Joel responds to Marshall

Dear Marshall:Would each borough (note the spelling) have its own borough council and borough staff (e.g. planners, public works engineers to work on "local" projects like local roads, inspection of buildings to assure conformance to building codes, park employees, etc.) and people to administer these programs? And would establishment of a borough be voluntary? If so, what if a communitry decided to forgo a borough formation and its related costs and chose to use county services for everything? Wouldn't that result in using other boroughs' county taxes for the non-borough community?In sum, there are a lot of issues requiring careful thought and decision, even if borough formation is permitted without a change in the Hawaii Constitution. And many of the issues arise with respect to the desire for some uniformity in otherwise local concerns, such as building codes and anti-smoking regulations. Though I may sound like a naysayer, I'm merely suggesting that we might better use our energy to improve our council and administrative representation within the existing structure, and to participate actively in the decision-making process by volunteering to serve on County Boards and Commissions.Aloha,Joel Gimpel