Posted on: Friday, July 26, 2002

City paid $1.5M for Waikiki 'Brunch'

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer

City officials yesterday said the popular Brunch on the Beach and Sunset on the Beach festivals in Waikiki and other communities cost nearly $1.5 million for the fiscal year that just ended. Police salaries alone cost $8,000 for security each weekend.

City Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi and Zoning Chairman Duke Bainum finally got answers yesterday from city Managing Director Ben Lee after months of requesting a detailed budget breakdown of the taxpayer cost of the food and entertainment festivals.

The council has gone back and forth for months with Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration over the popular events. While council members have praised the programs as bringing residents and visitors alike to Waikiki and to the community fairs, they have criticized the Harris administration's approach of keeping the costs and the budget under wraps even as the council has wrestled to trim from low-priority programs. The council has urged the mayor to hold the events monthly instead of weekly.

Councilman John Henry Felix said he didn't realize the costs would go so high. "We're even more outraged," he said.

Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue told the council that police protection for the brunch and sunset movies in Waikiki have cost $352,000 for the 44 weekends of the events during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

"I was amazed that it was that high," Kobayashi said. "I'm very surprised." Donohue said the sunset/brunch programs spur $5,000 in overtime and $3,000 in regular time payments each weekend. Those costs weren't worked into the regular city budget but could be in the future, Donohue said, "if we have enough warning."

In other budget details provided for the fiscal year, Lee said operating costs for the brunch in Waikiki amounted to $357,870; the sunset program operating costs amounted to $465,511; and the community movie fests (held in Kailua, Wai'anae, Waipahu, Ai'ea-Pearl City and the North Shore) operating costs amounted to $307,504.

Add to that $320,000 for police salaries for the fiscal year (four more events have been held in the current fiscal year) and the total in operating expenses climbs to more than $1.45 million. Lee had told the Council in April that the city had purchased about $260,000 worth of equipment for the events.

Council members yesterday also quizzed various administration officials about their overtime budgets. Kobayashi and Bainum referred to an Advertiser story in June that examined overtime spending by city government that shot up more than $3.3 million.

Donohue said the police will end the last fiscal year having spent at least $1.3 million more than the $16.6 million budgeted for overtime. Donohue said most of those expenses fell into three categories: court appearances; increased security related to Sept. 11 and "unexpected emergencies."