Posted on: Tuesday, February 10, 2004

EDITORIAL
Council, mayor should cooperate now

Not to put too fine a point on it, but there is a striking difference in the approach to the Honolulu city budget by council members up for re-election this year and the mayor, who is not.

While Mayor Harris continues to press for glamour and high-visibility public works projects, a number of council members are pushing to keep the city focused on the basics: roads, sewers and the like.

Both have a point. Harris argues rather convincingly that a city is more than the sum of its roads, garbage collection system and sewers. To be a great city, Harris argues, Honolulu must have projects and programs that inspire the soul and excite the imagination.

And so he has pushed hard with beautification projects, waterfalls, landscaping, parks, sports complexes and civic festivals. There's no question these things have created a sense of pride and a renewed civic spirit.

But the council members make a good argument. It is not enough to build these glamour projects; we must be sure we have the wherewithal to keep and maintain them.

Our hope is that the council and the mayor will not get into an either-or argument on this issue. We agree with the council that the focus this year should be on getting the basics attended to and the city on as secure a financial footing as possible for the next administration.

At the same time, however, it would be foolish to stop every Harris initiative in its tracks simply because he will be out of office in less than a year. You don't stop dreaming simply because your time is winding down.

City Budget Director Ivan Lui-Kwan makes a good point in noting that Harris cannot launch his favored glamour projects all on his own. Each one of them requires council approval.

The council is right to demand a level of prudence. After all, many of them will be around and facing follow-up responsibility long after Harris is gone.

But a blanket rejection of Harris' new ideas and innovations simply because his time is running out does not make sense. Each idea should be treated on its own merits.