HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0926.041 2018-2020 R51)LcmL
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CCI;"J`;.'S. CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
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RECEIVED
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Date: 5/13/2020 -'T�
Date 163RD
TO: Honorable Members of the Hawaii County Council
RE: Bill 169
From: Eileen Lacerte, Homeowner on the Big Island for more than 27 years and
Owner-Broker of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Island Lifestyle.
Mahalo for this opportunity to express my opinion and opposition to Bill 169. In
an effort to control my outrage and language I will read my statement.
You have many letters that have been submitted to you all of which I have read.
The majority of which do not support this Bill.
Due to the shortness of notice of this hearing, I do not have the numbers and
statistics that I would like to have. I will just have to share my life's experience
pertaining to this proposal.
This Bill 169 is a cop-out. I understand it's more comfortable than working on
trimming the budget.
We all know that this COVID-19 is causing hardships. The Federal and State
Governments are both giving you financial help for this situation. The truth is you
have taken the easy way out. Your Robin Hood approach is wrong when the
proceeds go to uncontrolled expenses. We citizens don't have the luxury of
taking from others when we can't meet our budgets.
You are lacking some basic information.
I sell homes to these undeserving wealthy people you wish to make up your
financial shortfall from. The owners of these multimillion homes that the Bill
supporters point out are not occupied most of the year, have taxation without
representation. I lack more numbers, but as Kukio Resort stated, $12 million in
property taxes are collected from their resort alone. The average stay at those
homes are 30 days a year! $12,000,000 in exchange for driving on our roads!
They don't use our school they don't use our hospitals; they don't use our county
services. I'd say the County is the winner here in anyone's eyes!
Comm. No g44I
Ref. To: P Ami
Ref. Date MAY 13 2020
Those undeserving wealthy at Kukio and Hualalai support non-profits to the tune
of $1,500,000 a year, and that's just what's recorded.
Let me speak as an owner at the Mauna Kea Resort. The employees are part of
the Resort Ohana. If it were not for those undeserving wealthy people, many of
our local employees would be without food on this very day!
Why aren't you concerned that these almost 1,000 employees for this one resort
that have not received their unemployment checks to this very date? The
undeserving wealthy homeowners that aren't even here on the Island are helping
to feed these employees while they wait...
As of May 7th, Mauna Kea Resort and the Homeowners have passed out over
4,000 meals to the employees and their families. See picture attached. There are
ongoing efforts to increase this support. One undeserving wealthy owner has said
if we can raise $50,000 for the effort, they would match with $50,000, thus
affording $100,000 in additional food support to our Employee Ohana.
This support is ongoing presently. However, you are totally clueless of the efforts
and financial support these owners give to the community every day of every
year. I won't disclose details because these people don't want the praise or the
limelight. One owner financially supports a local Sea-Life organization for the
entire year, year after year. I saw another homeowner give a car to a resort
employee because his broke down and he couldn't get to work.
Perhaps these instances out of many, many I have witnessed over my 25+ years
selling to the undeserving wealthy people will tell the story. Some 15 years ago,
my friend and "handyman" who I referred to a homeowner for some remodel
work, was diagnosed with cancer. It was a very aggressive cancer. Local Doctors
gave no hope. The homeowner quickly took charge sending this person to the
mainland to the best cancer facility as well as paid for everything. As far as I
know, this person is still well.
Another friend of mine that worked at Hualalai also had a very grave cancer issue.
Once again, homeowners sent him to a specialist on the mainland. He too is alive
and well and still here on the Island.
During this pandemic, I have had countless homeowners on the mainland contact
me and ask me which organization I recommend for them to send financial
support to because they know the familiar resort employees are suffering. Those
are the people you want to punish.
In closing, I'd like to tell you that these wealthy people have choices. They don't
NEED to buy a home on the Big Island, they don't NEED to hire hundreds of local
people and they don't NEED to pay our discriminatory taxes. There are plenty of
other places with beautiful beaches that would love to have those hundreds of
thousands of tax dollars our County collects for little to no output.
Don't take my word for it. Look for yourselves. The answer is already out there in
plain sight. I don't have the numbers for you today, but they are accessible to
you. Just look at all the taxes the states of California and New York have lost...a
net loss since thinking they can raise taxes on the wealthy to waste in budgets.
It's not a big mystery what will happen if you decide put un-fair housing taxes on
the wealthy.
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