Mayor Rick Blangiardi on Tuesday ranked affordable housing, public safety and transportation among top priorities in his State of the City address.
Blangiardi said he wants to establish an expanded fleet of electric buses, step up fiber-optic connectivity, upgrade traffic signal technology and improve public municipal facilities.
In his proposed budget plan for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, the Department of Transportation Services would receive the largest dollar-figure increase to its budget, a bump of about $61 million.
Echoing a priority stressed in his first State of the City speech in 2021, Blangiardi again emphasized addressing homelessness.
His administration has recently bolstered a new city program, Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement, CORE, which diverts 911 homelessness-related calls to a special group of emergency medical technicians and community health workers.
After launching the program in October, it now has a team of 17 employees with four refurbished ambulances and three SUVs.
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“The street is not a home,” Blangiardi said. “We cannot keep looking the other way with people sleeping on sidewalks, at bus stops, in doorways or on the freeways.”
He also announced plans to acquire and build housing stabilization services near mental health and substance abuse treatment centers.
“We will do this by partnering with … nonprofits and others, such as the medical school (the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine) and all of our nursing schools. So together we strongly believe we can get this done.”
However, in the city’s operating budget, there are funding cuts to both the Department of Community Services and the Office of Housing, which are key departments the city uses to address homelessness.
The Office of Housing will see about a 23% reduction to its budget, and the Department of Community Services will see an 8% drop in its operating budget, according to the mayor’s proposed plan. When asked about the matter during a news conference that followed the speech, Blangiardi said, “We plan to put resources behind it (efforts to assist the homeless and create more viable housing options). … We’re not cutting back.”
Department of Community Services Director Anton Krucky said that in last year’s budget the department did not spend $20 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, so it was spread to other city departments and not reflected in the mayor’s proposed budget. He also added that when the department is able to acquire and expend other potential federal dollars, that funding will be added to the budget.
“My projection is by the end of (fiscal year 2023), you’ll see an increase in the Community Services budget,” Krucky said.
Blangiardi said he would prioritize affordable housing projects such as the Aiea Sugar Mills Senior Affordable Housing Project, Kapolei 67, and 27 units in Iwilei.
He emphasized improvements to the Department of Planning and Permitting, following federal indictments filed in 2021 against five current and former employees who were accused of accepting bribes in return for city services.
“Our challenge in addressing decades of frustration and inexcusable delays and providing critical building permits, from simple remodeling projects to large-scale housing developments … is nothing short of monumental,” Blangiardi said.
He said DPP’s new electronic permitting system for residential and commercial projects is half completed and is slated to be operational by the end of the year.
Also, the mayor pointed out Honolulu Hale staffing shortages, noting that the city currently has 3,000 vacant positions and 15% of city employees are eligible for retirement.
The mayor’s proposed operating budget is $3.35 billion, which is a $420 million increase over that for the current fiscal year. The proposed capital budget for city infrastructure projects is $801.6 million — a reduction of about $609 million.
“I want to be on record stating that every line in this comprehensive budget of more than $4.1 billion dollars is directed at restoring confidence, faith and trust in our City and County of Honolulu government,” Blangiardi said, “through superior performance in earned credibility, as a really important part of everything we’ve put down, and something that we’re going to live up to.”
Blangiardi also announced plans to shorten the cash-strapped rail project’s current route, halting construction at the proposed Honolulu Civic Center station in Kakaako instead of building to a terminus at Ala Moana Center. “The numbers dictate the strategy. And this strategy makes sense for Oahu residents, transit riders and taxpayers,” he said.
The final plan, which is subject to approval by the Federal Transit Administration, is expected to be completed by June 30. Blangiardi added that it could be possible to eventually extend the rail route to Ala Moana Center and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
