City buys time on TV
for Harris to discuss budget
The city is paying $3,200 for 30 minutes of television air time so Mayor Jeremy Harris can outline his proposals for next fiscal year's city budget.
"(The public) needs as much information as possible so they can understand how their money is being used," city spokeswoman Carol Costa said. "It's their money so that's one of the reasons the mayor is reaching out to the public and giving this presentation so they can understand the total budget."
And while the city administration said the money to pay for the broadcast time is well-spent, some City Council members are questioning the wisdom of using taxpayers' funds for that purpose.
"I wonder why the need to do that," Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said. "We're going to make sure the public gets the correct information."
Harris is scheduled to appear on KHON-TV at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow.
The mayor's proposed $1.22 billion budget for the next fiscal year is 4 percent higher than the current year's budget.
The budget includes a 7 percent hike in industrial, commercial and hotel/resort property taxes that is projected to generate $13.5 million in additional revenue.
The mayor's plan also includes implementing curbside recycling islandwide without charging a fee.
Harris has used $6,000 of taxpayers' money to pay for the live broadcast of his State of the City address on KHON and KGMB, both owned by the same company, last year and this year.
Tomorrow's television presentation was taped Saturday and is similar to the budget briefing given to reporters Friday, Costa said.
Kobayashi wondered why the paid presentation would be needed when the mayor's budget "was reported in the paper."
But Costa explained that "it's very difficult -- especially through a 45-second sound bite on television -- to be able to get across the main elements of this next budget that affect the taxpayers. He'd like them to hear the whole budget presentation as one package and to be able to participate in the discussions before the Council the next couple of months.
The City Council's budget committee begins hearings on the proposed budget beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
Councilman Charles Djou said $3,200 is not a lot of money compared with the budget as a whole "but every little bit counts especially when we're facing an enormous budget deficit and increasing taxes. Is it smart to be going out and spending taxpayer money buying TV air time? I don't think so."
