City and County of Honolulu

The council wrapped up its votes Wednesday night after a discussion that often centered around how it would fund billions of dollars of Oʻahu sewer infrastructure upgrades in the coming years.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi would support a charter amendment giving whoever is the Honolulu mayor the ability to hire and fire the city’s chief of police. He also appears open to changing how the chiefs of the city’s fire and ocean safety departments are picked.

The Honolulu City Council has been looking to reallocate money in the city’s budget to fund other projects, namely required sewer infrastructure upgrades on Oʻahu, and about $12.4 million could come from funds otherwise meant to hire for Honolulu Police Department jobs that are chronically vacant.

The City and County of Honolulu is waiting for the governor to decide whether he will let a state bill take effect that would further narrow site options for a new Oʻahu landfill. If the law goes into effect, the city says it will likely extend its operations at Waimanalo Gulch in West Oʻahu.

The City and County of Honolulu’s initial requested sewer fee schedule for the next decade would eventually increase sewer fees by 115%, but on Tuesday, the council’s budget committee decided to delete mention of sewer rates from 2032 to 2035 in Bill 60.

Sewer fees are expected to more than double over the next ten years to pay for a federally mandated upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Council Chair Tommy Waters explained that the measure is one way to offset those costs.

The contemporary public art installation is back for the second phase of projects that will be on display for the public starting later this month.

The Honolulu City Council approved the fund that can be used for climate infrastructure projects and grants for cesspool conversions. The measure would deposit 1.5% of property tax revenue into a fund dedicated to climate resiliency. That’s about $8.6 million a year.

The Honolulu Emergency Services Department is upgrading over half of its 23 ambulance units. The department received six brand-new ambulances and remounted eight.

HPR's Mark Ladao reports on the Honolulu Police Department's findings that more people are applying to become officers due to changes in its recruitment strategy.