When the county’s budget was recently released and sent to the council for review, the council began weeks of budget hearings to decide which items should be cut and/or added before approval. In the process the council met with all county agency heads. During the hearings, expanded bus service was discussed in response to years of public requests for increased service on weekends and holidays. We learned that currently the Kauai Bus costs the county just over $3 million to operate annually. To increase service would cost the county $950,000 if Kauai Bus was to provide the same service seven days a week. TGI reported on the large public turnout supporting expanded bus service Thursday, May 10. In a letter to the editor, May 16, Ken Taylor questioned the county priorities because of its proposal to use 1.1 million of taxpayer dollars to subsidize the Wailua Golf Course, making it one of the least expensive courses in the state. Steve Martin hit the nail on the head in his TGI commentary May 17: We need to fund a regional service that runs frequently with connecting service between regions.
When the county’s budget was recently released and sent to the council for review, the council began weeks of budget hearings to decide which items should be cut and/or added before approval. In the process the council met with all county agency heads. During the hearings, expanded bus service was discussed in response to years of public requests for increased service on weekends and holidays. We learned that currently the Kauai Bus costs the county just over $3 million to operate annually. To increase service would cost the county $950,000 if Kauai Bus was to provide the same service seven days a week. TGI reported on the large public turnout supporting expanded bus service Thursday, May 10. In a letter to the editor, May 16, Ken Taylor questioned the county priorities because of its proposal to use 1.1 million of taxpayer dollars to subsidize the Wailua Golf Course, making it one of the least expensive courses in the state. Steve Martin hit the nail on the head in his TGI commentary May 17: We need to fund a regional service that runs frequently with connecting service between regions.
When the county previously had considered expanding its bus service, there were insufficient funds available. That changed this year. Public testimony and a petition circulated in 2017 supported a .05 percent increase in the General Excise Tax “to fund expanded bus service.” That tax passed in December 2017, giving the county an anticipated $12.5 million in new revenue for the second half of the 2017-2018 fiscal year and at least $25 million in new revenue for each fiscal year to follow. This new revenue is specifically earmarked for “public transportation” — the bus, road repair and road construction. For those who heard the testimony on road repair and those who drive are very aware that there are millions of dollars in deferred road work. That said, I do agree with Mr. Taylor, it is very hard to understand how our county can apportion only $160,000 from the new public transportation revenue, which, according to the budget, is to be used for improved bus cleaning and maintenance, while using 1.1 million of taxpayer dollars to make up for a shortfall at the Wailua Golf Course.
It’s not too late. The council still has time to honor our keiki, kupuna and the disabled. Right now the county budget is still in committee. The Budget Committee of the County Council has a final meeting planned for this coming Tuesday, May 22. If the budget is voted out of committee that day it will be considered by the full council on May 30. The public still has time to comment. Let’s tell the council to give the Kauai Bus the money to increase its service, needed by the disabled, old, young and even golfers. The last bus shouldn’t leave at 4:30 p.m. on weekends and
holidays!
•••
Bridget Hammerquist is a resident of Koloa.
Well Bridget, you’re obviously not a golfer! By the way, isn’t the bus service funded by the County as well as the golf course? Unfortunately, neither Wailua nor the bus business are profitable enterprises. If you care about the thousands of people who use the golf course and compare that to the hundreds who use the bus maybe you will understand that comparing the two is ludicrous. Keep the golf fees low because it’s the only way those thousands of local golfers can even play the game in this tourist induced price explosive vacation Island ! Also, keep in mind that the land at Wailua has incredible ocean front value and is increasing in value every day. The county is not losing money by supporting Wailua, but it is losing money every time it pays for the bus subsidy! The bus service has negative value because it’s doing nothing but depreciating. So go ahead. Raise the prices at Wailua and watch the course close down! Ahhh….more resorts and ocean front mega mansions on the way! We love more cars and traffic, don’t we? For me. I would invest in the golf course and leave the half empty buses alone.
Ho boi! Bridget almost had me, until she came up with a phrase/argument that indicates she has zero facts left: “honor our keiki, kupuna and the disabled.” Do we have to listen to that meaningless captrap again? Here you are, spending money that has not even been collected yet. And who would be misinformed enough to vote another “tax” on themselves? Oh….right…voters of Kauai County! And as we all know, these are only “earmarks”: these funds go into the general fund, and can be spent in any way the council deems fit. So, as to your “honoring” those you believe are now dishonored ( of course, you didnt say anything about veterans), the best way to do that is to spend within a budget, and rescind the .5% GET! Then, perhaps we can talk about all of the UNFUNDED liabilities the county must face, sooner or later, or guess what groups will suffer the most, once services must be cut back so that pension funds can be funded? You guessed it, Bridget! The golfers…….Please stop using the keiki, kapuna, and disabled to replace the facts you lack, to justify spending (more) money the county does not have. Does the county remind anyone else of a teen with their first paycheck?
Simply obscene that the golf course is getting $1.1M in public monies!
Cut that funding immediately and let the golf course raise green fees to cover the cost. Why are we subsidizing the 1%?
If the mayor hadn’t vetoed the Wailua Golf Course beverage cart bill, the revenues would be significantly higher…
Aloha Kakou,
What we are hearing is a clear shout out for privately owned van services instead of buses, wherein individuals privately insured, privately funded, privately obtained commercial drivers license, privately paid vehicle maintenance and cleaning, and privately paid fuel, oil, and tires, privately scheduled bus routes and times that meet public demands / needs, privately funded retirement vía self employment tax, privately funded personal health insurance. Why should the county government be obligated and take jobs and businesses away from the public.
If taxis are allowed to be privately owned why not vans that would run more frequently to more places and not drive most of the day near empty outside of the “to and from work hours”.
Funding the existing mostly empty buses with too staggered of service is not in the best interest of, and taxes on, the public.
It is an historical fact private run services are better for the public than government run services. As well pick up and drop off locations could be increased to wherever passengers had the need making it a “door to door service” along the designated route of more frequent operated vans.
The loophole of taking advantage of the bus service is that unemployed people who choose not to work take their food stamps (50% of Americans are on Food Stamps) to the grocery store by bus, and their beer and cigarettes to the beach by bus, while there are too many unanswered Help Wanted signs in too many places on island, while the same government that subsidized the bus subsidizes able bodied FAKE welfare recipients.
Since the Wailua Golf Course caters to so many county and state workers, why not assign them short term jobs at the golf course, to help cover the cost of their leisure time, if they are to continue with a ridiculously low cost to golf, and then raise the cost to the visitors who find it an unbelievable bargain that the Kaua’i taxpayers fund part of their vacation. It’s unfair to surfers, tennis players, fishermen, hikers, swimmers, bicyclers, etc., that their sport is not subsidized, like at the very least having clean beaches and clean safe public restrooms for men, women, and children.
Further, with so many complaints about our public restrooms at the parks and beaches, how does the guy who manages them think he should run for mayor with numeours county departments he’d have to manage including the buses and golf course. Gees, he sure is an optimist.
Mahalo,
Charles