CITY & COUNTY OF HONOLULU
Director asks
for budget cut
Elephants staying put
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Pearl City youth center cleared
Star-BulletinCity Council members and Budget Director Malcolm Tom clashed verbally after Tom suggested the Council's $8 million budget be trimmed by $1 million.
Tom told members of the Council Budget Committee that the operating budget will carry over a balance of $40 million when the new fiscal year begins July 1. That's twice the amount that was carried into the current year's budget last summer, Tom said.
The savings was accrued by cutting spending, refinancing bonds and foregoing pay raises for employees, Tom said, and will go toward helping the city to meet a $130 million shortfall.
Then Tom suggested that since the Council chopped its budget by $500,000 this year, it could trim $1 million next year. In actuality, the Council cut its budget by $235,000.
"All we're asking is -- we've doubled our savings rate, we're asking you to do the same," Tom said.
That drew heavy protest from some Council members. "So we never really were talking about a $130 million shortfall then?" mocked Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann.
"Our budget compared to yours is peanuts," Councilman Jon Yoshimura said. Yoshimura said Tom wants the Council to cut its budget 12 percent, while the administration would only cut its overall budget 4 percent.
"The timing and tone of this admonition from you is insensitive and counterproductive," Councilman Duke Bainum said.
Elephants will be
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
staying put
Star-BulletinRest easy, elephant fans, help is on the way to ensure Mari and Vaigai spend the rest of their years at Honolulu Zoo.
Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration has promised $3 million to begin a scaled-back expansion of the elephant enclosure.
Meanwhile, Council Chairman Mufi Hannemann said he'll get colleagues to foot an additional $3.8 million if necessary to ensure the elephants stay here.
Two weeks ago, Council members were surprised to learn that the U.S. Interior Department may be having thoughts of taking away the two females.
That's because the city has not yet begun promised improvements allowing a bull elephant to arrive for breeding purposes.
At an Executive Matters Committee meeting yesterday, Enterprise Services Director Alvin Au was vague about how the city was going to fund the bulk of the elephant exhibit.
Au said that tentative plans are to have the Honolulu Zoological Society help to raise funds, but that no approach has yet been made.
Unsatisfied with the response from Au, Hannemann called for the director to return to the Council April 7.
"If what they come back with on April 7 is not believable or credible, the Council is prepared to fund the exhibit," Hannemann said after the meeting.
Hannemann said zoo officials insist $6.8 million is needed for the project.
New Pearl City youth
By Harold Morse
center gets go ahead from
city government
Star-BulletinIt's all-systems go for a youth facility run by a nonprofit organization in Pearl City.
It was already off the ground when the City Council put some $2 million in the budget in 1998 to construct the facility in the old Manana warehouse area.
Recent doubts were raised within the city administration on the legality of such a public-private arrangement. But further checking determined such things have been done before.
It's OK for a private nonprofit organization to operate a city facility for a specific purpose, such as a youth center. But it would have to allow use of the facility by all Pearl City youth groups -- culture and arts or athletics, for example.
All this came out in a meeting of the Pearl City Task Force last night at Pearl City Highlands Elementary School. About 80 people attended, including some 50 youngsters.
Other topics were long-range plans for a new park at Manana, updates on use of the warehouses there and road-building in the complex, also planned city corporation yards and a bus facility.
"It's become quite obvious that the youth facility has a very high priority," said Gary Yee, project manager, city Department of Design and Construction.
The design effort will be redirected to accommodate the youth facility first, Yee said. But installing sewer lines, water lines and access to the site might take about a year, he said. Work on the youth facility thus might not begin until 2001, Yee said.
David Arakawa, city corporation counsel, said a critical question of duplication of existing programs has been laid to rest. "They're not going to be providing services that the city already provides," Arakawa said.
