O F F I C E O F T H E M AY O R
HONOLULU NEWS
CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
Phone: 768-4141 / Fax: 768-4242 / www.honolulu.gov • April 2010
Budget “Lean and Balanced” for 2011
Mayor Mufi Hannemann has proposed a “lean and
balanced” spending plan for the fiscal year that begins on
July 1, including a $1.827-billion operating budget that is
just 1.2 percent larger than the current year’s budget.
The increase is driven largely by predetermined
costs such as previously arbitrated pay raises for police
and fire fighters, negotiated pay raises for bus drivers,
and other work force costs.
“This is a carefully crafted spending plan that will
protect public health and safety, make prudent improve-
ments to our infrastructure, and invest in our future,”
Hannemann said.
The plan also includes $14 million for specialized
public safety requirements of hosting the 2011 Asia Pa-
cific Economic Cooperation conference. The City hopes
to receive federal reimbursement for all or a portion of
these costs.
Absent the costs related to labor agreements and the
APEC conference, the operating budget would decrease
1.8 percent, Hannemann pointed out.
The spending plan sets the real property tax rate for
the newly created non-homeowner classification at $3.72
per $1,000 of assessed value. This rate is lower than the
old improved residential classification rate, which was
$3.75 in 2006.
The change for an owner of a typical single-family
home in the non-homeowner classification is expected to
be 49 cents more per month. A change of 25 cents more
per month is expected for the owner of a typical condo-
minium in this classification.
The homeowner rate would remain $3.42 per $1,000
of assessed value, no other classification rates would
change, and no additional taxes or fees were proposed.
“Given these difficult economic times, it is incum-
bent upon government to not add to the burdens of our
residents who may be threatened with financial difficul-
ties,” Hannemann said.
The budget assumes 21 to 24 day furloughs of cer-
tain City employees, and continued five percent pay cuts
for cabinet members. Certain other employees not cov-
ered by collective bargaining agreements will also re-
ceive five percent pay cuts.
The plan also assumes that Honolulu will continue
to receive a fair portion of the transient accommoda-
tions tax, or hotel room tax, collected from visitors by
the state government. Honolulu receives approximately
$41 million annually from this tax, which helps offset
the visitor impact on public services such as police and
fire protection, garbage collection, park maintenance,
and waste water operations.
The separate $2.108-billion capital improvement
budget included in the spending plan designates $493
million for sanitation upgrades, $124 million for street
repairs, and $1.316 billion for the rail transit project.
Hannemann cautioned that some commentators
habitually lump the operating and capital improvement
budgets together and compare them with combined bud-
gets from previous years—which did not include ma-
jor investments in the island’s sewer system and the rail
project—to deliberately create distorted and misleading
impressions of City spending.
“The fact of the matter is that the operating budget,
which pays for all the day-to-day services our residents
and visitors depend on, would only increase by 1.2 per-
cent,” Hannemann emphasized. “The separate capital
improvement budget will obviously be larger than in
previous years because we are investing in a major rail
transit project this island badly needs, and making up
for years of neglect to our sewer system and other infra-
structure.”
Capital
Improvement
Highlights
Transit
• Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Project
($1.3 billion)
• Bus and Handi-Van acquisition
($17.7 million)
• Alapai Transit Center and Alapai
Transportation Management Center
($17.1 million)

Sanitation
• Solid waste facility expansion
($142.8 million) Top photo:
The City is
• Ala Moana waste water pump station force mains
budgeting
($139.5 million) $77 million
• Kaneohe/Kailua force main for road
($90.7 million) repaving next
fiscal year,
• Kailua waste water treatment plant improvements on top of the
($23.6 million) $77 million
allocated this
year.
Streets
• Street rehabilitation
($77 million)
• West Oahu traffic improvements
($185.5 million)

Public Safety
• Police and fire equipment and acquisitions
($9.9 million)
• Waianae Police Station replacement
($5 million)
• East Kapolei fire station
($4.5 million)

New Initiatives Left photo:

• Nanakuli Regional Park Sewer repair
• Waikiki park and landscaping improvements and mainte-
• Senior community center at former Wailupe nance will
continue to
Valley School take up a
• Kualoa Regional Park waste water system significant
reconstruction portion of
City capital
• Supervisory control and data acquisition improvement
system for waste water facilities spending this
• Aerial imaging for real property assessments year and next.
City Gets “Green”
The City has been recognized as a national leader in con-
serving energy and promoting “green” practices that help
address global climate change. The U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency presented Mayor Mufi Hannemann with a
$499,000 Climate Showcase Communities grant and two
Energy Star building awards for meeting high energy perfor-
mance standards for Honolulu Hale and the Fasi Municipal
Building.
“This grant will go a long way toward reducing our de-
pendence on foreign oil, which is a key component of our na-
tionally recognized 21st Century Ahupuaa City Sustainabil-
ity Plan,” said Hannemann, referring to Honolulu’s unique
approach to environmental protection, based on traditional
Hawaiian concepts of responsible stewardship of natural re-
sources.
He congratulated officials who were instrumental in win-
ning the Energy Star awards: Department of Design and
Construction Director Craig Nishimura and engineer Allyn
Lee. He also congratulated Department of Community Ser-
vices Deputy Director Ernie Martin for his work on the Cli-
mate Showcase Communities grant proposal.
City Introducing 20 Hybrid Buses to Fleet
Mayor Mufi Hannemann introduced April as Earth
Month, and used the opportunity to introduce the first of 20
new hybrid buses that are joining the City’s fleet, offering a
cleaner, quieter, more fuel-efficient transportation solution
component of Honolulu’s multi-modal transportation solu-
tion.
“These vehicles are a wonderful addition to our public
transportation network,” said Hannemann, who presided
over a ceremony that included U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye
Mayor Hannemann and U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye at the dedication cer-
emony for the first of Honolulu’s 20 new hybrid buses. The buses were pur-
chased using federal stimulus funding, which the senator helped to secure.
Mayor Hannemann accepts the Energy Star award from EPA Regional
Administrator Jared Blumenfeld (to mayor’s left). Also accepting were,
left to right, Craig Nishimura, DDC director, Allyn Lee of DDC, and Keith
Rollman, who oversees the mayor’s 21st Century Ahupuaa initiative.
EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld, who
made the presentations during a March ceremony at Hono-
lulu Hale, said the City has been very effective at leading by
example: “By investing in energy efficiency, residents and
businesses will become less reliant on imported energy and
will lessen environmental impacts. President Obama and
EPA are committed to improving the nation’s energy out-
look, through programs like Honolulu’s and the use of En-
ergy Star tools to benchmark building energy use.”
(continued on Page 4)
and City transportation officials. “They will improve fuel
efficiency, help ease crowding during peak periods, and in-
crease passenger comfort.”
The City purchased the 60-foot, articulated hybrid buses
with $20.4 million in federal economic stimulus funds pro-
vided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009. Hannemann thanked Senator Inouye for his
leadership in helping win approval of the act and for secur-
ing funding for Honolulu.
The buses have 55 seats, compared to 37 seats on a
regular 40-foot bus. Including standing passengers, the new
buses can carry approximately 100 people, compared to 59
passengers for a 40-foot bus.
The new buses will also improve fuel economy by up to
30 percent on Honolulu’s urban routes. New low-emission
engines will be more than 25 times cleaner than the 1994
buses that are being replaced.
Each bus can accommodate two wheelchairs or scoot-
ers, and feature low floors without entrance steps. The buses
can “kneel” to 10 inches off the ground, or about four inches
above most curbs. Each bus can also accommodate up to
three bicycles.
In addition, the buses feature advanced communica-
tion systems, including GPS location, data radios, on-board
computers and emergency alarms, and are equipped with
“smart bus” features, including automated “next stop” an-
nouncements and automated interior information signs to
help people navigate the bus system.
City Dedicates New Fire House
Mayor Hannemann and Chief Kenneth Silva joined City officials and fire fighters and dedicated the
new McCully-Moiliili Fire Station, located at the corner of University Avenue and Date Street.
The City dedicated the new McCul-
ly-Moiliili Fire Station on April 1, with
Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Fire Chief
Kenneth Silva presiding over the cer-
emony.
The facility, located at the corner of
University Avenue and Date Street, was
renamed the McCully-Moiliili Fire Sta-
tion to recognize its traditional name,
McCully Fire Station, and reflect the
Moiliili community.
The mayor said, “When we took of-
fice in 2005, our fire houses were badly
in need of repairs and routine mainte-
nance. We made that a priority, and I’m
delighted that we have made the neces-
sary improvements, as well as rebuilt
older stations and added new fire engines
to the department’s fleet.”
(continued from Page 3)
The Climate Showcase Communities
grant will fund community outreach to resi-
dents about energy use, swapping out more
than 20,000 incandescent bulbs with more
energy-efficient fluorescent and LED bulbs,
and the development of a Hawaii-specific
residential energy audit. The project will
fund energy audit and weatherization
“green jobs” training, and will include the
installation of 300 whole-house, real-time
energy monitors. Among the 300 house-
holds that receive monitors, 150 will also
be given comprehensive energy audits.
Honolulu Hale and the Fasi Municipal
Building are two of the latest buildings
in Hawaii to be designated Energy Star
Buildings by EPA’s Energy Star Program.
The structures rate in the top 25 percent
of similar facilities nationwide for energy
performance.
The original station was built in 1948
for $103,454. It was demolished in July
2007 and reopened in May 2009 at a cost
of $5.2 million.
The new station features solar water-
heating, central air-conditioning, a fire
apparatus exhaust filtration system, an
apparatus wash area to prevent pollutants
from entering the storm water system, an
equipment decontamination room, and a
washer/extractor to remove contaminants
from fire fighters’ protective clothing.
The McCully-Moiliili Fire Station
houses an engine and a ladder company,
each assigned a crew of five fire fighters.
The engine is equipped with a compressed
air foam system, which aerates a water and
foam solution that has a superior ability to
suppress and extinguish fires.
To earn its Energy Stars, Honolulu
invested approximately $2.6 million in
Honolulu Hale and $6 million in the Fasi
Municipal Building to retrofit them with
more energy-efficient lighting and modern-
ize the air-conditioning systems. The an-
nual energy savings for these buildings are
approximately $130,000 and $440,000, re-
spectively. The City’s returns on its invest-
ments are 20 and 14 years, respectively.
The City is planning to use federal en-
ergy stimulus funds to implement lighting
retrofits at two other structures: Kapolei
Hale and the Kalihi-Palama bus adminis-
tration building. Additional City energy
conservation projects include the installa-
tion of photovoltaic systems at the Hala-
wa Corporation Yard and Pearl City Bus
Maintenance Facility, and lighting im-
provements in the Fasi Civic Center Park-
ing Structure and Neal Blaisdell Center.
Radio: Mayor Hannemann will be on
the airwaves on:
All of April, throughout the day on
APRIL
Visionary-related Entertainment, KUMU
1500 AM and 94.7 FM, 93.1 FM The Zone,
102.7 FM Da Bomb, 105.9 FM The Ride.
Every Saturday, Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s
Jukebox Jamboree, 12:00 noon,
Kool Gold KKOL 107.9 FM
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – 7:20 a.m.,
KINE 105.1 FM, Mayor’s Minute with Billy V
April 2 – 8:00 a.m., KPHI 1130 AM, 101.5 FM
Emmie Anderson Show
April 6 and 13 – 8:30 a.m., KZOO
1210 AM, Mayor discusses City issues
April 7 and 21 – 5:00 p.m., KHVH
830 AM, Mike Buck Show
April 20 – 8:00 a.m., KNDI 1270 AM,
Flor Martinez
April 21 – 7:45 a.m., 107.9 FM and
95.5 FM The Fish, Ed Kanoi and Dawn O’Brien
All of May, throughout the day on
MAY
Visionary-related Entertainment, KUMU
1500 AM and 94.7 FM, 93.1 FM The Zone,
102.7 FM Da Bomb, 105.9 FM The Ride.
Every Saturday, Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s
Jukebox Jamboree, 12:00 noon,
Kool Gold KKOL 107.9 FM
May 4 and 11 – 8:30 a.m., KZOO
1210 AM, Mayor discusses City issues
May 5 and 19 – 5:00 p.m., KHVH
830 AM, Mike Buck Show
May 6, 13, 20, 27 – 7:20 a.m.,
KINE 105.1 FM, Mayor’s Minute with Billy V
May 7 – 8:00 a.m., KPHI 1130 AM, 101.5 FM
Emmie Anderson Show
May 18 – 8:00 a.m., KNDI 1270 AM,
Flor Martinez
May 19 – 7:45 a.m., 107.9 FM and
95.5 FM The Fish, Ed Kanoi and Dawn O’Brien
Television: Olelo, Oceanic Cablevision
Channel 54
Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s Report
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 - 7:00 p.m.
May 6, 13, 20, 27 - 7:00 p.m.
City News from the Hannemann Administration
April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 - 7:30 p.m.
May 6, 13, 20, 27, 29 - 7:30 p.m.