Kauai mayor seeks increases in taxes, fees

A $4 million increase to pay for employee raises is part of Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho’s budget recommendations for 2015.

To help fund it, the mayor is proposing to raise some taxes and fees, the Garden Island reported.

"This year’s proposal continues efforts to improve our quality of services and assets in the most cost-efficient way, while modestly increasing revenues," Carvalho wrote in a proposal to the County Council on Friday.

Carvalho will discuss the budget proposal during his State of the County address at 8:30 a.m. Monday in the Moi­keha Building courtyard.

The raises make up a majority of the $4.6 million in spending increases proposed for the $180.6 million fiscal year that begins July 1.

As part of his plan to generate revenue, Carvalho calls for raising the hotel and resort-class real property tax rate to $11 per $1,000 of valuation from $9 per $1,000, a move expected to bring the island’s tax rates closer to the state average and generate about $4.3 million during the 2015 fiscal year.