In his first few months of elective office for the first time, Mayor Rick Blangiardi pieced together a Cabinet representing a diverse mix of public- and private-sector backgrounds, and worked with Gov. David Ige on coronavirus priorities, including the city’s recent ascent to Tier 3 reopening with eased restrictions.

And, Blangiardi has been prepping the annual budget — amid a daunting revenue shortfall — which the mayor is required to submit to the City Council in March, with the final version taking effect in July after Council vetting.

This week, in an effort to balance finances thrashed by COVID-19’s economic fallout, Blangiardi proposed a $2.9 billion operating budget — complete with cost-saving moves, such as deferring a nearly $140 million contribution to retirees’ health care benefits — and a slashing of the city’s capital budget by more than 25% to about $1 billion.

Belt-tightening is necessary, as the depth of the city’s financial hole has been obscured by $387 million in pandemic relief funds from last year’s CARES Act, and further federal help has yet to be set. Under this no-frills plan, which spares the city’s 8,000-plus employees of layoffs or furloughs, efficiency must be the focus, with basic city services fully maintained.

At the state level, in an effort to avoid staff reductions while the economy recovers, state lawmakers are weighing bills to better streamline government operations and modernize antiquated computer systems. The city should do the same. The disruption touched off by COVID-19 serves as opportunity to review and reset outdated job descriptions.

Further, technology should be tapped for more routine services, given that residents have become more comfortable with automated options. An estimated 128,300 motor vehicle registrations were renewed last year on Oahu at freestanding, self-service kiosks in grocery stores — up from 32,310 a year earlier.

Innovation and flexibility will be key to maintaining smooth government operations if the city’s instituted hiring freeze for some 2,000 vacant positions remains in place, as Blangiardi says it will. The freeze will have exceptions on a case-by-case basis, and first-responders jobs are exempt.

Taxpayers should take note, though, that while cost-savings tactics are rightly being shaped, the budgeted employer contributions to the city’s employees’ retirement system are $4.4 million higher in fiscal year 2022, compared with the current fiscal year, due to “excessive overtime pay” for certain departments, primarily the Honolulu Police Department.

On Monday, HPD posted a video reporting the findings of its investigation, which revealed that more than 260 officers had violated overtime policy between late September and November. All violating officers, including the supervisors who allowed the OT, will undergo divisional counseling; federal CARES funds paid for the overtime abuse. Even so, unauthorized OT is theft, essentially, so any misuse cannot be treated lightly.

Retirement benefits for city and state employees are based in part on an employee’s highest three years of pay, which covers all compensation including overtime and bonuses. Excessive use of overtime to boost retirement pay, known as “pension spiking,” saddles taxpayers with a more expensive long-term payout. The Blangiardi administration must actively work to keep a tight lid on overtime.

In an effort to navigate through the pandemic and other challenges, Blangiardi said he’s “incorporating zero-based budgeting where every dollar spent must be justified.” The new mayor, who retired as general manager of Hawaii News Now in January 2020, will need to draw on his private-sector business acumen and fledgling public-sector leadership to lead the city to economic recovery.