Lila Balmores Metzger
• Age: 42
• Residence: Kalaheo
• Occupation: Fitness/dance instructor and small business owner
• Prior experience in government/leadership: Founder and director of Kaua‘i UnderGround Artists, a grassroots non-profit 2004-2019.
Q: The median price of a single-family home on Kaua‘i is over $1 million, and the County’s 2018 General Plan reported 44% of all households are cost-burdened. How will you address the affordable housing crisis in Kaua‘i County?
There should be an automatic tax on anyone purchasing homes and property from out of state. The tax could be on a scale depending on location, the type of building being purchased and how many purchases this buyer has made. The tax collected could become discounts available for local families. The seller gets his price, the buyer pays the discounted price and the county pays the difference out of the pool of taxes collected from out-of-state purchases. I’d like to see rent-to-own affordable housing options and offer a credit to responsible individuals who pay rent on time who can then apply this credit to a first-time home-loan application. There needs to be an adjustment to the income qualification for low-income housing. There should be an entry income qualification, an increased rent to income, and an exit plan. The county needs to encourage household incomes to increase to the point they can move out and afford housing elsewhere, which will make room for others in need. Right now there is no middle ground, which leaves many hardworking people with no choice but to settle with where they are at.
Q: The coronavirus pandemic decimated the tourism industry on Kaua‘i that the state is so reliant upon. Should Kaua‘i County make economic diversity a priority, and if so, how?
Absolutely. This pandemic has shown us how terribly unbalanced we are. The county needs to seriously explore other streams of income that are not reliant on things or people coming here. There needs to be an export, we need to do market research and see what there is a demand for on other islands, in other countries or states, and see if we can produce those items at a prolific rate. We need to take a look at the resources we currently have and creatively use them to bring in income, and we need to think about things we don’t have and launch new ventures, like a highly competitive science/technology school or a music conservatory. Our island has a lot of potential. We just need to push past the comfort of relying on tourism and taxes.
Q: Kauaʻi continues to look for a new landfill site, years after its search began.The clock is ticking: The Kekaha landfill is currently projected to reach capacity in January 2027. What is your preferred solution?
We need to take a look at what other countries are doing around the world and bring a new system back here. Sweden came up with a way to turn their trash into power by burning it. Less than 1% of Sweden’s trash is sent to landfills, and over 50% of Swedish household waste is converted into energy to heat their homes. The technology is available and we need to get up to speed with what our options are. The county recycling program needs to be refreshed as soon as possible. There should be a pickup like we have for garbage for correctly separated and cleaned items. The recycling centers have turned into some of the dirtiest places in each town. I personally have lost faith in our recycling efforts. Every time I go to these recycling locations I see trash bags and random items in the bins and my gut feeling is that no one is separating this at the main station so therefore it must be going to the landfill. If we are going to say we have a recycling program we really need to do it. The more we legitimately recycle the less will go into the landfill.
Q: The County Council sets real property tax rates as part of the County budget process. What changes, if any, would you make to the way that property is taxed on-island?
I wouldn’t change anything right now. Everyone would enjoy a lower tax bill, but until economic diversification is established I don’t see how changes like that could be made. Perhaps a lower tax could be a bonus once the county reaches a goal of creating exports or successfully launching new ventures, but as it is now the only reason I would expect the county to raise the property tax is because they would rather put it on taxpayers to meet their budget needs then use their time and energy exploring other sources of income.
Q: What is driving you to seek election and why should voters give you their vote?
My driving force to run for council is that I don’t want to sit around and complain about something that I have no intention of helping change. I don’t want to look back when my children are adults and regret not even trying to make a difference. I am not a career politician, I am not going to be bought. I am here to make my best effort at seeing our children have the best future possible. We can’t go on running our county based on what is coming down the pipe from the mainland. We are different and we should have different dreams for our island, we as a community cannot sit back and let Kauaʻi become someone else’s dream.
