Mayor Rick Blangiardi has proposed a $3.63 billion operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year, beginning July 1. That is a $220 million — 6.4% — increase in spending over the current $3.41 billion budget, which the administration largely attributes to inflation and cost increases tied to supply chain issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruptions.

The mayor has presented this operating budget as matching his priorities for the city, and they are essentials: to house Oahu residents, with emphasis on transit-oriented development; to shelter the homeless; to refine and streamline city services; and to fund public safety services. The budget appears to cover these bases, and without a substantial increase in spending. Emergencies and unforeseen circumstances are a constant possibility, even though they cannot be forecast, and the city needs to keep its budget under control — not too much debt, not stretched too thin.

Residents may spare a moment to thank the federal administration for $80 million gleaned from American Rescue Plan Act funds that will now apply toward a looming bill for retroactive “hazard pay” for city employees, required by terms of collective bargaining agreements. As this is a one-time cost, tied to COVID-19 services provided by the city, it’s fitting that some of the last federal aid money remaining from pandemic aid be channeled toward that expense.

Debt servicing will cost city government $677.6 million — a major chunk of the budget, and one as important to control as spending on mass transit, which at nearly $423 million still trails Honolulu’s debt payment costs. With debt servicing for Skyline to consider, as well as ongoing operations and maintenance costs, the city must work now on dedicated funding sources for rail. It’s not too soon to begin planning for rail expenses for after 2030, when the current 0.5% general excise tax surcharge authorized by state legislators expires, with no guaranteed renewal.

The city’s capital improvement program (CIP) budget for facilities, infrastructure and maintenance is $919 million, $421.2 million lower than the current CIP allotment. Almost half of this, roughly $445 million, goes toward wastewater and global consent decree projects tied to city violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The lesson here is in the costs of deferred maintenance and of ignoring problems in hopes that they’ll go away. They won’t. These court-ordered projects were agreed to in a 2010 settlement, long before Blangiardi took office — but meanwhile, additional infrastructure and maintenance projects, including those accelerated by rising sea levels, must be anticipated.

This year’s CIP includes funds for park improvements, which are sorely needed; and upgrades to public buildings, also vital. The administration’s proposed budgets now head to the City Council for further refinements.

Taxpayers want and need to see improvements, along with a focus on efficiency, in exchange for their contributions. As the upcoming budget is expended, Oahu residents expect focus on park maintenance, safe streets and a reduction in both homeless encampments and homelessness, as three of the most urgent necessities funded by the city budget. The city must focus on underserved communities — and particularly the West Side — to prove that city actions can make a difference. Improvement plans for Waimanalo District Park, for instance, are a step in the right direction. Completion and proper staffing of the Waianae Police Substation — open since 2016, but only partially usable, with an unfinished second floor — is another.

The purpose of Honolulu’s city government, and its spending, must be to sustain and improve residents’ security and quality of life. If this budget does so, while directing resources to the island’s greatest areas of need, it will be judged a success.