Kaua‘i residents routinely pack Council Chambers for hearings on a bill that would allow people to walk their leashed dogs on the multi-use path. Signs, T-shirts and bumper stickers have played a part in this years-long campaign. But when it
Kaua‘i residents routinely pack Council Chambers for hearings on a bill that would allow people to walk their leashed dogs on the multi-use path. Signs, T-shirts and bumper stickers have played a part in this years-long campaign.
But when it comes down to how the county spends more than 246 million taxpayer dollars — the combined amount of the proposed operating and CIP budgets for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1 — only a few community members bother to show up and share their mana‘o.
The departmental budget review process, which began April 9, concluded Tuesday with council members’ tempers flaring at times over the mayor’s proposal to furlough certain county employees. There are big decisions being made now that could impact the wallets and lives of every resident, yet just a handful of community members demonstrate an interest.
Here is a chance to hear how our elected officials plan to allocate our resources — including what difficult cuts must be made and whether taxes need to be raised — and directly voice your input in the decision-making process. What a wasted opportunity.
We’re not downplaying the dozens of residents who have been involved in the dog-path debate. We’re saying where is the carryover, where is that energy and enthusiasm with the big-ticket items? Where are the people?
Does the general public really not care how its money gets doled out? (Based on all the grumbling we consistently hear, we doubt the absence is a just sign of faith in our elected leaders to represent us well.)
Transportation, solid waste, elderly affairs, law enforcement — these are just a handful of the local agencies that theoretically work for you as government employees. Why skip out on a chance to offer some direction directly to those who hold the purse strings? Even if it’s just to say keep up the good work, feedback is healthy.
After such a hard fight to gain government transparency — at least to a certain extent — few take part in some of the most critical sessions of the year. However, we unfortunately suspect many will openly complain later about the decisions that were made.
The more minds working together toward a common goal, the better the solution.
Get involved in the discussion — it’s your money, afterall. Our civic obligation and opportunity to effect change doesn’t begin and end at the polling station — it’s a year-round freedom we should regularly exercise to keep our democracy healthy.
