"The president of the WMTA HAS CHOSEN NOT TO POST THE WEEKLY COMMENTARY OF THE TAX FOUNDATION OF HAWAII FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 18-2019, "Leadership on the Mauna,"  BECAUSE OF A COUPLE MAJOR REASONS.
 
1.  FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THE REAL ISSUES ARE WITH SEEMING DISRESPECT OF HAWAIIAN CULTURAL PRACTICES.
2. IT'S HISTORICAL INCOMPLETENESS AND INACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF ALL OF THE FACTS  NECESSARY IN BACKGROUND INFORMATION WILL AGITATE AND INFURIATE INSTEAD OF RESOLVE.
 
We believe that there is a way for resolution to share the mountain resources respectful of cultural practices.
 
We are hopeful that in the spirit of Aloha, all parties will come together towards a  respectful solution that the majority of Hawaiians will support for the future.
 
Any who wish to read the Weekly commentary can go to the Tax Foundation of Hawaii link (click here)

​Aloha West Maui Property Owner:                                                                                 August 15, 2019
 
Last month, we asked you, “What can I do or say to get your attention and desire to support our Call to Action for the West Maui Taxpayer’s Association Inc.”; (WMTA)? We are following up with another call to action to update you and respectfully request a response, if you have not already responded.
 
Please join us as we engage in a dedicated effort to restore prudent financial responsibility from our County governmental representatives. We have been diligently seeking answers to where all this excess tax money is going and are not surprised that it does not seem to have been sufficiently applied towards resolving our many existing “crisis,” situations.  
 
The WMTA has always advocated for fairness in taxation and efficiency in government.   Instead, recently, there has been an explosive growth of government, with the added costs associated with more governmental benefits of retirement, etc., that could be avoided with outsourcing public/private for services instead.

• Why aren't more public-private partnerships being used to build affordable workforce housing projects and homeless shelters, etc.?  When WMTA and our partner West Maui Improvement Foundation Inc. (WMIF) built the Napili Fire and Ambulance Station with private funds of our own and then dedicated it to the County to add staffing operationally later, we saved millions of taxpayer dollars!  

 

• The County of Maui recently raised property taxes – where is the $40 million additional funds being applied to?  When we look at the largest tax increase in Maui history and compare it to the existing crises we have in affordable housing, homelessness, and rising oceans ready to wipe out many West Maui roadways, we don't see where the application of $40 Million extra property tax dollars is to be applied. This extraordinary tax against short term renters and the hotel/time share industry was clearly an attack against the visitor industry in our opinion. The tourists are not to blame for our government’s inability to manage our infrastructure.

 

• How has the County Council addressed housing issues in West Maui?  Despite the support of the Chair of their Housing Committee, the County Council has just recently denied affordable housing projects in West Maui for what seems to be personal issues problems with the developer(s) and NIMBY issues, which have nothing to do with the projects themselves, denying needed housing for our residents. The County should be using the extra $$ millions in property tax revenues to subsidize impact fee costs for new Affordable Rental housing in perpetuity for our Workforce, and to double the housing resources for our homeless population, addressing necessary fire breaks and roadways to Save Residential areas from fires/floods, etc. They have added very little to address these crisis areas with this extra money.  It seems that the “tone” of some members on the existing council is anti-tourism.  Penalizing the Tourism Industry is wrong and taking money away from MVB is unwise. The Maui Visitors Bureau (MVB) is the only recipient providing a Return on Investment far in excess of what we grant to them. We are all in the same canoe, we need to work together!

This letter is being sent to you to join with us in our Campaign to restore prudent Fiscal Responsibility to Maui County immediately and if necessary, at the next election for the Maui County Council in 2020. Your donations will be used for:

• A dedicated Political Action Committee campaign
• Expenses for targeted media communications to our members and the general public
• Dedicated administrative staff support

 
You can be a part of the solution or part of the problem. The choice is up to you. Please choose wisely and send us a generous donation today. Mahalo!
 
 Warmest Regards and Aloha,

Joseph D Pluta, President, WMTA

 ​2019-2020 WMTA PARTNER                          
 [   ] Yes! We want to restore prudent fiscal responsibility in Maui Government. 
 
Enclosed is my Partner Gift of:
(  ) $45       (  ) $65       (  ) $85       (  ) $125       (  ) Other $_____
 
(  ) ALL-STAR SPONSOR ($1,000+++): $__________
 
Please make check payable to “WMTA," and memo WMTA Partner/WMTA is a 501-c-4 Non-Profit Organization. Contribu­tions to civic leagues or other section 501(c)(4) organizations generally are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. They may be deductible as trade or business expenses, if ordinary and necessary in the conduct of the taxpayer’s business."  (Source: IRS.Gov). Please check with your tax adviser.  Thank you. Please return this with your contribution.

Soft on Crime – Because of the Money by Tom Yamachika 
​
In the news recently was a stunning announcement by Justin Kollar, who is the Kauai County Prosecutor.  State law says that for folks driving without a license or driving without insurance, heavier fines and more jail time apply to repeat offenders.  He said that he has decided to prosecute all cases under his watch as first-time offender cases, no matter how many prior convictions the defendant may have or how quickly those priors were accumulated.

Why?  He said in a recent interview that the repeat offender penalties do nothing to make the roads safer, add more people to crowded jails, and trap the working poor in a cycle they can’t get out of.  They can’t pay the fine and must work to earn the money to pay it, they need to drive to get to work, they get pulled over, and then they owe more money they can’t pay.
Prosecutors traditionally have had wide discretion in deciding what kind of criminal charges to bring against a person, or whether to bring charges at all.  For instance, a prosecutor might not charge motor vehicle drivers going 60 mph in a 55-mph zone, but may go to court when the driver has gone over 70 mph.
Consider this actual example:  a Delaware grandmother sent her granddaughter to her third-grade class with a birthday cake (hers) and a knife so it could be shared.  The teacher used the knife to cut the cake but had to report the girl for bringing a weapon to school.  The school district, which had a zero-tolerance policy on weapons, felt it had no choice but to follow that policy to the letter and expel the girl for a year.
So yes, it is important that there be prosecutorial discretion.  Prosecutors need it to refrain from charging cases that aren’t supported by the evidence, or to refrain from punishing people who, although violating the literal terms of the law, really haven’t done anything that the law was designed to prevent.
At the same time, discretion can mask more insidious behavior such as racial discrimination (prosecuting all speeders if they are black, for example, while exercising more restraint on others) or graft (a defendant can skate, for example, if he knows the right people to pay off).
This case seems to be about another issue:  infringement upon the kuleana of other institutions.  Mr. Kollar is an elected Kauai County official.  The laws of which he is complaining are state laws.  They were put into place by our state legislators and governor, who had the interests of the entire state at heart when they enacted the enhanced penalties for repeat offenders.  If he has a problem with how these laws are applied to the working poor, shouldn’t he go to the Legislature and suggest appropriate amendments?  Apparently, he prefers to take the matter into his own hands.  Maybe he thinks that this grandstanding will help him get re-elected.
But what about the plight of the working poor?  The Hawaii ACLU is quoted as saying that driving without a license or insurance is only about inability to afford paying premium payments or fines, which doesn’t make you more dangerous on the road.  I respectfully disagree.  The ability to drive a car is a privilege, not a right.  Taking away the privilege is a possible consequence of doing something unlawful.  Is it fair?  The folks who get whacked for driving without a license or insurance the second or third time intentionally got behind the wheel without appreciating the responsibility.  Is it fair to the other drivers who must bear more costs of car-related injuries, deaths, and property damage because these folks won’t?  I, for one, would rather not be on the road with people who reject the responsibility that comes with a motor vehicle.