Let’s talk about how things are going with the state government.
April is a big time for government because it is when we pay government for all the stuff it does to help and protect.
But if, for instance, we mistakenly give the state too much money, we get it back. A tax refund. If you are waiting for a tax refund this year, get out a really big calendar to find when you are getting that refund — 16 weeks!
Yes, four months for a state tax refund. It is part of the remarkable consistency of Gov. David Ige’s administration. It shows that even when it came to power three years ago saying it wanted to smarten up the tax office, Ige and Co. have been resolute in keeping the money it owes you for an extra four months.
In last year’s State of the State speech, Ige noted: “While the history of the tax department’s computer programs is not a good one, the recent initiative to upgrade those programs is on time, on budget and meeting our first-year expectations.”
All this work means the tax office is busy, busy, busy and maybe they have really low expectations, because it is still a four-month wait for refunds.
“We know this work delays tax refunds and we are working hard to minimize those delays. If you bear with us during this transition, we will soon have a system that will be better able to catch fraud, without the time, cost and work required to do so today,” Ige said, warming up to the theme of “patience as a virtue.”
Another place to practice the consistency of low expectations is at Aloha Stadium, which apparently is the longest-lasting (sorta) “weathered steel” stadium still in existence. Every two years Hawaii appropriates between $10 million and $40 million to continue to repair the stadium built in 1975 while it is busily rusting away.
Along with the repairs, we also pay to study what to do about the stadium. Fixing it and worrying about it, keeps the state distracted from the real task of making a permanent decision.
But, making a decision is sometimes the most expensive thing to do.
For instance, 13 years ago the folks running Honolulu International Airport launched a $739 million modernization plan “to add new concourses and wider taxiways for bigger planes,” according to a news report by Kevin Dayton, Honolulu Star-Advertiser Capitol Bureau chief.
The Department of Transportation has thrashed around with delay after delays, with each stoppage triggering its own set of lawsuits from contractors and subcontractors.
Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines CEO, called the delays “appalling.”
Since when Linda Lingle was governor, the state has been getting ready for a leap into the 21st century of airport design, but instead of movement, it appears the DOT has been holding auditions for amateur hour.
The recent tragic incident at the airport with an armed private security guard shooting to death a pet dog, next to a woman carrying an infant, should have prompted an immediate response, but the general numbness of the DOT means the only response for nearly a day was “we are investigating.”
The private guard worked for Securitas Security Services, which last year was given a new three-year contract for security at all state airports even though four employees last year were indicted for allegedly taking bribes from taxi cab drivers.
If Hawaii government was a TV show with the voters playing Ricky Ricardo and David Ige acting as Lucille Ball, then the only response should be: “Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do.”
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
