Next Waimea Town Meeting to dig deep into Hawai‘i County budget, revenue policies

North Hawai‘i community members have the opportunity to dig deep into Hawai‘i County budget and revenue policies — including those governing property taxes and short-term vacation rentals — during the next Waimea Town Meeting.

The meeting is planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 1 in the conference room at W.M. Keck Observatory located at 65-1120 Māmalahoa Highway in Waimea.

How to pay for and support county services, programs, services and essential public safety is a timely question given challenges ahead for the island’s government because of anticipated and dramatic changes to federal and state funding supports as well as local revenue mechanisms, including property taxes.

Hawai‘i County Council members Heather Kimball of Hamakua and James Hustace of Waimea will have extended time to discuss council business during the May town meeting, most notably the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 county budget process and expected challenges.

Kimball will join the meeting via Zoom from Washington, D.C., where she is on a trip to advocate for county funding. Part of her time with community members during the meeting will be spent discussing streamlined legislation on the council’s May 6 agenda regarding short-term vacation rentals.

You can click here to review the bill and watch a recent online webinar discussion about it prior to the town meeting.

Hawai‘i County Real Property Tax Administrator Lisa Miura will join Kimball and Hustace at the meeting to provide an overview of the county’s real property tax policies and process. She also can answer questions about overarching policy and procedures.

Hustace and Miura will remain after the meeting to speak with community members about specific personal questions and concerns.

Hawai‘i County and municipalities throughout the nation also will observe National Police Week from May 11-17, celebrating the men and women in blue, who risk their lives protecting their communities daily.

In honor of Hawai‘i Island police officers — especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty — meeting attendees are urged to wear blue.

The May 1 town meeting will begin with a pule by Hawai‘i Police Department Chaplain Renee Godoy. Presentations, with time for questions, will also be given by Assistant Police Chief Sherry Bird and Waimea Police Capt. Roy Valera.

Valera will invite the community to support DARE, a police-sponsored drug prevention and good choices education program that helps elementary and middle school students resist peer pressure and make good decisions.

DARE is Waimea Community Association’s spotlighted nonprofit for the May meeting. Association officers will pass the hat to encourage donations.

Now in its 40th year on Hawai‘i Island, the drug prevention program brings police officers into schools where they share research-based curriculum and organize activities aimed at strengthening ties between students and families while concurrently helping officers come to better know and understand the communities they serve.

Bird is a well-known former Waimea police captain. She was promoted in February to assistant chief of the Hawai‘i Police Department Administrative Services Division, becoming the highest ranking woman in the department history.

The assistant chief will talk briefly about the Police Department’s past, challenges of today and how the department is addressing them as well as opportunities ahead, including recruitment and training.

Bird will also discuss a proposed county budget request before the Hawai‘i County Council to support public safety and security.

Questions are always welcome — preferably in advance — by emailing WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com. They also can be typed into the Facebook chat during the meeting livestream to be addressed as time permits.

All are welcome to attend — in person or online via Waimea Community Association’s Facebook page — and the meeting will be recorded for on-demand viewing on Facebook and the association’s YouTube channel.

Email Waimea Community Association President Mary Beth Laychak at WaimeaCommunityAssociation@gmail.com or visit the association website for additional information about the meeting or the association itself.