ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

As city officials assess their response to last week’s tsunami, Honolulu City Council members are diving into budget briefings. They’ll also gather for a full council meeting on Wednesday. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

Two Days Ahead of Council Meeting, Still No Agenda on Calendar

2:46 p.m.
The agenda for the City Council’s Wednesday meeting is still not posted to its . But the City Council doesn’t appear to be breaking laws about public notice.

The full agenda is physically posted to a bulletin board outside the City Council committee room (and time-stamped March 10). It’s also available on , the city’s information-rich but tricky-to-navigate records website.

Honolulu Runs Up a $900 Million Tab

2:38 p.m.
Honolulu residents and visitors aren’t necessarily drinking more, but they are spending more than ever on alcohol. The Liquor Commission’s assistant administrator, Anna Hirai, told members of the Budget Committee that people in the City and County of Honolulu spent more than $900 million on alcohol in 2010. It’s more than ever, but not as big as the jump between 2007 and 2008, when spending shot from about $750 million to just under $900 million.

“I do not wish to imply that the liquor industry is doing great and robust and bomb-proof,” Hirai said. “This only shows gross liquor sales, it does not show profit. Gross liquor sales are generally trending upwards. But the product could be more expensive.”

Hirai also said there will be no fee increase for liquor-license holders until 2013 “at earliest.”

Bond Rating Implications “Tremendous”

1:42 p.m.
The city’s Budget and Fiscal Services director, Mike Hansen, says improving Honolulu’s bond rating from AA to AAA is a priority. Asked how much a higher rating would save the city and county, Hansen said it would be an “tremendous” amount.

“I believe it’s probably in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 basis points, which is a tremendous amount,” Hansen told members of the Budget Committee. “I think one of the things to remember since the financial collapse, meltdown — use whatever word you want — it’s really changed. We used to be able to buy our way to a AAA rating but that market is no longer there. We can’t do that anymore. So we’re really reliant on what our true bond-rating is. Maintaining that bond rating is become more important.”

When an interest rate changes 1 percent, it’s said to have increased by 100 basis points.

Mayor Takes 15 Percent Pay Cut

11:03 a.m.
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle is proposing spending 8 percent less in his own office next year. That includes a sizable pay cut for the mayor.

“He’s been keeping it quiet,” Managing Director Doug Chin said. “He didn’t want to call a big press conference about it, but he did take a 15 percent pay cut.”

Santa Claus Moves to Pearl City

10:59 a.m.
In a budget briefing before the City Council, Design and Construction Director Collins Lam says the city is looking for more affordable storage options. One notable change: The giant Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus figures that sit outside Honolulu Hale every December are moving from a Sand Island facility to one in Pearl City.

“Mr. and Mrs. Claus have moved to Pearl City,” Lam said. “It’s a 10-year lease. We knew that the (price at the storage) properties on Sand Island was going to be increased.”

Council Members Skeptical About Some Capital Cuts

10:11 a.m.
City Council member Stanley Chang says he is dismayed the mayor plans to slash the city’s capital spending to meet what he calls an “arbitrary” figure of $125 million, including a $12 million cut to road maintenance.

“Overwhelmingly, the number one issue that I hear about is road conditions,” Chang said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that road repair and maintenance has to be a huge neon-sign priority… Overwhelmingly, this is what we’re told the people demand from city government.”

Managing Director Doug Chin reassured him that the city spent so much on its capital budget the past two years, that there’s “more than enough money” to fix city roads in the coming year. Chang was skeptical, reminding the managing director that the city is “catching up from dead last,” with regard to road quality.

“This is the state that wakes up earliest in the nation because we have the longest commute time and the worst roads,” Chang said. “Our people are spending the longest time in the nation on the nation’s worst roads. It’s really a very important quality of life issue.”

Council member Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo echoed Chang’s concerns, and called for accountability on money spent on road repairs.

Gas Spike Could Skew Budget

9:49 a.m.
Honolulu Managing Director Doug Chin says the 2012 budget assumes gas prices will be around $3.55 per gallon. But he says officials made those estimates before recent global tumult spiked the price of oil.

“The price at the pump has changed quite dramatically,” Chin said. “Simply in the last two weeks we’ve been looking at a sharp increase. If that increase is sustained, that is new information the council should be aware of, and should be thinking of, and really all of us should be thinking of, as we move forward with the budget.”

Council Embarks on Long Stretch of Budget Briefings

9:01 a.m.
Budget briefings for the Honolulu City Council are just getting under way this morning. Council members on the Budget Committee will begin with an examination of proposed spending in the Neighborhood Commission. Sitting front and center in the committee room are Honolulu Managing Director Doug Chin, Budget Director Mike Hansen and the Neighborhood Commission’s Bryan Mick.

Ready with questions for them: City Council Vice Chair Breene Harimoto and City Council members Ikaika Anderson, Stanley Chang, Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, Ann Kobayashi and Ernie Martin.

Briefings will continue at least through this and next week.

Catch Up on This Month’s Inside Honolulu

March 10, 2011: Landfill site-selection committee meets for third time, loses two members; HECO provides generators to family center; Like Honolulu, other cities and state grapple with spending on rail.

March 9, 2011: City’s rail groundbreaking ceremony costs about $30,000, consistent with Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle‘s estimate.

March 8, 2011: HART seeks $21 million in first budgetl; City IT Director Gordon Bruce works out kinks on new budget website; City gives HPD 9,000 hours in legal defense in two years; City moves forward with compost facility in Waialua; Could Honolulu ask residents to pay-to-play?

March 7, 2011: Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle says he doesn’t want a raise; Salary Commission recommends bump in pay for vacant medical examiner job; Tom Berg‘s chief of staff blasts HECO.

March 4, 2011: Landfill channel not designed to handle rainfall equivalent to storm that caused near-catastrophe; Six City Council members out of town.

March 3, 2011: Line-by-line budget to go online in about a week; Five City Council members are D.C.-bound.

March 2, 2011: Mayor Peter Carlisle raises taxes, fees in first budget; More money for autopsies; Liquor commish nominee Wesley Fong talks commission image issues; TheBus turns 40; Ides of March deadline for City Council’s HART nominees.

March 1, 2011: City Council member Breene Harimoto worries about bandaid approach to homelessness; Planning Committee advances North Shore communities plan; Parks and Rec eyes new dog park; Tom Berg pitches Matson containers as possible living space.