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‘Affordable in perpetuity’ chokes Maui housing supply
This commentary was originally published Sept. 10, 2019, in The Maui News. Maui County residents have long suffered from a lack of affordable housing, but county officials have continually denied permits to home developers who won’t promise that the units they build...
Testimony on ‘Community Workforce Agreements’ — Bill 37
This testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Honolulu City Council Committee on Budget, July 24, 2019. RE: Bill 37 (2019) — RELATING TO COMMUNITY WORKFORCE AGREEMENTS. [1] Aloha, Chair [Joey] Manahan, Vice Chair [Brandon] Elefante and...
‘Smart’ spending cap would be wise for Maui
The Maui County Council is planning to increase property taxes to balance its proposed fiscal 2020 budget, but a far better option would be to impose a “smart” spending cap that would eventually bring its spending in line with its income — without raising taxes. A...
Testimony on short-term rentals – Bill 89
May 8, 2019 To: Honolulu City Council From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Joe Kent, Executive vice president Re: Bill 89 — Relating to Short-Term Rentals Comments Only Dear Council Members: The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its comments on Bill 89,...
Council busybodies should work less to help residents
Maui County Council members say they spend more than 40 hours per week on the job, and some of them want higher salaries to account for that hard work. But, like Hawaii’s late small-business guru George Mason, founding publisher of Pacific Business News, used to say,...
More housing would boost Maui tax revenues
As Maui County lawmakers search under the couch cushions for loose change that would help them meet their budgetary goals, they should remember that finding extra cash could be easy, if they would only step out of the way of island homebuilders. That’s right:...
State’s use of contractors just a hint of what could be
At least 11 of Hawaii’s state agencies have each saved thousands of dollars a year by privatizing some of their janitor positions, giving a rare glimpse of the savings that could be possible if more state and county agencies followed this approach. The private...
Beware of Maui County’s ‘shiny new ball’
This article was originally published in The Maui News on Thursday, Nov. 29. Maui County Council members this month voted to “go vertical” and move forward on financing a proposed $81.2 million Wailuku Civic Complex, but policymakers would be wise to focus less on the...
