2009 Testimony to State Legislature

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William P.Kenoi •: �• William T.Takaba Mayor Managing Director n •'`� Walter K.M.Lau County of H awa i`i Deputy Flanaging Directo` 891 Ululani Street • Hilo,Hawaii 96720-3982 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553 KONA- 75-5706 Kuakini Highway,Suite 103 • Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 (808)329-5226 . Fax(808)326-5663 January 13,2009 The Honorable Donna Mercado Kim, Chair and Members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means Hawai'i State Capitol Honolulu,Hawai'i 96813 The Honorable Marcus R. Oshiro, Chair and Members of the House Committee on Finance Hawai'i State Capitol Honolulu,Hawai'i 96813 Good afternoon Senator Kim,Representative Oshiro and distinguished members of the House Finance Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee. i greatly appreciate the opportunity to appear before all of you to share our priorities on issues important to the County of Hawai'i. We look forward to working with all of you throughout the legislative session. These are challenging times,but as we confront the economic obstacles before us, it is essential that we work together in a partnership between the state,the counties,the federal government and the private sector to meet the growing needs of our communities. As you know,we submitted requests for federal assistance we hope will be included in the federal stimulus program being formulated by President-elect Obama and the United States Congress. We must also work collaboratively here at home to find resources to shelter our most vulnerable residents from the economic storm, and to position ourselves to take full advantage of the brighter long- term future we all know is ahead. Like the other counties,we are trying to cope with both a projected reduction in property tax collections, a decline in the transient accommodations tax, and increases in expenses in the coming fiscal year. To deal with this budget crisis we have imposed a temporary suspension of hiring, excluding only essential public safety personnel such as police, fire and civil defense employees. We are requesting state assistance for projects that can be quickly implemented to create jobs to help our local economy, and we are working with state and county departments to identify where we can combine our efforts to provide the greatest benefit for our citizens. County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.