Request for support for Council Bill 197 (Nov. 6)

[Rob Tucker]

Aloha all,

Tiffany Edwards-Hunt called me asking for community support for Emily Naeole's Bill # 197. (see language below)

This bill will broaden language of county code to include all IRS recognized nonprofit community organizations as potential beneficiaries of county grants. Not just 501c3s. So subdivision associations like HPP, Fern Forest and Leilani (501c4) and others might benefit as well as Mainstreet Pahoa Assoc. (501c6). Many others too.

Request is for appearance and testimony at council chambers on Nov. 6th at 9 am in favor of bill 189. This is a committee hearing, not a council meeting.

Council testimony can also be delivered to the county clerk at: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us

or to Council Members:

J. Yoshimoto <jyoshimoto@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Emily Naeole <enaeole@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Dominic Yagong <dyagong@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Don Ikeda <dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Stacy Higa <shiga@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Bob Jacobson <jjaco@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Brenda Ford <bford@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Angel Pilago <kapilago@co.hawaii.hi.us>
Peter Hoffman <phoffmann@co.hawaii.hi.us>

Aloha,

Rob Tucker, VP
Mainstreet Pahoa Assoc.
965-1555

MEMORANDUM

TO: Pete Hoffmann, Chair
And Council Members

FROM: Emily Naeole, Council Member

DATE: October 25, 2007

RE: A Bill Amending Chapter 2, Article 25, Section 2-136 of the Hawai'i County Code Pertaining to Definitions Relating to the Appropriation of Funds to Non Profit Organizations

Attached is a bill amending Chapter 2, Article 25, Section 2-136 of the Hawai'i County Code pertaining to definitions relating to the appropriation of funds to non profit organizations, striking the reference to 501 © 3
organizations, specifically. This reference to a specific tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Code limits our ability to provide contingency relief funds to neighborhood watch and community association groups that may be, say, 501 © 4 or 501 © 6 non profit organizations.

EIN/tce


AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 25, SECTION 2-136, HAWAI'I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), PERTAINING TO DEFINITIONS RELATING TO APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS TO NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI'I:

SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to change the definition of a "nonprofit organization" in the definition section of the code relating to the appropriation of funds to nonprofit organizations.

The council finds it is too restrictive to specify a non profit must be a 501 © 3 organization. This specification inhibits the ability to provide contingency relief funds to neighborhood watch and community associations that may have tax exempt status, but are not 501 © 3 organizations.

SECTION 2. Chapter 2, article 25, section 2-136, Hawai'i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), is amended by amending the definition of "nonprofit organization" to read as follows:


" (5) 'Nonprofit organization' means an organization organized for other than profit-making purposes and which has a current [501©3] tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Code."

SECTION 3. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring need not be included.

SECTION 4. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.

SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.


INTRODUCED BY: EMILY NAEOLE
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI'I

[Carey]

Rob, is this for the Council Discretionary fund grants?($300,000/ council member/ year)
Do you know why there was the 501C3s restriction placed on the grants?
(I do know that some corporations put restrictions on corporate grants in order to place a separation between the corporate leadership & potential benefits - thus excluding homeowners assn.s, churches, & such, that the corp. leaders may belong to, & may channel funds through...if this was a problem in the past, the restriction may have been placed on the grant funds.)

[Rob Tucker]

I have no knowledge of how or why the original language was adopted.

Punaweb moderator

[Carey]

Rob, the Trib-Herald had an article last week stating this bill was withdrawn, due to legal concerns over 'separation of powers doctrine'. For the article see:
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ocal06.txt
I do know that the BIRC & D works with groups to establish a funding potential. (Have worked with Steve on some grant applications & such)

[Rob Tucker]

I was doubtful about this bill passing......

Punaweb moderator

[PunaLover]

No surprise to me. The reason it was brought in the first place was beacuse the Pres. of the HPPNW asked me last summer if I could find out where the monet Xaffarrik promised them went.
I tracked it down and all of a sudden it was going to have to be accounted for. As it sits now with this not passing, broke ass neighborhood watches are left to fend for themselves. Which maybe all well and good for the smaller subdivisions but what everyone should realize now the way HPP goes so will the rest of Puna. Do the numbers, 10k people with no police.
So not waiting for the county we kicked down and bought our own signs started our own watch as I've mentioned.
I'll still be Treasurer for HPPNW until this little funding thing is settled, but it's the thing that brouhgt me to the Punaweb in the first place.

[Kapohocat]

I dont understand why NW's aren't 501 3 c's?

If I remember correctly from a long time ago - the others were eliminated so the special interest groups like the "Friends of the Hilo Golf Course" would not have access to discretionary funds.... but that may have been at a time when our council was corrupt.



Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501©(3)

The exempt purposes set forth in section 501©(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals. The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erecting or maintaining public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency.




Edited by - kapohocat on 11/13/2007 09:20:52

[JerryCarr]

Corruption in Hawaii politics????? Say it ain't so!!!

Cheerful, but sarcastic at the moment,
Jerry

[Bob Orts]

One of the most fundamental separation between a © 3 and the other 501's is the prohibition against political advocacy. Almost all governments have some prohibition in place to prevent a local politician from contributing community (tax payer) funds for support of their own personal political gains or candidacy.

Often, other agencies already have stricter guidelines for dispensing their community (taxpayer) funds that makes it a bit harder (not impossible) to use it for a specific politician’s personal political gain. If the PD has to use it for crime prevention, it would be hard to explain funding of an organization that sole purpose is to oppose big box stores to advance a candidate’s position on their behalf. Likewise DOT would be in some trouble if they gave money to a candidates group that is in favor of a politicians position with no ties to transportation, over a group looking to do transportation programs. Discretionary funds normally have little restrictions so the © 3 prohibition places some curbs on political abuse.

[PunaLover]

Well Bob, this whole funding thing started as I mentioned previously, because Gary Safarrick had allocted 3k to HPPNW last year and it sat in H.P.D. for a year, it's still there if not "expired" as mentioned by one officer.

Naeole's Bill 197 was in response to my inquiry to where last year's funds went. This was to all supposed to go down before HPP had it's Halloween Trunk or Treat because HPPNW sponsors it.
So instead of going after the funds from last year, as I was doing, Tiffany Edwards got this thing going because I called her last month and ragged on(again) about where's the beef? (money?) Still to this day the Hilo P.D. have not returned phone calls or emails. I suppose they'll just wait me out and it will go the way of those that went before.
At the counsel meeting on Tuesday I think it was Higa, (don't quote me) that said the funds from last year we can forget about, after a physical year from it's allotment. Oh well I tried.
197 was pulled at the end of the day so we're still left with no funds.......how many burglars read this thread?