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This week at City Hall, the big focus is spending. The City Council has two special budget meetings, plus a full council meeting to urge state lawmakers not to dip into the city’s rail savings. All this, while companies that lost in their bid for a lucrative rail contract with the city are putting up a fight. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.

Chang Passionate on Funds for Roads

2:24 p.m.
After a short lunch recess, the City Council Budget Committee is continuing a lengthy special meeting. City Council member Stanley Chang is speaking out about the possibility of cutting money for road repair and maintenance. He said spending more is “fiscally prudent.”

“It’s a ‘pay now’ or ‘pay later’ situation,” Chang said. “When it comes to ‘pay now’ and ‘pay later,’ very often paying now is much cheaper.”

Chang said a “conspicuous example” of the pay-later mentality is in the wastewater consent decree, which will require the city to pay billions in sewer infrastructure upgrades in the coming decades.

“That catch-up means much greater expenditure than had ongoing maintenance been pursued,” Chang said.

Chang wants the city to spend $77 million on roads instead of $45 million.

“When we choose to kick the can down the road, all we choose to do is to saddle future generations — of which I include myself and those younger than me — with astronomical expenses,” Chang said.

Council Advances Real Property Tax Measures

2:03 p.m.
The City Council’s Budget Committee on Tuesday took up a handful of proposals related to property taxes, including exemptions for historic homes and property tax refunds for some homeowners.

Chairman Ernie Martin advanced , which would provide one-time “property tax relief” for Honolulu homeowners who saw their bills skyrocket last year when the city reclassified some residential zones as commercial or industrial.

Romy Cachola, who introduced the measure, said it’s unclear how many people would qualify for the refunds, which would be the “difference between what the owner actually paid versus what the property owner would have paid” under the old rates. The committee inserted $750,000 as the maximum payout amount.

“The council is the last stop for many people who are seeking fairness and equity,” Martin said. “We represent the will of the people, and the people have spoken … This will help get the relief they’re entitled to.”

Martin’s committee also advanced Bills , and , all relating to the city’s property tax exemptions for historic homes.

Budget and Fiscal Services Director Mike Hansen testified in support of Bill 3, which the administration introduced. He said it would clarify existing law to help the city better enforce rules that require exempt homes be maintained, have proper signage and be visible to the public.

The city grants approximately $900,000 worth of property tax exemptions for 255 homes on the state’s Register of Historic Places. That’s out of a total of about $111 million of all property tax exemptions.

Three other property tax related bills that advanced:

• : An amended version proposes adjusting the minimum real property tax at $400.
• : proposes amending property tax exemptions for property used for charitable purpose.
• : proposes adjusting the amounts of certain property tax exemptions, including exemptions for persons who are totally disabled due to military-related

– Nanea Kalani

City Council on a Roll with Disclosures

12:59 p.m.
City Council members got a little disclosure-happy during a lengthy Budget Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Ann Kobayashi made a disclosure about a nonprofit board she sits on, Ernie Martin disclosed he has been asked to serve on the ‘s board (but hasn’t been officially taken the post), and both Stanley Chang and Tom Berg disclosed volunteer positions they hold.

To read more about City Council members’ possible conflicts of interest, check out the disclosures they made to Civil Beat last week.

City Council Hears Passionate Testimony on Property Taxes

11:37 a.m.
The City Council committee room was packed for a special budget meeting this morning. On the agenda: a slew of bills relating to real property tax that drew passionate testimony. Civil Beat money reporter Nanea Kalani is sitting in on the meeting. Keep checking Inside Honolulu for updates, and .

Council Transportation Chairman to Travel to Denmark

City Council Transportation Committee Chairman Breene Harimoto and Vice Chairman Ernie Martin finalized their plan to travel to cities where Ansaldo has worked — including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Copenhagen, Denmark — to ask questions about the company’s track record.

“We have several issues and concerns, so we finally decided that we need to do this,” Harimoto told Civil Beat. “We will go on an investigative trip.”

Harimoto says he and Martin — along with two City Council aides — will travel to San Francisco together. Martin will then visit Los Angeles before heading back to Honolulu, while Harimoto will travel on to Denmark. He says he didn’t want to travel internationally, but was convinced it was necessary.

“We were advised to see Copenhagen on the firm advice of the administration and the winning bidder because Honolulu’s transit system is being modeled after Copenhagen,” Harimoto said. “We can see the system in operation and we can talk with the owner — not Ansaldo but the owner — about their experiences.”

Previous Editions of Inside Honolulu

April 11, 2011: Two rail protests filed against city; Tom Berg speaks out against state money grab; U.S. Senate race could have ripple effect on City Hall.

April 8, 2011: City Council member Ernie Martin taps IBEW business manager for HART; Peter Carlisle distant from Big Island, Kauai mayors; Government leaders attend prayer breakfast.

April 7, 2011: Hawaii mayors issue joint response on tentative HGEA deal; Was Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle cut out of labor bargaining? U.S. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood chats about Honolulu’s “light rail.”

April 6, 2011: City, state and other Hawaii counties agree to deal with HGEA; Council grows capital spending; City Council member asks for legal fees to fight administration.

April 5, 2011: Council member Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo says her deployment to Afghanistan is unlikely; HART nominees still not official; City cites $1.4 billion for Ansaldo contract.

April 4, 2011: Todd Apo and Don Horner surface as mayor’s possible picks for transit authority; Tom Berg nominates Panos Prevedouros for transit authority; State awaits results on more dengue cases; Losing rail bidders set for debriefs.

April 1, 2011: Gov. Neil Abercrombie taps former City Council candidate; GOP wants Nestor Garcia ethics investigation; Budget Chairman Ernie Martin schedules two special budget meetings.