Honolulu City Council

District 6 Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam spoke to The Conversation's Catherine Cruz about engaging with the community to improve Chinatown.

Honolulu Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who represents the new downtown financial district and Chinatown, discusses concerns about pushing the negative elements further into Chinatown as a result of creating the Downtown Honolulu Business Improvement District; Chu Lan Schubert-Kwock takes HPR on a walking tour of Chinatown

The BID's budget for its first fiscal year is nearly $2 million, most of which will be funded by fees collected from landowners based on the assessed values of their properties.

Honolulu councilmembers pushed the city Department of Emergency Management for more coordination and public awareness for evacuation plans following the July tsunami warning.

Honolulu Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina will take part in a forum Tuesday with officials from other levels of government to discuss the political history of Hawaiians and the future threats to funding.

Last month, the council passed two bills that would increase exemptions for owner-occupants and seniors. Both measures add $20,000 in exempted tax value from those homes. However, there is another method of tax relief that has not yet been used, despite being on the books for about 10 years. HPR's Ashley Mizuo reports.

Honolulu Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who represents the area, stopped by The Conversation to discuss a proposal making its way through the City Council to create a downtown business improvement district, similar to the one in place in Waikīkī.

News outlets emphasized that it has been difficult to get real-time information from the department. Some incidents, like the recent Māʻili fire evacuation, were also not included in the released media log. HPR's Ashley Mizuo has more.

The Honolulu City Council is considering several measures that would decrease property taxes for seniors, landlords, and homeowners who live on their property. Budget and Fiscal Services Director Andy Kawano was concerned about the lost revenue.

The Honolulu City Council underwent significant changes in leadership last week, leading to some optimism and uncertainty about the direction the council will go. HPR's Mark Ladao reports.