On Wednesday Aug 3rd the Kauaʻi County Council is going to be considering Resolution 2022-22 which would place a charter amendment on the ballot for the voters to decide if we should earmark two percent (2%) of our real property tax revenue in the Countyʻs Annual Budget to provide and develop affordable housing on Kauaʻi.
Please submit testimony to the Kauaʻi County Council (counciltestimony@kauai.gov) by this evening, Tuesday, Aug 2nd and ask them to pass Resolution 2022-22, and put this earmark question on our ballot.
I, and many Kauaʻi local families, are extremely concerned about how we are being priced out of our home and how our friends and family members can no longer afford to live here and are being pushed off island. I support this resolution, this earmark and bold and thoughtful action to address our major housing crisis.
This resolution would put this to the people of Kauaʻi for a vote on our general ballot in November. This would not earmark the money directly, but gives us, the voters, the chance to make the call ourselves.
I understand that we need to invest in this major crisis seriously and put our money where our mouth is when it comes to the solutions. I believe the Kauaʻi voters do too and they deserve the final opportunity to vote for this earmark on the ballot in the General Election.
My position on earmarking 2% of property tax revenue:
I support this earmark because there is a huge need for substantial capital in order to effectively address the housing problem. The County needs to come up with substantial unrestricted housing development capital if we are sincere about solving the affordable housing crisis. The present county legislative/budget process is not capable of producing the amount of capital needed, or providing the consistency of funding required.
This earmark will be a step in the right direction toward providing affordable housing, Policy No. 2 in the General Plan. A key factor in the provision of affordable housing is “adequate capital”, of which this earmark would help to provide.
The 2% annually may seem small when compared to the money needed to meet the need, but it can be leveraged strategically. A charter earmark can support the floatation of a bond for a much larger amount of money that can be a way we leverage the money earmarked. With a boost to the Housing Development Fund we would be able to provide housing for more families in more income brackets and develop better quality projects. We can also give the County Housing Agency the ability to buy land, such as what was done to develop Kalepa Village.
I support us taking big steps to seriously address our housing needs so that local generational families, their children and the next generations can stay and return to Kauaʻi. This is a top priority for me and I see this earmark as a reasonable and serious step in the right direction.