Council committee might
meet over police raisesA resolution urges that funds from
a land sale be used for the raises
The City Council is considering a special budget committee meeting next Friday to look at how to fund police pay raises.
The meeting would take up a resolution, which was circulating among Council members yesterday, urging Mayor Jeremy Harris to use the proceeds from the $10.5 million sale of the city's Block J parking lot for the raises.
"(The resolution) would show a commitment on how we would like to see the raises funded," said Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi.
Administration officials have said money from the downtown Honolulu land sale is already appropriated elsewhere in the budget.
The Council put off a vote earlier this month on raising the city vehicle weight tax to fund the raises.
Kobayashi said if the meeting is held and the resolution passes out of committee, a Council vote could take place next month. But a resolution has no force of law.
Police officers won an arbitrated award that will cost $67 million over the four-year contract. The city needs to pay for $5.7 million in raises this year and nearly $13 million next year.
The mayor proposed increasing the passenger vehicle weight tax to 2 cents a pound, a 0.75-cent increase. Under the proposal, a 4,000-pound car would cost an extra $30 a year.
The proposal also calls for the commercial vehicle weight tax to climb to 2.5 cents a pound from 2 cents.
Kobayashi said she is grappling with whether to hold a meeting next week or wait until the regular January budget meeting.
For the meeting to occur next Friday, a meeting notice must be posted by today.
Kobayashi said getting enough Council members to attend the meeting could be a problem. "It's such a bad time, everyone's so busy."
