Work forceÊdeserves funding

Maui News Editorial
Thursday, March 13, 2003

The Emergency Environmental Workforce began as a make-work program following the economic slump caused by Sept. 11, 2001. When state funding dried up, the county stepped in to fund a reduced work force.

The county's EEW is now down to 10 men in Hana. Make that 10 trained, motivated men in Hana. They are veterans of the fight to rid the island of the dangerous and tourist-discouraging dengue fever, murine typhus during last summer's mouse plague, and have worked on ridding island rain forests of miconia. They know how to do their jobs and are more than willing to spend hours at hard manual labor to benefit the community.

The work force, administered by the nonprofit Ohana Makamae, is one of those rare government programs that actually makes sense at the cost of relatively few dollars. Having an independent, nonprofit social agency run the program relieves government of the problems associated with adding to tax-paid payrolls. It provides meaningful work in an area of the island with few employment possibilities.

More importantly, the work force is up and running if Maui faces another onslaught of mosquito- or mouse-transmitted disease, and there is the ever-present need to fight alien plants such as miconia, fountain grass, fireweed and other "imports" that could do serious harm to Maui's environment and economy.Ê

The work force was there when Maui District Health Officer Dr. Lorrin Pang needed a crew to respond to a suspected case of dengue fever involving a woman who had recently returned from Tahiti. Pang said such a trained force is too valuable to be lost.

The county covered the work force payroll in January. Ohana Makamae covered a reduced-hours payroll in February. There are no funds for the March payroll. If the members of this valuable, trained team don't have assurances of some sort that their jobs will continue, it's likely the team will break up and any future effort along these lines will have to start from scratch.

The County Council has been asked to approve $225,000 to keep the work force afloat through the end of June. Some council members think the state ought to come up with the money and others are worried about not having enough money to spend for other programs.

The Emergency Environmental Workforce is a program that should be continued, and even expanded. The council needs to OK funding now, not to deliberate, debate and delay a valuable program into extinction.

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