No incorporated cities (Honolulu, Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park: fit in, hotels, school)
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It would just add another layer of government and taxation without having much benefit. We already have police and fire protection at the county level and a statewide school system. It is legal to incorporate, it was proposed a few years back for Hawaiian Paradise Park because of rampant growth but went nowhere.
While not certain, I would think the biggest advantage would to be able to fund public works projects via bonds that the county and state wouldn't otherwise fund.
Sounds like a giant HOA. I'd be nice to fund things like sidewalks in town, but this seems an awfully lot of effort to get that sort of thing done. We have pretty good access to our County officials, I'm not sure if this would work all that well in rural areas. In urban areas, it might work better?
That is the kind of thing you could issue bonds to take care if the State and County wouldn't fund it.
Other things - lets say Hilo wanted a convention center, but had no way to pay for it. They issue bonds and the payback is a fee lets say on using the convention center - a fee on tickets sold, etc - taxes from hotels being full. (note: I don't think a convention center would ever work in Hilo - it is just an example)
That is the kind of thing you could issue bonds to take care if the State and County wouldn't fund it.
Other things - lets say Hilo wanted a convention center, but had no way to pay for it. They issue bonds and the payback is a fee lets say on using the convention center - a fee on tickets sold, etc - taxes from hotels being full. (note: I don't think a convention center would ever work in Hilo - it is just an example)
Maybe Hilo would of had better luck getting the convention center if Hilo was incorporated. So it all goes to show that many urban places in Hawaii can't many helpful amenities because they are handicap by being unincorporated. It would all but help for places like Hilo and so on to become incorporated.
I think that having incorporated cities is inevitable. It would surely solve many of the administrative problems that have been in existence for a long, long time. Look at the Big Island; one mayor and one county council for the entire island? Makes no sense, and it doesn't work. Kona's needs are totally different than Hilo's. Puna should probably just promote a tribal chief or something!
Here in St Pete, Fl, which is a pretty darned big, thriving city that used to be a sleepy senior hangout for Tampa, there is a small town called Gulfport smack in the midst of it. Pretty much everything over there is run differently, which allows everyone in Pinellas county to find a place where they fit in, and have a voice in the way things are run. Their tax structure is different, and the feel of the place is different. What you can do in St Pete you can't do there, and vice versa. I think it's great, especially for small business people.
It's just down the road, but the mindset and way or operating is different enough so that one has a real choice in how and where to live, and still have all the amenities that are offered in St Pete. There's no reason you couldn't do the same thing on the Big Island, except that the banana republic mindset, which is reinforced by not being able to incorporate, wouldn't like it. You see, that's the neat thing about it. You could let the other places on the Big Island be run by the entrenched good ol boys, and let people who don't like that (and they are legion) do something different w/o any conflict. People need options, instead of having to be crammed into a one-size-fits-all mentality. The way it is now in Hawaii, it's one way or the highway (or ocean, air, whatever).
Maybe Hilo would of had better luck getting the convention center if Hilo was incorporated. So it all goes to show that many urban places in Hawaii can't many helpful amenities because they are handicap by being unincorporated. It would all but help for places like Hilo and so on to become incorporated.
Hilo is far from being an "urban place" and I suspect that many folks like its relative lack of urbanization.
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