Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi delivered the last State of the City address of his inaugural term Thursday, highlighting efforts to right-size and improve departments, build affordable housing, increase public safety and maintain Oahu’s streets and parks.

All are solid goals, and none easy to accomplish — but Blangiardi pointed to progress along each path, and welcomed “accountability” for promises made in each of his four years. The public will be looking for: departments’ enhanced efficiency and service to the public, more affordable housing units, cleaner parks and sidewalks, and reduced homelessness for the benefit of both unsheltered people and neighborhoods.

One bold vision was particularly welcome: Blangiardi’s commitment to nurture and support a new mixed-use, transit-oriented housing “community” with about 1,500 affordable housing units in Iwilei. This has great potential. The city has acquired a $51 million Iwilei property within walking distance of a Skyline station that Blangiardi described as the center of this “iconic” development.

Under current state law, the city cannot use municipal bonds to finance affordable housing projects that include mixed uses, such as a child-care center or grocery store. The city is pursuing legislation for authorization to exercise the same powers as the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. in developing and/or financing mixed-use developments, and three viable bills are now under consideration at the state Legislature.

Blangiardi also announced that he has asked the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation to “completely redesign” the Iwilei rail station for better connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as those connecting to TheBus. Should empowering state legislation be approved to enable development plans and financing to move forward, it could transform Iwilei and substantially add to affordable housing options on Oahu.

The city Office of Housing is expected to take an increasing role in these plans, and the mayor called for a study of options to build its capacity last year. In his Thursday address, he called for a merger between the Office of Housing and the Department of Land Management — a process that will take at least a year, his office later explained.

This merger plan would put Blangiardi’s leadership skills to the test; it can be done using executive authority, but does require a City Council resolution to amend the City Charter. It also requires that the city anticipate impacts of the merger, such as its effect on staffing needs and job descriptions. Blangiardi now must sell this to the public and to city workers, as his administration works out the details.

The highly scrutinized, in-progress reformation of the Department of Planning and Permitting has also tested Blangiardi. Acknowledging that timely building permit action affects “our communities, our economy and our entire way of life,” the mayor announced that the city has begun implementing new permitting software, CLARITI, to replace the 20-year-plus current POSSE system. By summer, Blangiardi pledged, applicants will be able to track permit status online; within one year, the average time required for a residential permit review will be two to four weeks; and in the following year, commercial permit applications will be reviewed in six months or less.

Should this turnaround be accomplished, Blangiardi can rightfully claim a huge success; if not, repercussions could mire the city’s reputation.

OVERALL, the mayor’s address showed that he has been listening to public appeals on issues such as violent crime and community safety. Residents long frustrated by insufficient police presence in high-crime areas may applaud Blangiardi’s commitment to offer $25,000 recruitment bonuses to Honolulu Police Department (HPD) officers who remain on the force for three years — a new initiative that will be offered to this year’s recruits. It’s worth the cost if it makes a dent in HPD’s high vacancy numbers — and also produces results by cutting crime within all stretches of Oahu, particularly the under-patrolled West Side.

Unmentioned, but also the kuleana of both Blangiardi and Police Chief Joe Logan: ensuring that remnants of the corruption that permeated HPD under former chief Louis Kealoha have been eradicated, and that police don’t “go rogue” in using excess force or unlawful practices in the course of duty, as with an alleged cover-up conspiracy involving officers involved in a Makaha chase and near-fatal car crash.

The State of the City’s expressions of civic pride and ambition, combined with public recognition of the city’s workforce and vows of accountability, create optimism for Honolulu’s future — and underline the responsibility Blangiardi’s administration has for residents’ future well-being. What’s necessary now is that the mayor deliver on his commitments, on time and at budget.