Harris unhappy
with city budgetThe Council votes in unanimous
support of a plan that enacts
a property tax increase
A property tax increase, bus fare and other fee hikes, and cuts in city services such as Satellite City Hall closures are part of the nearly $1.2 billion operating budget unanimously passed by the City Council yesterday.
"I think this is a very good budget," Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said.
But Mayor Jeremy Harris lashed out against the Council for passing what he described as an illegal and out-of-balance budget.
"Right now the budget appears to be seriously flawed," Harris said. "I think the Budget Committee's handling of the budget has been shameful."
The mayor, however, stopped short of saying that he would veto the budget. Instead, he said, he would be reviewing his options, which include taking the Council to court.
The mayor has 10 working days from the time the budget bill is sent to him to veto. Council members have said they have enough votes to override his veto.
The approved operating budget bill includes:
>> The mayor's property tax proposal to generate $23 million in revenues. Property tax rate changes will see single-family homeowners paying 2.7 percent more in taxes.Harris said the Council violated the City Charter when it transferred eight positions and their $361,000 in salaries from one department. Those positions oversee the administration of federal grants. Harris said what the Council did amounted to a reorganization, which under the Charter is a power given to the executive branch.>> Single adult bus fares rising by 25 cents, to $1.75. The adult monthly pass also goes up by $3, to $30.
>> A two-tier spay and neuter fee schedule will see the cost to sterilize dogs and cats more than double in most cases. To spay a female dog will cost $75; to spay a female cat and neuter a male dog will cost $50; and to neuter male cats will cost $40. Low-income residents with EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards will pay $20.
>> An increase in the nonresident admission fee to Hanauma Bay to $5 from $3.
>> A sewer connection fee increase to $4,641 from $1,146. Various building permits will also rise.
>> A shutdown of at least two Satellite City Halls and the mobile City Hall. The administration has not made a final decision on which halls to close, but the ones in Kailua and Waipahu have been discussed.
Harris also continued to question Council revenue projections, which he said make the budget unbalanced.
Kobayashi complained that she thought the Council had an agreement with the administration in addressing some of the concerns, but the administration backed out at the last minute.
Council Chairman Gary Okino said he is satisfied that the budget passed by the Council is legal.
Opposition to some of the fee and tax hikes also came from the public.
"Passage of this bill will hurt the people who can least afford it and mean more traffic on our highways," said David Bohn, of Kalihi.
