By PETER SUR
By PETER SUR
Tribune-Herald staff writer
The County Council slashed a $75,000 Food Basket donation to $50,000 and then killed it, opting instead to spend the scarce funds on new computers and for the legislative branch.
Facing a depleted account, lawmakers at Tuesday’s meeting in Hilo first amended a resolution reducing the appropriation to $50,000.
Then, the council failed to get enough votes to approve the donation. The vote was 4-4, with Councilman Angel Pilago attending a conference on the mainland.
The votes put several council members in a tough spot, as they weighed the cost of replacing computers that were up to seven years old against the needs of the Food Basket, a nonprofit distribution network that collects and distributes supplemental nutrition to the island’s poor and invalid.
The County Council has already approved $200,000 to the Food Basket from an emergency account and $75,000 that was saved from the Office of the Legislative Auditor.
The snag this time was that the new appropriation was coming out of a county expense account titled Clerk-Council Services Other Current Expense, which was needed to buy 16 new computers and videoconferencing equipment for the Ka‘u district council office.
Later in the meeting, the council approved by a narrow 5-3 margin spending $35,000 on the computers and videoconferencing equipment.
Councilman Dennis Onishi had introduced the resolution last February to send the Food Basket $75,000, but it was amended several times. By Tuesday, Onishi announced that the account he had hoped to use had been drawn down, and he moved to decrease the amount to $50,000.
But with a pending vote to replace old computer equipment and buy new videoconferencing equipment, “I don’t think we have the money,” said Councilwoman Brenda Ford.
Ford recited a number of horror stories about the state of the County Council’s computer equipment: Machines that take 10 minutes to do simple cut-and-paste text jobs and that take 15 minutes to boot up. Worse, said Ford and Councilwoman Brittany Smart, the county’s IT staff spends an average of 10 hours a week working on the computers, sapping productivity and leading to soaring repair costs.
“We’re operating with ancient software and computers,” Ford said. “As much as I want to give this money, I don’t think we have money to give.”
(Onishi, during a break, said his computer was working “fine.”)
Council Chairman Dominic Yagong recalled Food Basket Executive Director Nani Lee, who said “You cannot buy more inventory than you can handle.”
“You got to be able to store it,” he said, recalling that the organization had space for about $250,000 worth of food.
Onishi cut off debate by calling for the question. After voting to reduce the amount to $50,000, council members Pete Hoffmann, Donald Ikeda, Onishi and Yoshimoto voted in favor of the Food Basket donation.
Councilman Fred Blas voted “kanalua,” allowing him to delay his vote to the end of the roll call. Opposing the donation were Ford, Smart and Yagong.
The clerk called Blas’ name again. He hesitated for a couple of seconds, and voted “nay.”
Lee, the executive director, put the vote in context.
“It (the vote) was tabled until today because today they would know if there would be funds available,” Lee said. “It was contingent of funds being left over.”
“I don’t count my chickens until the eggs are hatched,” Lee said, noting that she was grateful the county has already given $199,000 of the eventual $275,000 dedication. “We have what we have, and we are very appreciative.”
Later in the meeting, the council debated spending $35,000 on the purchase of computers and other equipment for County Council members and their staff, and new equipment from the Ka‘u council office. The money was slated to come out of the Clerk-Council Services Other Current Expense account.
Smart cast the expenditure as “a cost saving measure” that would save the county “a lot of money” that might otherwise be spent on repairs and maintenance.
Questioned by Ikeda, Clerk Jamae Kawauchi said the Legislative Branch has 75 computers, including desktops, laptops and iPads, in offices throughout the county. Fourteen of the oldest computers were bought in 2005 and two were bought in 2006. The council wants to buy 16 computers at about $1,200 each, for a total of $19,200.
Those voting in favor of the new equipment were Blas, Ford, Hoffmann, Smart and Yagong. Ikeda, Onishi and Yoshimoto opposed it.
Hoffmann was the only council member who voted for both the Food Basket donation and the computer equipment, preventing another 4-4 split and sparing the majority faction from an embarrassing defeat.
Email Peter Sur at psur@hawaiitribune-herald.com.