Seeing that there's no other testifiers in our outer sites or in Hilo, I'm closing public testimony at this time. What I want to do, if it's okay with the Council Members, is I want to take—oh, we barely have quorum. Okay, I'm going to take Resolution 665 and companion Bill 184 out of order since we have Captain Aimee Wana here from the Police Department. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, of Business: the following items were taken out of order: CHR. DAVID: So, Mr. Clerk, can you please read in Resolution 665? FC -42 September 4, 2018 Res. 665-18: AUTHORIZES THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS PURSUANT TO HAWAII REVISED STATUTES SECTION 46-7, FOR A GRANT TO THE HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT Funds in the amount of $113,387 would be used to purchase a driving simulator for the Police Department's Emergency Vehicle Operator Course as well as remedial training of employees involved in traffic collisions. Reference: Comm. 1038 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. O'Hara moved to recommend adoption of Res. 665-18. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter. (Note: At this time, Police Captain Aimee Wana came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: We have Captain Wana here to explain the essence of Resolution 665. Go ahead. You can identify yourself for the record. MS. WANA: My name is Aimee Wana. I'm the Captain with the Hawaii Police Department. I am working with this JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) grant, and the intent is to purchase a driving simulator. The driving simulator is basically a piece of equipment that we can program each individual officer's type of vehicle into it. So it will give them a simulated, although more visual rather than a physical driving, but a simulated driving environment. Currently, our vehicles are subsidized. Our officers do get into accidents, some more than others. More than we'd like to have them to get into, obviously. We've done various programs. We do physical driving programs. But again, because these are subsidized vehicles, we also use our blue and whites. It's not the same kind of environment, and we can't subject them to these dangerous situations because, obviously, we don't want more damage to the vehicles. So this simulator will hopefully help—allow them to experience different situations and hopefully be better drivers and be aware of what their capabilities are, both their vehicle as well as themselves. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. That's exciting. Thank you very much. MS. WANA: Hopefully not sickening. CHR. DAVID: Any questions, Council Members? Mr. Kanuha, go ahead. MR. KANUHA: Thank you. And so the $113,000 will—does that encompass the entire simulator? That's the full cost? Page 2 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MS. WANA: We have to put it up for bid. We did look at some—the County will probably have to put in a couple thousand more, depending on the bids. But we've also had experiences, where we put things out for bid and it comes down under. The last JAG grant that I had, we had three different projects and we had about $11,000 extra. So, it really will depend on the bidding process. MR. KANUHA: So we won't even know the full extent of how much it's going to cost? MS. WANA: No, but it should come in—I did do some pricing, and it came around that. MR. KANUHA: Approximate. Okay, that's it. I don't have any questions about that. The simulator, you say it does different types of training techniques. Our police officers have, as you said, different types of cars. Will that be programmed? You know, their individual cars be programmed into this type of simulator? MS. WANA: Correct. The simulator that we're seeking to purchase will enable the entries into, say a Ford Taurus or a Toyota 4 -Runner. MR. KANUHA: Got you. MS. WANA: It will be able to identify those—maybe not every type of vehicle, but something as close to that vehicle as possible. MR. KANUHA: Got you. Thank you. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kanuha. Anyone else? Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I'll be supporting this, But I just have some further questions. You know, this simulator, I'm assuming it will have to be housed somewhere. Do we have the space for it or are we going to be looking at a future request to provide for the space for it? That's question one. And then question two, if there will be any more wiring requirements or power source requirements for this simulator? I'm just trying to look down the road. Because when you get money like this, you don't leave it on the table. You go get it. MS. WANA: Exactly. MS. LEE LOY: But I'm concerned about what other costs we might need to absorb. MS. WANA: At this point, based on the models that I've looked at, we're looking at a space of about 10 feet by 10 feet. It's basically a size of an office. I've talked to my Assistant Chief, and there's some options that we have within the Police Page 3 FC -42 September 4, 2018 Department that we're looking at, using it. The model that I had looked at previously didn't appear to have any additional power requirements other than what would be in a standard office. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? No? Seeing none, all those in favor of approving Resolution 665-18 please say "aye." Vote on Res. 665-18: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 665-18 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, can you please read companion Bill 184, please? Bill 184: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 18-68, AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2019 Appropriates revenues in the Federal Grants — Local Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program account ($113,387); and appropriates the same to the Local JAG Program account. Funds would be used by the Hawaii County Police Department to purchase a driving simulator for its Emergency Vehicle Operator Course as well as remedial training of employees involved in traffic collisions. Reference: Comm. 1038 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Vote on Bill 184: Ms. Lee Loy moved to recommend passage of Bill 184 on (Approved) first reading. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. Page 4 FC -42 September 4, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Captain, for being here. Mahalo. Now, Clerk, I think we can move straight to the top of our agenda. Go for it. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 14.41: REPORT OF CHANGE ORDERS AUTHORIZED: JULY 1 — 15, 2018 From Finance Director Deanna Sako, dated August 3, 2018, transmitting the above report pursuant to Hawaii County Code Section 2-12.3. Vote on Comm. 14.41: Ms. Poindexter moved to close file on Comm. 14.41. Filed Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, please, Communication 15.38. Comm. 15.38: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16 — 30, 2018 AND JULY 16 — 31, 2018 From Controller Kay Oshiro, dated August 7, 2018. Vote on Comm. 15.38: Filed Ms. Poindexter moved to close file on Comm. 15.38. Seconded by Ms. Eoff and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, Communication 114.6, please. Comm. 114.6: FOURTH QUARTER REALLOCATION REPORT: APRIL — JUNE 2018 From Human Resources Director William V. Brilhante, Jr., dated August 10, 2018. Page 5 FC -42 September 4, 2018 Motion to Close File: Ms. O'Hara moved to close file on Comm. 114.6. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter. CHR. DAVID: Any discussion, Council Members? Okay, Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. And maybe—I don't know, maybe Deanna might be able to help. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. LEE LOY: Sorry, Deanna. On this reallocation, there's Department of Water Supply employees, I was just wondering because I know they're a semi -autonomist body. You know, those funds for them are covered through them, so I was just wondering how come it ended up here? MS. SAKO: Yes, Deanna Sako, Director of Finance. So I think because HR (Human Resources) does HR for both the County and Department of Water, they included all of them, but I don't believe we have ever given them any of that provision for reallocation, so they cover the cost associated with that. But HR does go through the one to do the audit and do all of the paperwork. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Seeing none, all those in favor please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 114.6: The motion to close file on Comm. 114.6 was carried by the Filed the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles – 2. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Council Members, because Mr. Yeh is here, and also Mr. Kim, could we just take Resolution 662, the public access resolution, out of order? Okay, and then we'll save the presentation for last. Thank you, Council Members. Go ahead, Mr. Clerk. Page 6 FC -42 September 4, 2018 Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Council Members, of Business: the following items were taken out of order: Res. 662-18: ACCEPTS A GRANT OF PEDESTRIAN PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENTS, IDENTIFIED AS TAX MAP KEYS: 5-3-007:010 (POR.) AND 5-3-007:041 (POR.), SITUATED AT HALAWA, PAPAA, AND NAPAPA`A, DISTRICT OF NORTH KOHALA, ISLAND AND COUNTY OF HAWAII, STATE OF HAWAII, FROM VIPASSA_NA HAWAII, A HAWAII NONPROFIT CORPORATION AND INHABIT LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The granting of pedestrian public access easements is a result of a settlement agreement between the County and Surety Kohala Corporation entered into on April 4, 2002. Reference: Comm. 1033 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend adoption of Res. 662-18. Seconded by Ms. Lee Loy. CHR. DAVID: This is the resolution. I have Mr. Yeh here and Mr. Kim here. Would you like to come forward, gentlemen? (Note: At this time, Deputy Corporation Counsel Ronald Kim and Mr. Tom Yeh, representing Vipassana Hawaii, came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Before I go to questions from Council Members, given the testimony that you've heard from Kona, could you please, either one of you, give us a brief description of this resolution. MR. YEH: Sure. This is Tom Yeh. Good afternoon, members of the Council. Yeah, so I've been working with Vipassana, which is my client, on this public access easement for actually several years now. We had one or two walk-throughs. I believe Ms. Withington was present at the time. Part of the concern from—well, this a ten -foot wide pedestrian access easement. Just let you know, just to give you some context, it runs on the west side from Kohala lighthouse all the way to the east, towards Hilo, to this heiau that's in honor of the Kamehameha family, actually. It's a very interesting place. Crosses two gulches. One is Halawa gulch; and then the other, Halaua gulch. SHPD (State Historic Preservation Division) has also been involved in discussion with respect to the location. There are some historic sites there, some old agricultural terraces. Page 7 FC -42 September 4, 2018 The area that I think Ms. Withington had been referring to—there are a couple of steep places that we basically worked with the Planning Department. I believe Lucas Mead was with the Planning Department at the time. He had also received input from the group that Ms. Withington is with. We adjusted the location to basically take care of that steepness so that you've got a little bit more—instead of going up and down a hill, you would go sideways, diagonally across the slope, and then coming out across Halawa gulch and then coming up to the Kapanaya Road location. The location is, to me, pretty good because in many places this is actually even more than 40 feet from the cliff edge. At the same, it tries to respect some of the private ownership issues. Historically, what the landowner has found, is that there used be a lot of—there have been rave parties. People camp there. They have overnight fires. There's a lot of trash. So the idea was to keep it pedestrian, come up with this location which we have—we do have an advance map. I would like Ms. Withington, if she's listening to me, give me a call; I'll show you the map and the grant of easement. Basically, it respects, basically, the public's right of access. Tries to come up with a location that is safe, level. Anywhere from that trail, you can go towards the makai direction, to either site see—there are only a few places you would want to go down that cliff anyway. But that's the gist of the background map. Ron Kim and I have come across and done a fair amount of negotiations on the content of the Grant of Easement. Right now it would be on a daytime basis, when the County's able to and has the resources to be able to provide an overnight permitting system. Under Rule 21 of the Hawaii County Planning Department's rules for public accesses, then they would establish a permit system for night-time fishing. That's basically the element of the settlement, which occurred back in 2002. We didn't do the Settlement Agreement. It was part of the Surety Kohala process. The Vipassana's bought some of the lands, including the shoreline property, from Surety Kohala. That's kind of where we're at now, is trying to get this thing finished up. I think the public will benefit greatly from having this easement. Unless there's any questions, that's about all I wanted to add. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. I do believe—Council Member Poindexter first and then you, Mr. Kanuha. MS. POINDEXTER: I'm just—you know, I heard the testifier, and I'm just wondering if this would be better postponed until Council Member Richards is here. This is his district. He would know best, working with his constituents, their concerns. I would hate to push something through without his comments or concerns, or even support on it, maybe. So that's where I stand. I'd love to see a postponement. Thank you. Page 8 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MR. YEH: Okay. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. Mr. Kanuha, go ahead. MR. KANUHA: Thank you. There's no time -crunch on this, right? MR. YEH: No, it's been languishing for some time. MR. KANUHA: Got you. I have no problem. I'd really like a postponement, as well. I'd like to hear from the Council Member from that district. With that postponement, can you also provide the map, as well? MR. YEH: Yes, we'll do that. MR. KANUHA: I'd love to see exactly where this—I don't quite follow, you know— MR. KIM: The metes and bounds. MR. KANUHA: A lot of those details. But thanks, we'd really appreciate that. MR. YEH: So what I can do, I will send you all a letter that has the map and the Grant of Easement draft and any other background information. MR. KANUHA: Thank you. MR. YEH: And hopefully be in touch with the people who are interested. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Yeh; and thank you—Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, I'll be supporting the postponement. But since I have you here, Mr. Yeh, I noticed this is in relationship to Subdivision 7776, and I'm assuming this is one more condition to satisfy the subdivision action contained within that subdivision. MR. YEH: Yes, very much so. This is back from 2002, actually. Quite awhile ago, so it's been a long time in the process. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah, I support this, but will support the postponement. I think it's important that when we provide these subdivision access, we allow the landowners to accomplish their conditions of approval. So I yield at this time. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Good point. Anyone else? No? Alright, I believe—do I have a motion to postpone? Page 9 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MS. POINDEXTER: Can I postpone it—Tim is out-of-state from 18, 19. Next meeting is on the 181h. Asking to postpone until October. MR. YEH: Excuse me, when would that be? MS. POINDEXTER: October. First meeting in October is— CHR. DAVID: In Hilo. MR. MAEDA: October 2°d. CHR. DAVID: To 10-2. Vote on Postponement: Ms. Poindexter moved to postpone Res. 662-18 to (Approved) October 2, 2018. Seconded by Mr. Kanuha and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David – 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles – 2. Excused: None. MR. YEH: Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much, gentlemen. Okay, while we're on a roll, can we please take Bill 185 out of order? We have our Recycling Coordinator here. Mr. Clerk, Bill 185. Bill 185: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 18-689 AS AMENDED, THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY OF HAWAII FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2019 Increases revenues in the State Grants – Glass Recycling Program account ($5,854); and appropriates the same to the Glass Recycling Program – State account, for a total appropriation of $117,730. Funds would be used by the Department of Environmental Management to offset a portion of the cost of glass collection and reuse. Reference: Comm. 1040 Intr. by: Ms. David (B/R) Motion to Approve: Ms. Poindexter moved to recommend passage of Bill 185 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Kanuha. Page 10 FC -42 September 4, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Mr. Hayducsko, could you please come up here and just briefly tell us about the appropriation? (Note: At this time, Recycling Coordinator George Hayducsko came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. HAYDUCSKO: George Hayducsko, I'm your Recycling Coordinator. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. MR. HAYDUCSKO: This is glass that is not the HI -5 glass, so this is the glass that is collected at the recycling and transfer stations. We have a vendor that we work with, and the vendor transports and recycles that material. The good thing for us is that, you know, in our contract that vendor is not paid until it's actually recycled and they prove to us that it's recycled. So when it's picked up and transported, they're not automatically paid. So through this grant—I know there was a question about the other—you know, does this cover all our costs? No, it does not cover all our costs. It's approximately 46 percent that it covers on our expenses, and so our community is picking the rest of the expense. The good thing is that this material, along with a small amount of newspaper, this glass is one of the only items that you would consider recycled or reused on the island. Everything else, again, except for a small amount of newspaper, shipped off island to be recycled. It's being used here, which I think is good. But in my calculations, during the budget, I miscalculated by the $5,854, and that's why we're here today. CHR. DAVID: For the grant? MR. HAYDUCSKO: Right. CHR. DAVID: Thank you very much. Any questions for Mr. Hayducsko? Ms. O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. Since you expressed that it's being recycled on the island, can you explain the uses for the general public? MR. HAYDUCSKO: Sure. Yeah, the material is being used—and concrete, glasscrete. It's also being used for landscaping and for drainage purposes and like septic systems. So those are some of the premier uses for the glass. MS. O'HARA: Thank you. Page 1 I FC -42 September 4, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. Anyone else? No? Well, thank you, Mr. Hayduckso, for coming. All those in favor approving Bill 185 please say "aye." Vote on Bill 185: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 185 on (Approved): first reading was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. CHR. DAVID: Mr. Clerk, let's move to our last item. Comm. 1039: REQUESTS A PRESENTATION BY REAL PROPERTY TAX ADMINISTRATOR LISA MIURA AND FINANCE DIRECTOR DEANNA SAKO RELATING TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO AUTHORIZE THE LEGISLATURE TO ESTABLISH A SURCHARGE TO INCREASE PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING From Council Member Dru Mamo Kanuha, dated August 14, 2018. Motion to Close File: Mr. Kanuha moved to close file on Comm. 1039. Seconded by Ms. Eoff. (Note: At this time, Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Miura and Finance Director Deanna Sako came forward to address the members of the Committee.) CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Finance Director and Real Property Director, for your patience. Mr. Kanuha MR. KANUHA: Thank you, Madam Chair. We have Deanna and Lisa here. This is something that the legislature passed this past session. I just wanted to talk story with the Council and the administration about really exactly what SB (Senate Bill) 2922 is. I spoke with Ms. Sako awhile ago, and we both thought it was good idea to have this presentation from the Council and in front of our community to kind of just better educate everybody about what's going on and kind of go from there. I really appreciate your guys being here. I know, Lisa, you came to HSAC (Hawai`i State Association of Counties) with the rest of the Real Property Tax administrators. It was a really great discussion between all the counties, and providing information, providing input. And also, we had the Hawaii State Teacher Association (HSTA), what is it, director, president? President there as well, kind of giving their input on why they were Page 12 FC -42 September 4, 2018 pushing this to happen. So, it was a really great discussion, and thank you guys so much for having these discussions. Really, it's to better educate our community about what this bill is; the pros and the cons and feel how it's going to impact our community. I'm just going to give it up to you guys and go from there. But thank you guys so much for being here and taking time out of your busy schedule to provide this presentation. MS. SAKO: Deanna Sako, Director of Finance; and Lisa Miura, our Real Property Tax Administrator is here, as well. Clearly, Lisa's our expert in this area. This was actually the second legislative session, where this matter was kind of pushed by HSTA. Actually, as you'll hear from Lisa's presentation, the language on this particular time and what was defined is actually different than the year before. So some of the claims HSTA is making may not actually be in the law itself. So it's just good to have discussion and for the public to be well aware prior to voting in November. MS. MIURA: Alright, thank you. Is the public able to see the presentation when they're watching? Yes? Okay, good. (Note: At this time, Ms. Miura gave a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For viewing of the subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's office. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 1039.) MS. SAKO: All I was going to add to that, I mean, this is our one and only tax that is county -only. Everything else is only given to us or passed down to us from the State. So in difficult times, whether it's fuel tax or weight tax, those are all shared. Just like when, in the weight tax, when the State goes to raise their share of the weight tax, it's difficult for us to raise our share of the weight tax. When the numbers, not this past session but the year before, that got thrown out, was $7 per thousand, is what they were thinking of charging. So if you added that to our residential rate, that's already over $11. That would become $18 per thousand. We don't know that that's the number. I'm just saying that's one of the numbers we've heard, and that's going to make it very difficult for people to invest in our island. MS. MIURA: Do you have any questions? CHR. DAVID: Mr. Kanuha, go ahead. MR. KANUHA: No, no questions. I'll leave it up to the rest of the Council. But just wanted to mahalo you guys for presenting in front of us. I might have questions after I let everybody else go. I yield. Page 13 FC -42 September 4, 2018 CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Kanuha. Council Members? Mr. Chung, go ahead. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, of course I don't have any questions because we're very familiar with this situation. Thank you very much, the two of you. For those of you who weren't at HSAC, Lisa was the point person over there. You gave a wonderful, wonderful presentation. She's the "go to" person in the State of Hawaii, really, on this matter. I also understand that Na Leo's going to be doing a piece, right? A very objective one with both the County and, you know, perhaps people from the legislature and HSTA and maybe other interested parties. I don't know who. I guess it's going to be you, right, Lisa? MS. SAKO: Yeah, it's going to be Lisa. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, but that should be interesting. But I'm just wondering if this segment of our meeting can be shown more often, is that possible? Because this is really important to us. I think the public really needs to be educated about this. I would just make that suggestion, if we could have this shown more often. That's all. I don't have any questions because we know what the issues are; we know what the concerns are. Thank you very much again, you guys. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Maybe we can ask our Clerk to look into that because I think that's a great suggestion. Ms. Poindexter, go ahead. MS. POINDEXTER: I was just going to say that if we could maybe ask the Clerk if we could clip out this section and then we could have it on, you know, that we could even send it to our email list, you know, of constituents. That we could have them review it, if Na Leo's not going to do a special on just this clip here. But if that would be a possibility? MR. MAEDA: We can look into the options. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Poindexter. I'm going to Ms. Eoff and then Ms. O'Hara. MS. EOFF: My question is just regarding the lawsuit. I'm not sure I understand where that's at or what chances there are of— CHR. DAVID: I believe Corporation Counsel is here. MS. EOFF: My question, not making it to the ballot. Page 14 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MS. MIURA: I'm going to have Renee Schoen, with Corporation Counsel, come and speak about the lawsuit. (Note: At this time, Assistant Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. SCHOEN: Good afternoon. Assistant Corporation Counsel, Renee Schoen. So the County of Hawaii joined with the other counties and filed a second amended complaint on August 29th, basically challenging a lot of what Lisa has explained; that the title of the ballot measure does not adequately provide information to the taxpayer. There is going to be a preliminary injunction hearing this Friday, so we'll be attending that along with the other counties. That hearing is going to be in Honolulu. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Schoen. Ms. Eoff. MS. EOFF: So there's probably a pretty short window of time for a decision? Ballots to get printed MS. SCHOEN: There is. MS. EOFF: Ballot to get printed. MS. SCHOEN: Yeah, my understanding is the State needs to be print by September 7, but that's a day of the hearing, and it's at 1:30. So, we'll see happens. MS. EOFF: So there will be something definitive out of that September 7th meeting? MS. SCHOEN: Hopefully. MS. EOFF: Or indicative? MS. SCHOEN: I don't know. I mean, hopefully. We're asking that the court look into it. And basically, hopefully the State will not be printing, but we don't know. MS. EOFF: Okay. Well, thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Eoff. Ms. O'Hara, go ahead. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. That was my question too, about the pending court case and what we might predict there. Hard to see it sounds like. Page 15 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MS. SCHOEN: Yeah, and I really don't want to talk about it so much in the open. CHR. DAVID: Thank you. Ms. Lee Loy, go ahead. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. And, Ms. Schoen, it's regarding the other lawsuit, regarding million dollars investment properties. I know there was a challenge in the courts as it relates to that. What is the status of that particular— MS. SCHOEN: I think they're still waiting for a decision to be issued. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. MS. SCHOEN: Honolulu, anyway. MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. Okay, I yield. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Ms. O'Hara, I saw your light on for a second. MS. O'HARA: Well, I just wanted to make sure that was understood, that she was discussing the Honolulu hearing. CHR. DAVID: Okay. MS. O'HARA: I did want to say, also, Deanna had referenced that we have a single educational system, and we are unique in the 50 states that way. I understand we need more money for education. I agree this is not the avenue to pursue. There are other places we could get that money, but we definitely need it. How to distribute it properly when you have this single mammoth school district and the money is allocated based on enrollment. That's all well and good, except that over the course of time, the quality resources shift and migrate to schools and neighborhoods with higher social economic status. The outcome is that those schools that are in lower social economic status environments do more poorly. I happen to know this. My dissertation was the technical efficiency of Hawai`i's public high schools. Things haven't changed since I did that 20 years ago or more. It's unfortunate, but it's all about this single school district and how we allocate resources. It's not the quantity; it's the quality of resources that make for better education. So, there are better ways to approach this. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, Ms. O'Hara. Anyone else, Council Members? No? MR. KANUHA: Sure. CHR. DAVID: Oh, Mr. Kanuha, go ahead. Page 16 FC -42 September 4, 2018 MR. KANUHA: That's why it makes this one so difficult. I mean, not often is somebody voting for a tax increase, you know, that they want to vote for a tax increase. So that's why—you know, in the beginning when they were going through this process, or the State, we were thinking that "Hey, you know, it might not get as much traction as it is." We were trying to, like as HSAC members, really trying to push to not have it get so far. But it ended up just blasting through and nobody voted against it hard. So we're in a position now, where we want to support our public education. There's issues with the Department of Education that we don't all know. We don't know where all the monies going, so the audit would be something that a normal person would want to ask for. We want to see the money get directly to the classrooms, but it's not. These are all questions that need to be answered, and it's very hard to get the questions when nobody's giving us those answers. This lawsuit will dictate how this all plays out. But until then and until we know, I think it's important that our community understands exactly what the question is and exactly what the ramifications are, and which is why I appreciate you guys being here and giving the community information about what's going on; why, how come, and all the details. Because we want to have people make an informed decision on this, especially on this one. So thank you, guys, again. I think it's really important that our community have greater access to this presentation. I'm looking forward to the Na Leo discussion. That's something that I would post all over FaceBook and social media and however else I can get that out. But again, this is reason for me bringing this up today. I thought it was good to bring it up sooner rather than later. So thank you, guys. Mahalo for putting the presentation on your committee. MS. SAKO: Yeah, thank you so much for the opportunity. As Lisa mentioned, SB 2922 is on the legislature's website. It is interesting as to, you know, how they worded things. It doesn't say that this tax would be an addition to the funding already provided. It just says that it would be used to support the funding. So, you know, the State has the same challenges we do with those ERS (Employees Retirement System). You know, OPEB (Other Post -Employment Benefits) price is going up; so they need to fund their cost as well. It's nowhere in here does it say education is going to receive the additional money. CHR. DAVID: Thank you, ladies. Thank you, Mr. Kanuha, for bringing this presentation before the public especially. I really want to thank Ms. Miura. I was personally at the HSAC presentation that you did. I think we were all like talking about you for the rest of the weekend because you did an excellent in saying it like it is and the realities of what this is. You know, because if you just read it, and this is exactly how they're promoting it, that you have to vote for this if you Page 17 FC -42 September 4, 2018 support educating your kids and giving teachers more money. So this is almost like a great—it isn't what it seems like, you know. And ballot questions, ballot questions are very important on how you phrase them. I think this County went through this whole exercise on making sure that question you ask, when they vote "yes," they mean "yes"; and not if you vote "yes," you mean "no." So think this County took the lead in trying to make that clear for the public. And I really appreciate you, Ms. Sako, and Lisa. Thank you so much for doing this for our community and this island. MS. MIURA: I just want to thank you for that. I was able to be a lot more candid at HSAC, so I felt like that was very direct. CHR. DAVID: You were. MS. MIURA: There were still—before the preliminary voting, so there was a lot of different issues at that time in the room, hopefully it doesn't bore everybody else. But thank you very much for letting us be here. We appreciate it. CHR. DAVID: I think you have an occupation not in Real Property Tax. MS. SAKO: Hey, hey, hey, quiet. We like her where she's at. CHR. DAVID: Oh, I know. She's very valuable where she's at too. You have talents. Thank you. Alright, Council Members, are we— MR. KANUHA: Just really quick. CHR. DAVID: Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Mr. Kanuha. MR. KANUHA: No, I just wanted to inform the rest of our Council that HSAC, at our past meeting, this was on the agenda, and HSAC voted to oppose the ballot question and help offer additional educational pieces to our communities. Not really on the opposition part, but more of as an educational piece. CHR. DAVID: Thank you for that, Mr. Kanuha. MS. O'HARA: Chair, can I ask the same? I know that Ms. Poindexter said and asked if we could have this video piece or video clip, and I'm sorry that Big Island Video News left us, since it would have been a good clip for them for today. But if we could have like a one sheet, with six or seven bullets that really gets the points across. That would be just excellent because you've made really good points. It's all how you package it and explain it to the public; because on the face of it, it's a feel -good measure. Of course we want more money from public education, but they don't understand that the commitment isn't entirely there, and that the money is going to come at an expense. So I think those points Page 18 FC -42 Vote on Comm. 1039: Filed September 4, 2018 would be great, if you could just give us a short bullet list, and then we could really punch it out there. That would be helpful. Thank you. CHR. DAVID: Thank you for that suggestion. Great suggestion. I believe Ms. Miura is already writing, so she'll be providing us with that bullet point as well as the clip for us. Okay, all those in favor of filing Communication 1039 please say "aye." The motion to close file on Comm. 1039 was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter and Chair David — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Richards and Ruggles — 2. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 3:11 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, and Chair David — 6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Chung, Richards and Ruggles — 3. Excused: None. Page 19 FC -42 CHR. DAVID: We are adjourned. Mahalo. Approved: Ms. Maile e eiros David, Chair Finance Committee MD/na September 4, 2018 (Date) Page 20