In a year of unprecedented access to the county’s budget review process — those crucial weeks when our elected officials determine how to spend the nearly quarter of a billion dollars they taxed us — we have observed historic indifference
In a year of unprecedented access to the county’s budget review process — those crucial weeks when our elected officials determine how to spend the nearly quarter of a billion dollars they taxed us — we have observed historic indifference among residents.
As the Kaua‘i County Council members weighed big and small decisions early this week, only related government officials and a lone reporter occupied Chambers for the most part. Whether it was a critical discussion over adding a new hundred-thousand-dollar position in an office with a questionable track record, or buying new iPads for our local lawmakers ($12,480 for 13 tablet computers, plans and cases, to be precise), few citizens have spoken up about this bloated budget.
The apparent low viewership of the county’s live webcasts is echoed by the comparatively low readership of budget-related stories we reported.
While these meetings are admittedly quite dry, aside from the occasional heated banter or grandstanding for votes next election, they remain the best time for members of the public to have a voice in how government plans to spend their money next year.
Do you think $500 is an absurd amount to pay for a typewriter? (More to the point, who uses a typewriter these days?) What about paying $7,500 for 75 aluminum folding chairs? (Costco sells a 32-pack with a cart for $1,050.)
And why does the budget for the IT department include an $84,000 a year “executive assistant to the mayor” position when the budget for the administration already calls for two “executive assistant to the mayor” positions at $96,000 and $80,000 apiece? (Not to mention two administrative aides at $73,044 a pop and an executive secretary at $76,944 a year.)
Should the county really be growing its budget by millions of dollars when its future is economically uncertain? The state this year capped the hotel-tax money it gives to the counties, and the fall-out from the disaster in Japan and global recession remain unpredictable.
Do you think the county should keep the extra tens of millions of dollars it collected over the past year and use it to balance the budget and create a fat surplus for next year? Or would you prefer the county return some of that money to you in the form of a refund or reduced fees?
While there is still much reading between the lines that must be done to formulate thoughtful questions about the budget, as a whole or in parts, and no certainty the answers received are as candid as they could be, we do at least live in a society that allows openness to a degree unsurpassed by most nations.
We’re sure there are good responses to a lot of the red flags that have crept up this budget season. But the overarching concern is the lack of community members who seem to care one way or another.
Let’s fulfill our civic responsibility together. We believe that the more people who contribute to the discussions that directly impact our daily lives, the better we all move forward.
In theory, our elected officials rely on input from their constituents to guide their actions. Absent your voice, the system becomes a fragmented mess. We urge you to speak up.
Aside from a few vocal special interests, we have heard virtually nothing from residents in terms of what they expect from their local government as it doles out their dollars.
When we have taken random samplings of citizens and asked them about specific or general aspects of this year’s budget, with few exceptions we’re met with blank stares.
Do you just have that much faith in your local leaders to always make decisions in your best interest? Have you just lost your faith in the system altogether? Or are you stuck in a netherworld of disinterest?
Is watching a re-run of “CSI” more relevant than how KPD plans to fight crime in your neighborhood? Is tuning into an episode of “Parks & Recreation” going to ensure the county has provided funding to fix the pavilion at Lydgate? Is knowing the spread on the Bulls-Heat game worth more than understanding why the county is planning to spend $200,000 to resurface the basketball court at Isenberg Park?
We encourage residents to reflect on what really matters, the opportunity they have to make a difference at the local level.
We’re nearing the end of the budgeting process for next fiscal year, which starts July 1. The council is meeting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at chambers in Nawiliwili to rubber stamp the proposed increases and deductions the Committee of the Whole made this week to the mayor’s proposed $185.97 million operating budget and $83.12 million capital improvement projects budget.
Practically all the information you need is at your fingertips online at www.kauai.gov, making it easier now than ever before to get involved.
Let’s turn apathetic attitudes around and get engaged in the process before it’s too late.
