Council on Revenues to Change Reports Because of ‘Media Confusion’
Apparently the Council on Revenues doesn’t want to be tied to any estimates other than the general fund forecasts it puts out each quarter.
At its most recent meeting Wednesday, the council decided it will change the way it reports its numbers, citing media “confusion” over which numbers should be attributed to the council.
The forecasts previously have included detailed charts of revenue estimates seven years out for everything from licenses and permits to fines and 14 different taxes. (See pages 5-9 of the council’s .)
Council chairman Paul Brewbaker said these line items are not part of the forecasts — only the “bottom line” general fund revenue is what the council comes up with. The other estimates are made by the state Department of Budget & Finance and the research branch of the state Department of Taxation.
Brewbaker said the change was prompted by local “media confusion” over this and attributing these numbers to the Council on Revenues.
As an example, Vice Chair Carl Bonham noted a series of Civil Beat stories that looked at Honolulu’s financial plan for its proposed $5.5 billion rail project and a report by a state consultant that reviewed the city’s numbers.
Civil Beat evaluated the key differences in revenue projections between the two reports. However none of those stories included the council.
- Construction revenue
- Construction costs
- Operating revenue
- Operating costs
- Civil Beat Conclusion: Honolulu Rail Report ‘Shoddy,’ ‘Biased’ — and Right?
When the city responded to the consultant with an eight-page rebuttal, Civil Beat reported that the city said claimed that the Council on Revenues projected “tax revenues” would grow at a certain rate.
The story said: “The city says that IMG should have looked at the Council on Revenues’ most recent forecasts [pdf], which say state general fund tax revenues between will grow at a compound rate of 6.7 percent between 2011 and 2017. Civil Beat found earlier this year that the Council on Revenues is rarely on target and when it’s off it’s always too optimistic. Looking at seven-year projections is different from 15-year models, so it’s questionable whether the council should be relied upon.”
It’s unclear what the council’s specific beef was.
Brewbaker said the Council on Revenues plans to hold a media workshop in the new year to help media folks better understand its forecasts.
