Kauai tentatively
OKs 7.6% budget hike
LIHUE >> The Kauai County Council has tentatively approved a 7.6 percent increase in the county's operating budget for fiscal 2004, which beings July 1.
The budget would increase to $97.3 million next fiscal year from this year's $90.4 million.
The unanimous vote came without any debate. The Council is scheduled for a final vote on the bill Thursday.
The bill leaves property tax rates unchanged from last year -- but that means property taxes will increase. The total assessed valuation of all taxable property in Kauai County is forecast to increase 12.3 percent next year to $7.3 billion from $6.5 billion, meaning the average property owner will pay 12.3 percent more in taxes even if the rates remain the same.
Increases in spending next fiscal year include more than doubling the amount paid to a local access cable station to tape and broadcast both Council meetings and the mayor's talk show, to $119,000 from the current $49,000.
Much of the money will be used for real-time closed captioning for the hearing-impaired. The inability to provide the captioning in a timely manner has delayed the broadcast of some county meetings for a month or more after the meetings took place.
Another major spending increase results from a new collective-bargaining agreement for firefighters, which will cost Kauai taxpayers an additional $490,627 next year.
County of Kauai
