(BIVN) – Hawaiʻi County Mayor Harry Kim joined the mayors of all four counties at the State Capitol on Thursday, in order to present the needs of the County to lawmakers.

A joint meeting of the State Senate Ways & Means and House Finance  Committee was held in Honolulu in order to hear from the counties directly.

Mayor Kim expressed his concerns over funding county government, which according to briefing materials, “has very limited taxing authority to provide funds for unrestricted general operations, including public safety”. Hawai‘i County has only real property tax and public service company tax as unrestricted tax sources, the materials explain,  and the “portion of the transient accommodations tax allotted to the County is the only other significant source of unrestricted revenue for the General Fund.”

The materials also outlined the County’s  operational and capital project priorities for the 2019 state legislative session. They are:

Operational Priorities

Hawai‘i County requests the following legislative considerations:

• Allow the County increased General Excise Tax flexibility in allowable use(s)
• Support of programs related to the homeless crisis and growing number of squatters
• The continued growth of the senior population emphasizes the need for support of programs addressing their needs
• Provide liability coverage for beach lifeguards
• Support State projects related to Rapid Ohia Death, Rat Lungworm disease, Little Fire Ants, Coqui Frog control
• Allow the Planning Department to require the vacation rental license number in vacation rental advertising
• Fairer share of TAT to the Counties

Capital Project Priorities

Hawai‘i County requests the following legislative considerations:

• Assistance with infrastructure and FEMA match for the May 03, 2018 lava flow and hurricane Lane natural disasters
• Puna is the fastest growing district in the state and the most populated district on this island
• The County wishes to emphasize the extreme need in Puna for all services and infrastructure
• Funding support for continued widening and improvement of Highway 130 in Puna
• Funding support for Puna inner-connectivity projects
• Continued funding for the State portion of Kalanianaʻole Avenue Reconstruction