[ OUR OPINION ]

---

Harris faces the truth
of city’s fiscal reality

THE ISSUE The mayor has warned Honolulu residents that some tax increases will be necessary to keep the city running.

MAYOR Harris has undertaken an unusual election-year task -- seeking to raise taxes. Since he has no imminent campaign himself, the mayor does not have to reckon with what normally would be treacherous for a politician in an election year.

The situation allows him to be more forthright in describing the true condition of the city's revenue needs and while residents and businesses may not be pleased, his call for the increases reflects demands for new services and the money required to maintain current ones. The dose of fiscal tonic, however bitter, may be the medicine Honolulu needs to thrive in the coming decade.

In his State of the City address, Harris recounted his administration's achievements through his two terms at City Hall in glowing words. There have been genuine successes, albeit with touches of controversy.

Among them is a refreshed Waikiki district. Some have denigrated the effort as merely cosmetic, and that's true. However, sprucing up Kalakaua Avenue with old-fashioned street lights, pots of flowers, grassy knolls, fountains and new sidewalks has spurred hotels and other businesses to take on substantial renovations themselves to revive what is undeniably the state's iconic, but long-neglected, tourist destination. Harris's plans to fix up shabby Kuhio Avenue and the Ala Wai promenade will further boost the area's appeal.

Although he has taken heavy hits from the City Council and others for stubbornly retaining his free beach programs, the mayor said he is proud of drawing residents and visitors to Waikiki, proud of a revitalized Chinatown and the controversial Central Oahu sports complex, even as more nitty-gritty projects languished under his watch.

But Harris's view is that for a city to flourish, its leaders must be more than custodians for trash collection and road repairs. As such, he regards facilities like the sports complex -- which he proposes to expand for an aquatic center -- as prestigious, recognizing that a city's distinctions can become economic magnets in the long term.

Never short of ambition, Harris intends to push on through his final year with projects, some visionary, others just plain necessary. Among the latter is the emergency access road through Waianae and the Kapolei parkway and the commendable curbside recycling program that could extend the life of Oahu's only landfill. Among the former are his "green" plans for reducing the city's energy bill by establishing a hydrogen power park to provide electricity and air conditioning at Kapolei Hale.

However, these intangibles and the striving for world-class status should not overshadow maintenance of basic city services. Taxpayers want potholes and ruptured sewer lines fixed. They want clean bathrooms and grounds at parks. But money for these has to come from somewhere and, as Harris noted in his address, the city is taking in $5.5 million less in property tax revenues than it was 10 years ago.

So tax increases are on the horizon, but if Honolulu is to retain and improve its livability, its residents and businesses will have to pay a fair share. Still, city leaders must balance their dreams with fiscal realities.

---

BACK TO TOP
|

Fort Ruger is wrong
site for police station

THE ISSUE The city has announced plans to locate a new facility on the slopes of Diamond Head.

THE city's decision to place a police station in the Kaimuki-Diamond Head area presents problems beyond finding the funds to pay for its construction. Access through the area of mostly two-lane roads and the distance from the H-1 freeway and Kalanianaole Highway -- the main artery through East Honolulu -- make the site at Fort Ruger a poor choice. City officials should reconsider.

Earlier plans had the station at a park-and-ride lot in Hawaii Kai, which the city owns and is underused, but bids for the project came in at $1 million more than the $4.5 million the city had budgeted. The City Council later increased the appropriation accordingly, but in the meantime, Police Chief Lee Donohue, who previously rejected Fort Ruger, changed his mind and decided on the state-owned site.

Officers posted at the proposed station, which is supposed to serve police district 7 that stretches from Manoa and Palolo to Hawaii Kai, would not be able to travel quickly through the older neighborhoods surrounding the site. Many of the roads through the densely populated area are narrow, without sidewalks or traffic lights and are generally lined with parked cars.

The Hawaii Kai location was considered a problem because it was at the far end of the district, but the Fort Ruger site presents the same problem. If fast response is the objective, the roads from Fort Ruger will inhibits that.