Posted on: Sunday, January 9, 2005
COMMENTARY
Mufi's moment — 'Now the work begins'
By Mufi Hannemann
The Hannemann administration just completed its first five days at City Hall, but we are hard at work fulfilling the goals we set out to accomplish in our first hundred days in office — and even some that weren't.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser We're now moving to fully privatize the Sunset on the Beach functions so taxpayers are not subsidizing this activity. I'll be meeting with the United Public Workers to resolve conflicts that have stymied recycling. I'm committed to finding transportation solutions other than the costly BRT program that was launched in the waning days of the previous administration.
We enjoyed a tremendous uplift from Wednesday's inauguration, during which I called for greater citizen involvement, ownership, and devotion to service, and will harness that spirit to make progress on our other initiatives, to wit:
Kanthi De Alwis, M.D., medical examiner, Department of the Medical Examiner Gordon J. Bruce (pending), director, Department of Information Technology Lester Chang, director, Department of Parks and Recreation Elizabeth Char, M.D., director, Department of Emergency Services Henry Eng, director, Department of Planning and Permitting Edward Hirata, director, Department of Transportation Services Aaron Mahi (temporary), director, Royal Hawaiian Band Debbie Kim Morikawa, director, Department of Community Services Kenneth Nakamatsu, director, Department of Human Resources Laverne Higa Nance, chief engineer, Department of Facilities Maintenance Carrie Okinaga, corporation counsel, Department of the Corporation Counsel Sidney Quintal, director, Department of Enterprise Services Tim Steinberger (temporary), director, Department of Design and Construction Eric Takamura, director, Department of Environmental Services Mary Patricia Waterhouse, director, Department of Budget and Fiscal Services Kevin Yoshino, director, Department of Customer Services
Source: Office of the Mayor • As the first mayor to be sworn in at Kapolei Hale, I plan to follow up on that symbolism with substance: I will be working at least once a week in West O'ahu to see first-hand how the community is evolving and the challenges it's facing. Kapolei represents an exciting new direction for O'ahu, and I expect that a stronger presence by the administration will help us realize our plans to encourage more business growth in that region. • Mayor's Review/Fiscal Integrity and Accountability: In my inaugural address, I vowed to change the culture at Honolulu Hale. We will begin by shedding light on a budget that has been kept in the dark far too long. The City Council and the public should know how and where tax money is being spent, where it comes from and where it's kept, so informed decisions can be made. The mayor's review, a new initiative, will be conducted by a private-public sector team I've selected, led by Paul Yonamine of BearingPoint. The first phase, which will take 60 days, will provide insight to help me craft a budget proposal for submittal in March.
The second and third phases will involve top-to-bottom operational audits of city government to determine who's doing what and how much it's costing. This review will differ from the traditional financial and management audit in that it looks beyond compliance with statutory mandates to the cost and necessity of providing a service, now and into the future.
Members of our local business community, joined by former and present city employees, have been invited to help us determine what will be needed to sustain us over the next 10-20 years.
• Determining Our Priorities: Our approach to government will be based on balancing the need-to-have against the nice-to-have. The review will give us the tools we need to assess our priorities and adopt a back-to-basics policy on essential services and construction projects. Debt service must not eclipse public safety as the city's priority, although it is threatening to do so. You can also expect that foremost among our needs will be public safety, road resurfacing (not merely filling potholes), improving our aging sewage system, maintaining the parks and recreation system, and handling solid waste.
I will ask the City Council to review and validate these priorities and support them with necessary funding. This would be an excellent opportunity to form closer working ties with the council. While our system of government is one of checks and balances, there's no reason debate can't be open and honest, with all members full partners in decisions affecting the future of our island.
• Cooperation Among Co-Leaders: I have called for greater cooperation between co-leaders in government and to put aside the political and jurisdictional rivalries that have characterized us for so long. In fact, I have already met with City Council leaders, Gov. Lingle, Senate and House leaders, and our Congressional delegation on ways in which we can cooperate. On Friday, I participated in a press conference with Gov. Lingle to pledge the City's cooperation on the Ko Olina aquarium and resort, a major initiative that will create 1,000 jobs along the Leeward Coast.
As I said in my inaugural address, this will be an exciting journey that Honolulu has elected me to lead. And the city and county of Honolulu will be the vessel, powered by our hope and energy, our determination and kokua, by which we reach our dreams.
We're already making great progress in that direction, and Honolulu's best years are yet to come.
In regard to the latter, we suspended reconstruction work on the Waikiki Natatorium. The city was planning to spend millions for a facelift that would still have left the facility closed to the public. Our focus will be on restoring the arch and creating more beach space.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann gives his inaugural address.
• Appointing a Cabinet: My first goal was selecting a strong cabinet. We have found people who not only reflect the diversity of our islands, but who bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and creativity to their jobs and the work of the City. Ours will be a dynamic team that will be bold and aggressive in finding solutions to our needs and problems.
Mayor Hannemann's new cabinet thus far
