[ OUR OPINION ]
Counties should have more
control of revenue streamIT seems the city is raising all manner of fees, fares and taxes as it battles to make budget ends meet. Mayor Harris last week proposed the latest, an increase in the vehicle weight tax to cover pay raises for police officers.
THE ISSUE
Mayor Harris is seeking to raise the vehicle weight tax to pay for police salary increases.
The city needs to collect $5.7 million this fiscal year and another $12.9 million in the next to cover the more than 16 percent in raises police will receive through a four-year contract.
Harris proposes to increase the city vehicle weight tax to 2 cents a pound for passenger cars and 2.5 cents a pound for commercial vehicles. The mayor, however, had a better idea earlier this year, suggesting that the value of a vehicle rather than its weight would be a more equitable base for a tax. That way, those who can afford to buy a $40,000 sport car will pay a higher amount than the owner of an older car that may weigh more. However, the change would have required the approval of the state Legislature and Harris's attempts to persuade lawmakers were unsuccessful.
And this is the rub. The city's revenue stake and costs are often tied to the action -- or inaction -- of legislators and other forces it does not control. Determining pay levels for public employees, such as police officers, is one of them.
The city and neighbor island counties provide myriad services for which the state collects taxes and fees and parcels out as legislators wish. For example, money collected for parking violations issued by county police officers, at the counties' expense, flows to the state. Lawmakers and state officials contend that it is more cost-efficient for the state to handle the money, but the practice leaves the counties to go begging for their shares.
Linda Lingle, who was mayor of Maui County before she was elected governor, has felt their pain and is a strong advocate for county rule. It would serve county governments for her to push harder to direct their revenue streams back into their coffers. As matters now stand, the counties cannot direct their priorities since someone else holds the purse strings.
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City left scrambling to
persuade riders to get
on TheBusA SUBSTANTIAL drop in ridership in the aftermath of the monthlong bus strike was anticipated. However, it appears officials did not prepare a plan to mitigate the expected loss of customers and are now struggling to figure out a way to get them back.
THE ISSUE
The number of bus riders has declined sharply after the strike and fare increases.
During the first week after the strike ended, bus rides were free, returning numbers to near normal levels that averaged about 240,000 a day. When fare increases kicked in, ridership tumbled by 20 to 22 percent. To collect enough revenue for operations, the city must raise a total of $41 million from fares, but that won't be possible if passengers don't hop on the bus.
Officials are hamstrung by an employee contract that leaves them little room to manage costs. Oahu Transportation Services, the company that runs the system for the city, negotiated an agreement with the Teamsters Union that won't allow layoffs or reductions in benefits through the five-year contract with pay increases of 50 cents an hour in the fourth year and 65 cents in the fifth. Even if OTS cuts routes and services, employee costs -- the system's biggest expense -- will remain the same.
Although the city saved money during the strike by not paying bus workers, the amount covers only an 8 to 10 percent decline in riders. Even with fare increases, it is unlikely that the city will be able to make the payroll when the wage increases come due.
As it raised fares last month for the second time this year, members of the City Council voiced concerns that they would have to OK another hike. But doing that may result in further drops in ridership and place a heavier burden on passengers, many of whom take the bus because they cannot afford a private vehicle.
Mayor Harris is floating solutions such as advertising the advantages of riding the bus and encouraging businesses to promote and subsidize bus passes for employees. These ideas seem too little and too late. Well aware that strikes result in ridership losses, the mayor, the Council and OTS should have laid out a course of action to lure back passengers.
