LIHUE, Kauai — Kauai County lawmakers are considering tax increases and service cuts to cope with a projected $8.9 million budget shortfall.
County officials had hoped for a larger share of the transient accommodation tax the state levies on hotel rooms. State lawmakers raised the cap on the counties’ portion of those revenues, from $93 million to $103 million.
The state’s four counties wanted a return to the 44.8 percent share they used to receive. Their haul would have been $165 million in fiscal 2013 under that model.
The Garden Island newspaper reports that Kauai’s share of the transient taxes will rise by $1.4 million. The county had hoped for about $8.6 million more than that.
Kauai’s budget shortfall owes mostly to collective bargaining raises for county employees approved last year.