Donna: What are your plans regarding property tax rates? Will homeowners see reductions?

Council Chairman Todd Apo: The city budget is going to be interesting and tough next year. Obviously, we would like to keep taxes down, but we do need to continue our core services. So, at this point, I can't make any promises. My goal is to focus on reducing spending and to focus on our core. That will minimize the total taxes we need to collect. The budget bills will come out in March.

Cathy: Why did the council pass a bill that increases our property taxes at a time when we can least afford it? I understand government revenue is down, but you should have cut programs, rather than expect taxpayers to fund the same level of services.

Apo: We raised the rates from $3.29 to $3.42. Unfortunately, the city needed the money to operate. We did cut certain programs and budgets. However, we are also faced with certain costs that are outside of our control, based on contracts, agreements, etc. You will see more cuts come next year. If you have ideas on what city services we can cut and people can live without, we need to hear about it from all of you. Please know that we understand and consider, as well as we can, everyone's fiscal constraints .

Don M.: The first rail contract has been awarded, which will likely generate a lot of jobs next year. Do you expect rail construction to make a dent in the recession?

Apo:I do expect it to help our workers and economy. The Senate put together a task force to look at these issues, and they listed the rail project as a top priority to help create jobs and infuse money into our economy

The fact that much of this will be federal money — taxes paid not only by Hawaii residents, but from all other states — is a big benefit. The remaining question is how big of a dent will it make.

Richard Ubersax: The recently revised Financial Plan for the Rail Project reveals that expected Federal New Starts funding has been increased to $1.55 billion (from $1.4 billion in the DEIS) and $300 million has been taken from the Federal Section 5307 Formula fund (historically used for bus improvements) to balance the construction budget. The combination of GET surcharge revenues and total federal funding still appears to be very optimistic. I have two questions: Do you agree with taking Section 5307 funds to fund the rail project? What contingencies will you recommend to close any gap resulting from further funding shortfalls or cost overruns, and how will this affect Honolulu taxpayers?

Apo: I am still trying to learn more about these 5307 funds. I hadn't heard of them until this recent financial report. I am not in favor of using those funds, if those funds are meant for our bus system. TheBus will remain an important part of our transportation system. However, someone told me that the federal government might be able to give us more 5307 funds that can be used for rail. I'll have to keep investigating.

As to closing the gap, I think we will find some significant cost savings just based on the economy and construction costs. Both public and private construction projects are seeing 20 to 30 percent lower costs than estimates from a year or two ago. The project already has over a billion-dollar contingency built in. We need to find the answers within the project itself. I don't want the city to seek other-purpose funds or taxes for the project. In 2006, the council passed a law that the project must be funded by the GET, federal money and private-partnership money. We need to stick to that.

Linton Lee: How can you proceed with construction of rail without the assurance that we will have the $1.5 billion from the federal government? Isn't that risky?

Apo: While we don't have the final agreement and appropriation from D.C., we have significant agreements and commitments to the funding of our project. So, yes, there are some risks. But I don't believe there will ever be a better opportunity for us to receive these kinds of federal dollars. I have met with FTA, and they have told me that they believe we have a very good project. Obviously, the position of Sen. (Daniel) Inouye and the strong support of our entire congressional team positions us for the funding. We have to proceed with the work locally, to show those in D.C. that we are committed to doing the project, so they don't think we will back out as we have done in the past.

Jack Diesslin: Why all the discord on the rail project as it pertains to the City Council? The project has been debated, voted on and it passed. Why is the majority who voted "yes" not being listened to?

Apo: There's a few facets to this. You are right the issues have been debated and decided, from the 2005 vote to implement the GET, to the route and technology selection, to the vote last November. We are listening and moving forward. As I mentioned earlier, we still have a level of oversight to make sure things are done right. We will exercise that oversight, but must work to avoid rehashing old issues.

Tom: Any ideas why more City Council members don't support the rail system?

Apo: Good question. Some of it is probably politics — perhaps a lot of it. We all need to jump on board, help do the project right and stop fighting against it.

Mary: There are many families who live in residential-zoned neighborhoods who don't want to live next to a B&B hotel or vacation rental for various reasons. If the B&B hotel Bill 7 passes, what do you say to the neighbors and their children who may be forced to live next to these businesses?

Apo:B&Bs have been a part of many communities for many years. While we are looking at a possible expansion, it will be limited and it will come with a new set of rules that must be followed. It must also come with a commitment for the administration that enforcement will occur.

Many have said that living next to a B&B is enjoyable and sometimes preferable. There can be bad apples. But there can also be bad apples with a permanent neighbor or renter. There's no way to control who will be your neighbor. We are trying to find a balanced solution.

Virginia: None of the proposed B&B bills have additional money for enforcement. How do you see enforcement of any new law that is passed without increased funding to the Department of Planning & Permitting for personnel and inspectors?

Apo: There are two proposals for fees to pay for enforcement. One is a charter provision that is currently in committee. The other is a new version of Bill 7 that I just saw yesterday afternoon. You are right, if we are passing Bill 7, we need to have provisions and funding for enforcement. I have also talked with the DPP director about how we can build in additional moneys for enforcement in the next budget.

Cathy: Why don't you allow B&B hotels in mixed-use zoning and not residential? That would be a better fit and solve the issues residents are concerned with.

Apo: That's another way we could go. The issue there is that we would have to go through all residential areas and decide what should be zoned to mixed use. That itself would take a long time and be, probably, just as contentious. Also, if we did that, it would be more difficult to enforce certain rules, as the land would be mixed-use. As residential zoning, we can put stricter rules on the properties. As we zone new areas, we will be able to look at uses as mixed use.

Nanakuli Bill: Dump trucks constantly going in and out of Nänäkuli to the landfill are adding to traffic congestion that's going from bad to worse.

Are there any future plans to correct this? Like fixing up the old railroad tracks that are just lying useless?

Junior:We heard that you want to close Waimänalo Gulch. What will happen with the municipal solid waste? Can you guarantee that no municipal solid waste will go into Nänäkuli, Mäili, Waianae, Mäkua area and PVT landfill? What do you propose to do with the municipal solid waste if it takes seven years to open a new landfill?

Apo: We have about 350,000 tons of municipal solid waste going into Waimänalo Gulch per year. H-Power expansion is supposed to be completed by the end of 2011; it will take an additional 300,000 tons. We have started exporting waste, somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 tons per year. So, with the H-power expansion and exportation, we don't need the landfill and we will never consider a new site along the Leeward coast. PVT can't take municipal solid waste, it's not permitted or lined for that. My answer is:Don't open a new landfill. Finish the H-power expansion and find new waste to energy technologies.

Steve: Can you address suggestions by the Lingle administration that county governments take on some of the responsibilities now handled by the state, in an effort to help balance the state budget? What duties could county governments take over, if any?

Apo: There may be some functions where consolidation makes sense. But it is sort of like a company telling one division to take the work of another division. Yes, the city and state are different, but we are just a subset of the state. City taxpayers are state taxpayers. So we need to find what makes sense from a operational sense. If any functions are moved, the funding source for those must move also. As for specifics, I think parts of transportation departments may be consolidated.