Next council vote on 2% Land Preservation on Tues.

[Rob Tucker]

The 2% Land Preservation Fund is approaching the next council reading in Kona on Tuesday.

All are invited to send their testimony to council. I am providing the position from those who launched and succeeded with the citizen's initiative below.

I expect to post FoPF's testimony as soon as our BoD approves it.

RT



From Debbie Hecht:

PLEASE forward to PEOPLE who CARE about SAVING the LAND for FUTURE generations

Aloha 2% for the Land Fund supporters-

WEDNESDAY- April 22nd at the Sheraton Keauhou at 10:30 the Hawaii County Council meets to hear Bill 49 to suspend the land fund deposits for 2 years. You can testify and right after hear their debate about the Bill.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
• Testify for 3 minutes in Hilo at the Ben Franklin building on the 2nd floor OR in Waimea and Kona at the Council offices which are makai of the Mayor's office on the 2nd floor of the Kailua Trade Center Building.
• Email or phone council members. See contact info at the end of the email.

TALKING POINTS:

1. This is a bigger issue than "taking" this money to meet the budget for 2 years. An Initiative Petition with almost 10,000 signatures and a 57% vote of the people set this money aside. This is the power of direct democracy. The people had to introduce this legislation themselves because the council and mayor were non-responsive. It has never been part of the budget; it is NOT the Mayor or council's money to take.
2. "Taking" this money is a betrayal of the democratic process of initiative petition, betrayal of voter's trust and a slap in the face to people who collected signatures and voted for the 2% to save Hawaii island's great places.
3. The Council should show respect for the people and take the issue to public meetings in Waimea, Kona, Ka'u and Hilo where they can hear from the people.
4. People voted for this measure because they want to save Hawaii Island's best places from development for future generations. People do NOT want our island to be developed like Oahu and Maui.
5. Ask your elected officials to take a longer view than just balancing the budget this year. Open space, beach access, important agricultural lands and cultural sites are important to our quality of life. Open lands do not require expensive government services.
6. We can create an eco-tourism industry by using the 2% funds to add land to our parks for camping and hiking trails and beach access.
7. Work on our parks can provide jobs for out of work construction workers. President Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression to put people back to work.
8. There is $8.8 million in the fund. Why has the county NOT been pursuing lands that are for sale: Puapua'a on Ali'i drive near Casa de Emdeko, Kaiholena and Pao'o in North Kohala?
9. The great gift of the 2% fund is to be able to attract matching funds. We depend on the Legacy Land funds to buy land on Hawaii Island for public recreation and education, access to beaches and mountains, preservation of cultural sites, protect natural resources, watersheds and preserve forests, beaches, coastal areas and agricultural lands. Legacy Land funds have been used to purchase Honu'apo and we still hope that we can complete the purchase of Kawa Bay. Several parcels in North Kohala have applied for these funds.
10. NOW is the time to buy- the Kona Board of Realtors says the land prices have fallen by 30%.
11. Mayor Kenoi said that we don't have the money to develop these park properties. That's true, but at least we can save the land from development and develop them later, when we have impact fees or other funds.
12. There are 10 more properties approved by the Hawaii County Council for acquisition. Land prices have fallen approximately 30%, according to the Kona Board of Realtors. NOW is the time to save land from development before it is gone forever.
13. The budget deficit is projected at $31.5 million.
14. There are 439 funded but not filled jobs padding the budget, if these jobs are cut from the budget the county could cut the deficit by $9 to $14 million.
15. The county can sell tax liens on properties that have delinquent taxes.
16. Stop taking home county cars.
17. Each county worker could take one day off per month- saving the county approximately $4 to $6 million.

At the last Finance Committee meeting 35 of us showed up to testify. If you attended before PLEASE attend and bring a friend. Mahalo for your heartfelt testimony. I watched Mayor Kenoi on Monday, March 30th give the opening budget address to the council and target the 2% funds.

District 1 Dominic Yagong 961-8264
District 2 Donald Ikeda 961-8225
District 3 J Yoshimoto 961-8225
District 4 Dennis "Fresh" Onishi 961-8396
District 5 Emily Naole 965-2712
District 6 Guy Enriques 961-8912
District 7 Brenda Ford 326-5684
District 8 Kelly Greenwell 327-3642
District 9 Pete Hoffmann 887-2043


<dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <donishi@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <enaeole@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <jyoshimoto@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <genriques@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <bford@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <kgreenwell@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <phoffmann@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <dyagong@co.hawaii.hi.us>, <ncrawford@co.hawaii.hi.us>

Mahalo for caring about the citizen's right to direct democracy and saving Hawai'i Island's great places for future generations.

Please call with questions and comments-

Debbie Hecht, Campaign Coordinator for 2% for the Land Fund
Please email me to be removed from this list.
--
Debbie Hecht
Campaign Coordinator 2% for the Land Fund
(808) 989-3222

[Seeb]

Did the county ever get clear title to the land they bought in Kau. It was on 24/7 news awhile back the squatters wouldn't let the county's surveyors on the land saying they owned it.

[Rob Tucker]

Friends of Puna’s Future
P.O. Box 1959, Pahoa, HI 96778 808-965-9779


April 19, 2009

Re: Testimony in opposition to Bill 49 (Raiding the 2% Land Trust)

Aloha, Chairman Yoshimoto and Council Members

Since our last testimony we have been researching three things.

* National strategies for county budgets

* The Hawaii County budget.

* Councilwoman Naeole’s proposals for land preservation in Puna.

In follow up to this review our opposition to Bill 49 remains but with more depth of understanding on a number of levels. We offer the following comments for your consideration and hope you will consider these points with an open mind.

1. National strategies for county budgets:

The situation the CoH finds itself in is not unique. The financial dilemma is real and appreciated. We have seen across the U.S. that budget strategy has often included the following.

Freeze construction spending for capital projects not yet under contract. Do not enter into construction contracts for capital projects paid for out of the general fund until completion of the 2009 budget, except for those deemed essential.

This strategy is being implemented in many U.S. counties and has not been mentioned, to our knowledge, in context of Bill 49 and balancing the Hawaii County budget. Implemented with a degree of practicality this strategy would eliminate the need for approval of Bill 49.

It would seem practical and rational to employ this method especially since the financial assistance implied by the Obama Administration Stimulus Program is pending. We have noticed on the news that the Obama Administration recently celebrated it’s 2,000th stimulus project. These are described as shovel-ready capital improvement projects.

2. The county budget.

We have reviewed the Proposed Operating Budget FY 2009-2010 and supporting documents (Bill 36). We can see that efforts to lower costs have indeed occurred in some quarters and applaud that effort. FoPF will be submitting separate testimony on a number of specifics regarding Bill 36.

We have made note of a number of instances where line items have increased substantially from the FY 2007-2008 Actual figures to FY 2009-2010 Estimate figures. We refer here only to instances where the increases range from + 35%. to +1,200%. This involves at least twelve line items with cumulative budget increase of approximately $12.5 million.

While we are confident that there are rationalizations for these figures and explanations can be offered we do see this as evidence that there is opportunity for the 2% Land Preservation Fund to be preserved intact and still balance the budget. This opportunity should be explored and time is available to do so. As stated in our previous testimony - more work needs to be done.

We have also seen some evidence within the County of creative efforts leading to practical cost savings. We do applaud this and feel that if these excellent examples were replicated to other departments and other areas, that efficiency and cost savings could be achieved by the County for the long term benefit of our citizens.

3. Councilwoman Naeole wants land preservation in Puna.

She just doesn’t want to vote for it.

Despite to the thousands of petition signers and voters who approved the 2% Land Preservation Initiative we now have a complex situation where our District 5 Councilwoman, Emily Naeole, held a public meeting last April 13th in Pahoa to promote the purchase, for preservation purposes she says, of 16 acres known as Steam Vents.

Councilwoman Naeole herself is obviously motivated to support the intent and purpose of the 2% Land Preservation Fund the problem. However she now wants to tap the Puna Geothermal Relocation and Community Benefits Fun to do so. It would appear her intent is to support Mayor Kenoi’s depleting of the 2% land fund and in return receive carte blanche to deplete another dedicated fund to accomplish her own goals. Does anyone notice the problem with this? Are there ethical issues involved here? Should she recuse herself from voting on Bill 49 due to conflict of interest?

Without acrimony and with regret we have to point out the hazards of tapping dedicated funds. Councilwoman Naeole illustrates the risk that once tapped the temptation to go back and tap dedicated funds again and again occurs. We believe it is highly inappropriate to tap dedicated funds for unintended purposes.

In closing:

We look at Bill 49 from a cost / benefit standpoint and simply feel that the costs of passing Bill 49 outweigh the benefits. A short term balancing may be achieved but with long term political and financial costs. A long term, timely and practical levering opportunity exists now and will be wasted if Bill 49 passes.

There are effective strategies now underway across America in county governments. If emulated such strategies would remove the incentive to tap the Land Fund.

We see conflicts of interest appearing on the council on this issue and these may need to be explored.

You, as our representatives, must plan the long term for us. That is your job. Please vote NO on Bill 49. This would encourage the Kenoi Administration to take the next practical steps in achieving a sustainable budget strategy for the County of Hawaii. We would be pleased to assist in this endeavor. We would very likely support Councilwoman Naeole's submission of Steam Vents to the Land Preservation Commission.


Mahalo for listening,


Rob Tucker, President
FoPF

[Seeb]

Its well written

[Mitzi M]

Hey, check out this West Hawai'i Today poll -
Right now over 80% of people who responded think it's a crime!

(Forwarded)
what do you think of the 2% Land Fund fund being stolen?

quick and easy...
please voice your opinion and forward!!! this publicity is important - before the council votes for the last time on this issue.

****POLL - 3/4 down on right hand side;
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/

[Bob Orts]

The balancing act will take care of FY 09-10. But come FY 10-11, if the financial picture remains the same, they will be back at square one with a huge deficit. The County cannot do the same thing at that time as they are doing now because half the deficits closing funding sources are being cashed out this year. The other sources have no excess funds because they suspended contributions to close FY 09-10 budget shortfalls. So, where will the County get the funds at that time? I believe that the chances are really good that instead of just a moratorium on suspending contributions to these mandated funds, the County will move for another measure to allow them to take what remains. If in three years things don't fiscally change for the better, there will be no sources of revenue from dedicated funds to tap because they already cashed them out.