Illegal vacation rentals, federal funding uncertainties, budget plans and more were the topics of a live discussion with Kauaʻi County Mayor Derek Kawakami as he prepares to deliver his state of the county address next week on March 13.
Interview Highlights
On Kauaʻi being affected by federal funding
DEREK KAWAKAMI: For the general public, the state of the county is really where we take our budget and our budget priorities and we become storytellers, so that things can resonate within our constituents and have them understand the budget through storytelling. We are definitely in a sea of uncertainty, but I think Kauaʻi, because we sort of are the smallest, sometimes the priorities go to the bigger populated counties. We have a good budget policy that's created a reserve for those rainy days, for those days we’re faced with a sea of uncertainty, and no doubt we’ll have impacts from a lot of these federal cuts. One, we're unaware or unsure of how many federal workers on Kauaʻi have been displaced, fired or took a retirement, but we have a number of job openings here at the County of Kauaʻi, and I think every employer is looking for good work… I'm very, very proud of our federal workers, and I know that they have critical jobs. To anybody that's been displaced, I think every county is opening their doors to take a look and see where you fit in… But for us, what we've done is just get prepared that if federal funding falls short, that the County of Kauaʻi does have the ability to pick it up and keep those folks employed, and each and every one of those federally funded positions are critical to our operation, and it's critical to our constituents that depend on those services, so we'll be there for them.
On his state of the county address
KAWAKAMI: In a sea of uncertainty, still waters run deep, and right now, we are providing a budget that is very consistent to what our top philosophy and our priorities were, which is infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure and meeting the basic needs of our people, and what our priorities as county and local municipal governments should be, making sure that we can consistently provide core services, that we take a look at underutilized assets to fill in the gaps, as far as housing, to not over extend ourselves and put our people into debt by living above our means, to take all considerations as far as potential natural disasters, man-made disasters, any financial crisis, and provide some stability, predictability and to make sure that we are investing on what needs to be invested in… We're going to be providing a budget that provides stability and then these days, I really think for a lot of people, it's going to be rather comforting to see a normal looking budget that has been consistent from day one, that focuses on top priorities and doesn't sway too far off the mark by entering into new initiatives that we really haven't studied and put much thought in.
On development plans over the former golf course in Princeville
KAWAKAMI: It's evidence of how important it is to know our past and how important it is to have people with that institutional knowledge, while they're still here, for younger generations to learn how to sit down and listen, so that we have that sort of history. I had no idea about the history of that particular property and its ties to anthrax. It's very concerning, and we're still learning more about it as we speak, and I'm sure that it's potentially going to have some impacts on future vision for that site, if it's all verified at the end of the day… I think we are realizing in today's day and age that, you know, we definitely have an impact that can resonate into future generations and so we should all learn how to tread lightly for the sake of our children and future generations.
Listener question: What is the current administration doing to crack down on vacation rental offenders?
KAWAKAMI: I couldn't be proud of our Planning Department and former planning director and our current planning director and the enforcement agents. You know, we've had a well thought-out and tested through the courts vacation rental policy that really has put a cap on the amount of vacation rentals that are outside of the visitor destination areas. So we've been enforcing very strongly for, I would say, the past decade, and now our enforcement is taking a look at the evolution of technology, and we have enforcement workers in the Planning Department that's looking outside of your typical third-party platforms, also known as Airbnb and Expedia, which I have to say we have a wonderful partnership with because of our existing policy... We got our people looking through the dark web for other people that are renting it out for other sort of, say, alternative lifestyle uses, which is crazy that they would think that they could come to Kauaʻi and bring some of that thing, you know, kind of that action here and not rile up the neighbors. I mean, they should take a look at the Love Has Won cult, and how warmly they were greeted and escorted off this island, and think twice about coming to Kauaʻi. It's a small island. People talk and they're going to get caught.
Listener question: Are you in favor of eliminating the general excise tax on everyday items like food, housing, medical?
KAWAKAMI: As far as the general excise tax and exemptions, I really think that if we start exempting food, perhaps prescription drugs we could take a look at, but it would cripple the state budget, which is reliant to fund schools, public safety and everything above and beyond.
This interview aired on The Conversation on March 6, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this interview for the web.
