Council expects detailed budget from Harris

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

When Mayor Jeremy Harris delivers his proposed annual budget to the City Council, it should contain much more detail than in previous years.

Fed up with the back-and-forth tussle for accurate information that colored a volatile budget debate last year, the council directed Harris to fully explain any line items more than $50,000 this year.

"The bottom line is that we didn't get the answers we felt we needed to deal with the budget, and that's why it was so contentious," City Council Chairman Gary Okino said.

Harris spokeswoman Carol Costa said the administration would provide the requested information. City budget and finance director Ivan Lui-Kwan could not be reached for comment.

One example of the problems in last year's budget was a proposed expenditure of more than $5.4 million, which was characterized simply as "other contractual services," council members say.

"A lot of the budget generalized into vaguely described projects, and that gives them a lot of flexibility as to what to do with the money," Okino said. "That type of thing has been described as a slush fund."

Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said the problems last year could have been prevented.

"It's hard for us to put a budget together when we don't know how the money will be spent," she said. "We couldn't get truthful responses. That's when it's very upsetting, to have someone sitting across the table and not present you with the truth."

Okino said he hoped the budget hearings would run smoother this time.

"The mayor at least admits we have a budget problem," he said. "Last year he was saying everything was great."

Harris said he expects a revenue shortfall of more than $100 million this year, and that he will propose a modest property tax hike to help bridge the gap. Some council members favor that approach, but others adamantly oppose it.

The City Charter requires that the mayor submit a balanced operating budget by Sunday. Besides a tax hike, the administration says it will spend less on construction projects, seek a hiring freeze and slash spending by all city departments.

In a related matter, the administration could not say when an annual audited financial report would be completed, or whether a failure to meet a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission deadline would violate any bond agreements or jeopardize any federal grants.

The SEC requires that an audited report be filed by tomorrow, but accountants have warned that they won't meet that deadline because the administration provided them with faulty information.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.