Bed, Board, Beverage tax to fund island programs

Improvement on many fronts

Introduce a “Bed, Board, Beverage” tax for Hawaii, modeled on Flagstaff, AZ, which applied a 2.0% Bed, Board and Beverage (BBB) tax in 1988 to hotels, short-term rentals, campgrounds, restaurants, and bars alongside state and local transaction taxes. In the 38 years the tax has been collected, the money has been used to transform the city into an extremely desirable place to live and visit, saving every household approximately $1,331 in city taxes annually along with a wide array of programs, maintenance and more.

Flagstaff allocates the funds as follows: 33% funds parks and recreation in the city, 20% goes to beautification, 7.5% of the money to fund arts and sciences, 9.5% of the collections to promote economic development in Flagstaff with things like business grants; the remaining 30% is used to promote responsible visitation to the area.

Islanders would organize their priorities differently, but there are many possible uses for Hawaii's funds including;

• Forestation projects to beautify and cool our cities and replace non-native trees with native species in our water sheds and unique habitats.

• Development and maintenance of urban trail systems

• Development of food waste / green waste composting programs.

• Continuation of renewable energy access programs

• Enhancing and maintaining streetscapes with public art, landscaping w emphasis on appropriate blooming plants and bike and pedestrian paths.

• Funding support for sustainable business practices.

• and much, much more.