LIHU‘E — Putting a “fascinating” budget process behind them, the Kaua‘i County Council on Wednesday approved a $213 million budget in the form of two bills, which will be sent today to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. for his approval.
Bill 2310, the proposed $154.09 million operating budget, and Bill 2311, the proposed $58.83 million capital improvement projects budget, were passed unanimously in an early-morning special meeting at the Historic County Building.
Some of the seven council members rejoiced in the process’ conclusion, thanking each other for their roles and acknowledging the administration for working collaboratively.
“Both the council as well as the administration took a very conservative approach in developing the county’s budgets, as risk of losing the county’s allocation of transient accommodations tax may be unavoidable in the future,” the council wrote in an official message accompanying the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget.
The state Legislature’s decision to not raid the counties’ shares of the TAT was likely the pivotal moment of the 10-week-long budget process. Had the $11.2 million been taken, the council and administration would likely still be working to cut programs and balance the budget, officials have said.
“We are very pleased with the collaboration between the County Council and the administration throughout the budget process,” Carvalho said in an e-mail.
County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said Wednesday that Carvalho would be signing the budget bills into law.
“Given these economic times, the budget reflects belt tightening yet still maintains core services and allows us to move forward on important new initiatives like curbside recycling,” Carvalho said.
Recycling issues and the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan were addressed by many members of the public who testified during the budget’s public hearing, but attempts by Councilmembers Tim Bynum, Lani Kawahara and Jay Furfaro to fully fund a vacant recycling coordinator position were eventually shot down.
Budget and Finance Committee Chair Daryl Kaneshiro thanked his colleagues one by one, acknowledging Dickie Chang for his many years in the visitor industry, Furfaro for his hotel management experience, Derek Kawakami for recognizing safety issues involved with budget cuts, Kawahara for “going green” with sustainability concerns, Bynum for his work on coastal erosion issues and Chair Kaipo Asing for his 26 years of experience working with county budgets.
“My hat goes off to each and every one of them,” Kaneshiro said.
The budget has seen only surface changes since it was first proposed by Carvalho in mid-March. The 2009-2010 budget marks a 2.5 percent decrease from the current operating budget, the first time in more than a decade that the county has seen the budget shrink, officials said.
Earlier this month, the mayor submitted a supplemental budget proposal that took into account many of the sometimes-contentious departmental reviews conducted by the council as well as other council input.
“Many items were discussed in the first draft … and the administration heard us and made the appropriate changes,” Furfaro said Wednesday.
On May 11, the council moved less than $12,000 — $3,000 to the Farm Fair, $2,500 to the Red Cross, and $5,880 to provide wireless Internet access to County Councilmembers while in Council Chambers — from the county’s audit pool before giving the supplemental budget proposal its OK.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com
