Pay commission overly generous

Was the front-page article, "2% raises advocated for top officials, judges" (Star-Advertiser, March 19) meant to appease or was it to insult the intelligence of the public?

From current salaries through 2018, the governor’s salary increases more than 35 percent, the chief justice more than 50 percent, and the House speaker and Senate president more than 31 percent.

The state salary commission’s rationale has some element of truth in that higher salaries are needed to attract the best people. However, people who seek office as public servants are not necessarily motivated by higher salaries. The commission has been unconscionably generous in their recommendations, especially in the past.

This seems to be the case of these individuals voting themselves raises without actually being held directly accountable for it. There is a limit to recommending government officials’ raises that high when the rest of the economy is suffering and these same officials are negotiating salaries of state employees at rates that pale in comparison with the raises they are getting.

Roy Mamiya
Kapolei

Heavier vehicles should pay gas tax

The arguments by City Council members Ikaika Anderson and Carol Fukunaga that electric (EV) and hybrid vehicles do not pay their fair share for road repairs, and that a 5-cent-per-gallon increase would be unfair to the rest of the liquid fuel driving public, were insubstantial.

The motor vehicle annual statistics on the honolulu.gov website indicates that in 2012 there were only 923 electric and 9,815 hybrid vehicles registered in Honolulu County as compared to 642,373 total registered vehicles. This is less than 0.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the registered vehicles on the road in Honolulu.

The fact that EV and hybrid vehicles tend to be smaller, lighter, and, most important, have lower emissions should not have been overlooked.

In my mind, large, less-fuel-efficient vehicles cause the most wear and tear on roadways and should carry the greater obligation to making road repairs.

John Rogers
Ewa Beach

Raise business taxes to pay for road fixes

As a person with a master’s degree in public finance from Wharton School of Business, I have been following the proposal by the mayor to raise $15 million by increasing the gasoline tax.

Concerns have been voiced by City Council members and others about the various consequences of the increase, such as the fact that the increasing number of electric vehicles would not be paying the tax. But little has been said about alternative ways to fund the much needed repairs to our roads.

A look at the proposed city budget for fiscal 2014 shows that the $15 million could be raised by increasing the property tax rate on commercial, industrial and hotel/resort properties from $12.40 to $12.89 per thousand dollars of assessed value. Such a modest increase in the rate would appear to be an alternative that should be given serious consideration.

Charles Prentiss
Kailua

Kudos to Schatz for support of VAWA

The reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was no small feat. The opposition was hearty, and the process took a very long time.

At the Domestic Violence Action Center, we have been watching, sending encouragement and maintaining advocacy with our elected leaders to reach this important victory for Hawaii and communities across the country. Our congressional delegation has been unanimously supportive.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz followed up his support of the bill and our community advocacy with an inquiry about what he could do further than cast his vote. On his recent trip home, after VAWA was passed, he visited us to learn more about our community’s challenges and weaknesses and better understand the ways he could continue to be helpful.

This was an enormous gesture. I am very encouraged by his leadership and believe it will make a big difference for us.

Nanci Kreidman
Chief executive officer, Domestic Violence Action Center

Don’t put tent city in Waikiki vicinity

I applaud City Councilman Stanley Chang’s idea of a tent city and for encouraging any and all ideas.

I disagree that the vacant lot across from the convention center is the best location. We must get the homeless away from Waikiki.

To provide a tent city at one end of Waikiki will only encourage more homeless to gather in that location and then stroll down Kalakaua Avenue collecting cans and hassling and annoying the tourists.

All of us in Hawaii are dependent on the revenue tourism brings. We cannot afford to lose those dollars because of the homeless situation.

Susan Morton
Kapahulu

What is the plan for PV panel disposal?

We need alternative energy sources, but the end-of-life of photovoltaic (PV) panels that contain environmentally dangerous chemical elements is a concern.

What happens to the panels that are no longer usable — that are broken in transportation, have defects, damaged by storms or have just reached the end of their productive life?

We do not have any specific regulation on the disposal of PV panels, and the current disposition process is likely the landfills. Just imagine thousands of panels in our landfills leaching chemicals into our water supply.

Recycling is a solution, but it is unlikely that we would have a recycling plant here in Hawaii. That being the case, how will we stockpile the unusable PV panels for shipment to a recycler? Do we end up with warehouses or barges piled with chemically dangerous waste material?

Tom Uechi
Hahaione Valley