The September 11th attack
City faces decline in hotel tax revenues
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer
The city expects to get $5 million to $7 million less from hotel-room tax revenue this year because of the tourism decline that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Mainland.
City Budget and Fiscal Services Director Caroll Takahashi told council members the estimate is based on a 13 to 20 percent drop in the number of visitors, which would cut into the expected $30 million to $33 million in revenues.
State officials have said September visitors were down 34 percent over last September, but there has been some recovery since the initial impact.
City Council Budget Chairman Steve Holmes had asked for an update on the impact to city revenues, as well as additional security costs incurred. Officials would not estimate yesterday how much money had been spent for security, saying the figures had not yet been calculated.
Takahashi said the Council could tap $5.3 million tucked into a "rainy day fund," which she believed was more than preliminary cost figures she received from the police and fire departments.
Police Major Susan Ballard said the department is writing a computer program to sort out attack-related overtime and dengue incident response from routine overtime, so she could not provide specific estimates.
Ballard said no police programs are scheduled to be cut because of the budget crunch.
Takahashi also told the committee that the city is expecting a $7 million dip in investment income, but is paying out $6 million less in debt service because of the depressed economy.
She said police and fire officials have been working closely with the administration, so officials feel comfortable that costs are reasonable. "I'm not fearful, because we are working together," she said.
Holmes said it's possible the Council will tap the emergency fund to cover costs. "It does seem to be raining these days," he noted.
Councilman Gary Okino, who said he understood why some figures were not yet available, said he is nonetheless concerned. "How do you know how much you're spending?" he asked.
Officials on other islands have gathered figures for some costs associated with increased security and post-attack fears. Kaua'i Fire Chief David Sproat said his department had only one day of intensified activity because of fears of anthrax contamination.
"Our numbers have not been out of control. Our overtime is under $1,000, plus a few hundred for materials," Sproat said.
All samples of suspect materials from Kaua'i tested have turned up negative for anthrax, Sproat said.
Maui Mayor James "Kimo'' Apana said Maui County did not spend a significant amount on Sept. 11-related problems either. He said the county shifted priorities and moved staff to meet security needs.
Apana said he will ask the Maui County Council next week for as much as $250,000 in emergency health spending, which includes possibly buying a field tester for anthrax and more resources for dengue fever control.
Apana said he's hoping to acquire a testing machine within the next two weeks.
"We'll know if we're able to get one in the next several days,'' he said. "They're being requested from every community in America, so we'll see.''
Advertiser staff writers Jan TenBruggencate and Tim Hurley contributed to this report.
