The Committee on Budget, chaired by Councilmember Okimoto, met on August 20, 2025, at 8:19 a.m. to consider ten agenda items, including resolutions for fund transfers, bills on property tax exemptions, transit fare adjustments, and motor vehicle registration fees. The meeting featured testimony from the public and discussions among council members, with several items advanced to full council or public hearings.
Good morning, everyone. The committee on budget, please come to order. This morning we'd like to welcome with us joining us in the chamber. We have committee vice chair Nishimoto, committee members, council members Kia Aina, Talba, Council Chair Waters, and also um commit council vice chair to Pola. Although remote oral testimony is being permitted, this is a regular in-person meeting and not a remote meeting by interactive conference technology under HRS Section 92-3.7. Therefore, the meeting will continue notwithstanding loss of audio visual communication with remote testifiers or loss of the public broadcast of the meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to provide oral testimony on all items on the agenda in two ways. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Each speaker may not have anyone else read their statement and is limited to a one-minute presentation on each item. As both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state of Hawaii, pursuant to Article 15, Section 4 of the Hawaii State Constitution and Section 1-13 of the Hawai'i revised statutes. Members of the public may testify in either languages. For oral testimonies offered in Olelo Hawaii, additional time as may be necessary will be allowed for the testifier to provide an English translation of their testimony. All persons who have registered to testify in person will be called upon first. When your name is called, please come up to the testifier podium. Persons who have not registered will be given an opportunity to testify following the registered testifiers. After in-person testimony has concluded, I will proceed to remote testimony via video conference or phone. When I call your name, please monitor your screen and follow the prompt to unmute. For those who are joining us by telephone only, please press star nine. If you wish to identify if you wish to testify, and I will identify you by the last three digits of your phone number. When your number is called, please listen for the prompt to unmute and press star six. Some friendly reminders and tips. Video conference from a quiet location if possible. If you are also watching the proceedings on Olelo, please mute your television at the time you are called to testify. When the timer on screen reaches zero, please conclude your remarks promptly. Written testimonies, including the testifiers' address, email address, and phone number will be available to the public as described on the posted agenda. As a courtesy, please turn off or silence all cell phones for the duration of this meeting. Agenda item number one for action, resolution 25-208 authorizing a transfer of up to 400,000 in general fund monies from the patrol activity, current expense expense character of expenditure to the patrol activity, equipment character of expenditure for fiscal year 2026 to enable the Honolulu police department to purchase essential equipment for use by community policing teams. With us, I believe we have from the department, Major Elgin Arcorero from District 5. Did I get close to your name, Major? Good morning. Thank you, Chair. Yes, it's Elgin R. Carroll. And uh for the record, um, I'm an HPD major assigned to District 5 Kalihi. Um the HPD is requesting to move funds 400,000 in Reso 25208. Um the 400,000 is listed in ordinance 25-38, and it's to support CPT uh activities. I'm available for questions if needed. Thank you, Major Arquero. Did we have any questions for the for our major? Yes, committee vice chair Nishimoto. Thank you. One quick question. So the um the 400,000 you want to transfer. This is because of the proviso that was in the budget this year. Yes, is to comply in the ordinance, yes. Okay, so no, we want to um move the funds from current expense to equipment in order to support the R CPT operations. Is this to match the proviso that was in the budget this year for 400,000 for current expenses to expand and train community policing teams? The yes, the ordinance is uh unfunded provisal, so we deferred a lot of our priority items to uh comply with this ordinance with the provisal. And to um comply with it, you guys are buying seven vans and one truck, correct? Yes, police vehicles, which and that's to expand the police, the community police training team.