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Divide and conquer. That’s how county officials say the state has been able to intercept millions of dollars destined for their tax coffers over the years.

So representatives from Hawaii’s four county councils and mayor’s offices are working together for the first time in history to form a united front that might help them stave off another fiscal attack next legislative session, which starts Jan. 15.

The two groups — officially called the Hawaii State Association of Counties and Hawaii Council of Mayors — inched closer Friday to reaching an agreement to jointly ask the Legislature to give each county the power to raise the General Excise Tax up to 1 percent. They also debated how best to tell the state to not touch their $93 million combined share of the Transient Accommodations Tax.

HSAC ultimately deferred its decision until Dec. 23 after hearing more about the division within the councils and disagreement over the finer points in the actual wording.

Confusion and concern over HSAC’s authority to make a decision on the matter without first sending it back to each respective council for their approval also surfaced.

HSAC bylaws seem to allow the group to make unilateral decisions when the matter involves home rule or revenue, but that didn’t sit well with Kauai County Council members Jay Furfaro and JoAnn Yukimura, who are not part of HSAC.

If HSAC decides to move forward unilaterally, Yukimura said, there better at least be a footnote to let state lawmakers know how the decision was made and who it actually represents.

Counties Want Authority

All four mayors agreed Tuesday that they would collectively ask the Legislature to authorize a GET surcharge of up to 1 percent to be used “for purposes to be determined by each county.”

It was the latter part that Yukimura and at least one HSAC member, Maui County Councilman Michael Victorino, had concerns about. They prefer the surcharge be dedicated to a specific purpose, such as transportation, which is consistent with past practice and an easier sell. (Honolulu has a half-percent GET surcharge for its rail project.)

But others said the counties should have the flexibility to use the GET however they see best fit for their island’s needs.

The mayors didn’t reach a consensus on how to lobby the Legislature on the TAT, a 9.5 percent tax the state collects from hotels. Some wanted to leave it completely off the table and others wanted to ask for funding above the cap for specific projects.

Furfaro asked for clarification of what this “golden silence” meant. He and other county officials are concerned that state lawmakers will misinterpret the lack of a position.

HCOM representatives said the mayors want to at least keep the counties’ share of the hotel tax revenue. They don’t want state lawmakers to use it as a bargaining chip in the negotiations over the GET.

“Our batting average is not so good,” said Victorino, father of All-Star Boston Red Sox player Shane Victorino. “It’s been lower than my son’s batting average in the World Series.”