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"Sunset on the Beach" will move to a reduced schedule of one weekend a month under the revised $1.12 billion operating budget approved yesterday by the City Council Budget Committee. ‘Sunset on the Beach’ to be
held once a month
under new budgetThe Council's Budget Committee
cuts about $5 million after reviewConstruction of community facilities is put on hold
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comAfter a contentious budget review, the committee trimmed roughly $5 million from the operating budget. That is only a fraction of the $60 million cut that Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi had originally envisioned, and still below the $19.7 million she proposed earlier this month. The Council will vote on the operating budget on May 29.
Council members said the popular "Sunset on the Beach," which has happened four weekends a month since last fall, is nice but not essential with a tight budget.
"We cut back some because we don't have the money to do it as often as we've been doing it," said Waikiki Councilman Duke Bainum, who fought to stave off a plan initially to kill the program altogether.
"It's a really popular event; everyone likes it," Kobayashi said. "But we also have to provide police and other public safety services."
Administration officials said "Sunset on the Beach" costs more than $500,000 annually, including about $200,000 for employee salaries.
The "Brunch on the Beach" program, which began in July and costs more than $300,000 a year, will likely continue its once-a-month schedule.
The totals do not include about $260,000 from the city Department of Enterprise Services to purchase chairs, tables and other equipment for both programs.
The committee noted in the budget that the Waikiki Improvement Association and Hawaii Restaurant Association should help both programs now and should take on a larger financial burden.
Managing Director Ben Lee said the cuts to "Sunset on the Beach" and other programs of the Office of Economic Development will hurt businesses seeking relief in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The office was the most severely hit by the Council cuts. Lee estimated about 55 percent of the agency's $2.3 million budget was slashed, or about $1.27 million. The Council had initially proposed taking $1.85 million, leaving the agency only $450,000.
Other programs likely to be curtailed or canceled include three Waikiki visitor information kiosks and other tourism marketing initiatives, Lee said.
Council members, however, said economic development is largely a state responsibility, noting the city does not receive direct benefits from economic stimulation since general excise and room taxes go primarily to the state.
The budget debate became heated over the long-term financial picture of the city. Council members claimed that the mayor, who is expected to leave office in July to run for governor, was using nontraditional revenue sources to reduce the budget while adding drastically to debt service in future years.
Councilman Gary Okino projected the city will start budget deliberations for the 2004 budget $159 million in the hole. While the committee also voted yesterday to keep tax rates level for next year, several Council members predicted they will have to raise property tax rates for the following year's budget as a result of the shortfall.
Administration officials said they think their successors will be able to handle any shortfalls in the budget.
Councilman Steve Holmes, who has supported the Harris budget, said the Council threats and objections were nothing more than election-year politics.
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Future facilities at Central Oahu Regional Park will not be built until the city can get a clear picture of how their operations will be financed. Construction of community
facilities is put on holdBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comConstruction of neighborhood swimming pools and skateboard parks will be halted until further notice, and $2 million for an arts center in Mililani Mauka has been chopped.
After this week's budget deliberations before the City Council Budget Committee, the city's 2003 capital improvements budget now stands at about $455 million, roughly $20 million less than the one Mayor Jeremy Harris submitted in March. Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi at one time had $75 million on the chopping block but was forced by colleagues to pull back.
A Council vote on the capital improvements budget will be taken May 29.
Budget provisos call for administration officials to explore private partnerships to operate two Central Oahu Regional Park projects to help defray costs. Those approved projects included $6 million for the Central Oahu aquatics complex and $3.1 million for a 5,000-seat tennis complex in the mega-park.
These provisions come on the heels of the revelation that it costs taxpayers roughly $750,000 annually to operate and maintain the city's Waipio Soccer complex. Budget Committee members reminded the administration that Harris sold them on the project only after promising that a private entity could take over operations.
Managing Director Ben Lee said he worries that "some of the provisos they've included may, in effect, kill some of the projects."
The city should be able to come up with a business plan for the swimming complex, Lee said, but he is unsure about being able to meet the proviso for the tennis complex.
"I don't know," he said. "I think that's a lot to ask."
A $3 million appropriation for a community ballroom center at the park was deleted from next year's budget.
Other decisions regarding the CIP budget:
>> Retains $31.1 million for construction of the Iwilei-to-Waikiki leg of the in-town Bus Rapid Transit plan. Provisos restricting use of the money were deleted at the request of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Council members said.
>> Allows $6 million for a plan to expand the city's HPOWER plant, provided the administration submits a detailed "financial and operational feasibility assessment" of new refuse disposal technology. The administration had sought $7 million.