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From: Debbie H <hecht.deb@gmail.com> <br />Sent: Monday, April 15, 2019 7:28 AM <br />To: Charter Commission <br />Subject: CA -9 and paying 1 full time staff person <br />Please forward to all commissioners. <br />RE: CA -9 AND THE ABILITY TO PAY ONE STAFF PERSON <br />Aloha Charter Commissioners - <br />Our core group has reviewed the language the Commission approved on first reading for CA -9 and <br />we are asking for two additional changes. <br />Following is the language proposed by Commissioner Hopkins and approved at First Reading: <br />The existing language: <br />(3) "Pay for the salary, wages, and benefits of staff dedicated to advancing the Activities <br />contained within this section and Section 10-16 of this charter." <br />We do NOT support this. Why? <br />1. STAFF IS AN AMBIGUOUS TERM. Does the word "staff" mean 1 staff person or <br />3 or more? The problem: Staff costs could deplete the purchasing power of the 2% <br />Land Fund. Salary, wages, and benefits could be $100,000 or more for each senior <br />level staff person. <br />2. There is already a part time staff person provided for in the County Code to <br />assist the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission. <br />Please support OUR PROPOSAL for 2nd Reading as follows: <br />"Pay for the salary, wages and benefits of one full-time staff member, employed by the <br />Department of Finance dedicated only to advancing administering the activities contained <br />within this section and Section 10-16 of this charter. This is in addition to a staff person <br />provided in Section 2-215 of the Hawaii County Code." <br />Our proposed changes to CA -9 are important in order to retain the purchasing <br />power of the 2% Land Fund, to obtain more properties, and to provide more <br />Maintenance Funds to stewardship groups: <br />1. Our goal is to increase the amount of land purchased. We believe the Land Fund has recently <br />grown to about $20 million because there has been no staff person dedicated to work ONLY <br />on the land fund. Real estate deals are time -sensitive and require willing sellers. Willing <br />sellers want to be paid as soon as possible because the taxes keep accruing on property and <br />they may have a need for the money. It also takes time for the staff people to apply for <br />matching funds, get appraisals, do land surveys or surveys for endangered species, and do all <br />the due diligence required for property purchases by governments. Land acquisition deals can <br />fall apart if deadlines are not met. <br />1 Comm. No. 24.100 <br />