Honolulu City Council Budget Committee Meeting - November 18, 2025
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Honolulu City Council Budget Committee Meeting - November 18, 2025
The Budget Committee of the Honolulu City Council met on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 9:05 AM. Vice Chair Nishimoto, Councilmember Kia Aina, and Council Chair Waters were present. Council Member Talbot was excused. The meeting proceeded despite potential audiovisual issues. No public testimony was offered on any agenda item.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 25-283 (Appointment of Jody Libid to Board of Review 1 for real property tax appeals): A hand-carried CD1 (OCS 2025-0906) was introduced by the Chair to correct the date of the mayor's letter (from September 19 to September 30, 2025), identify it as Mayor's Message 147 2025, update statutory references from ROH 1990 to ROH 2021, and make technical amendments. The nominee expressed support for fairness and transparency in taxation. No questions from members. The resolution was amended to CD1 and reported out for adoption.
- Resolution 25-297 (Reappointment of Edmund KB Hyun to the Liquor Commission): A CD1 was introduced to attach an updated voter certificate. No questions for the nominee. The resolution was amended to CD1 and reported out for adoption.
- Resolution 25-302 (Transfer of up to $150,000 from general fund for automated executive program and budget book system): No amendments. Reported out for adoption.
- Bill 55 (2025) (Establishing fees for the multifamily rental housing program): A CD1 (OCS 2025-0833) was proposed. Director Kevin Ager (Department of Housing and Land Management) stated the administration was fine with the CD1 but did not see necessity for a certain provision (likely related to complications). Councilmember Kia Aina asked for elaboration on the provision and noted that BFS had concerns; the Chair acknowledged the concern. The bill was amended to CD1 and reported for second reading and public hearing.
- Bill 63 (2025) (Addressing dedication of property for affordable long-term residential rental use): The committee had previously approved a CD1 at the October 14 meeting. Director Andy Kawano (BFS) answered questions from Councilmember Kia Aina about the effect of increasing the Area Median Income (AMI) cap from 80% to 100%. Councilmember Kia Aina proposed a verbal amendment to change “shall adopt rules” to “may adopt rules” at the request of BFS. She explained the bill incentivizes property owners to offer affordable long-term rentals at 100% AMI by taxing at the lower residential rate. The bill was amended to CD1 with the verbal amendment and reported for second reading and public hearing.
- Bill 64 (2025) (Requiring the mayor to submit a report on appropriations at the same time as budget documents): Chair Waters introduced a hand-carried CD1 as an alternative but preferred the original bill. Director Kawano reiterated BFS's opposition to the original bill and had not yet reviewed the CD1. No testimony. The original bill was reported out for passage on third reading.
- Bill 65 (2025) (subject not specified in transcript): Director Kawano restated BFS's opposition in writing, noting no changes from the current form. The bill was reported out for passage on third reading.
Key Outcomes
- All seven measures were advanced. Resolutions 25-283 and 25-297 were amended via CD1 and reported for adoption. Resolution 25-302 was reported for adoption without amendment. Bills 55 and 63 were amended to CD1 and reported for second reading and public hearing. Bills 64 and 65 were reported for passage on third reading without amendment (Bill 64 as introduced, Bill 65 as CD1).
Meeting Transcript
Aloha and good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, November eighteenth, twenty twenty-five, and the time is nine. Oh, five AM where the committee on budget please come to order. Committee vice chair Nishimoto, Councilmember Kia Aina, and Council Chair Waters. Council Member Talbot is excuse today. Therefore, the meeting will continue notwithstanding loss of audiovisual 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, in person in the council chamber and remotely via video video conference or phone. Remote and in-person oral testimony will be allowed when each agenda item is taken up. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Each person 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 language. For oral testimonies offered in Olelo Hawai'i, 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 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're also watching the proceedings on Olelo, please mute your television at the time you're 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. And as a courtesy, please turn off or silence all cell phones for the duration of this meeting. Agenda item number one for action, resolution 25-283 confirming the appointment of Jody Libid to serve on the Board of Review 1 for real property tax appeal of the city and county of Honolulu for a term to expire on June 30, 2030. Members, we have a proposed hand-carried CD1, OCS 2025-0906 forward slash 11 forward slash 17 forward slash 2025 at 1009 a.m. Submitted by myself. The CD1 makes the following amendments. Is it Libid? Libed. Libid, thank you. To serve on the Board of Review one for real property tax appeals of the city and county of Honolulu. In the fourth whereas clause corrects references to the date of the mayor's letter from September 19, 2025 to September 30, 2025, and identifies the letter as Mayor's Message 147 2025. C amends references to revised ordinances of Honolulu 1990 to revise ordinances of Honolulu 2021 and D makes miscellaneous technical and non-subs non-substantive amendments. And with us today we have our nominee Jody LeVed. Aloha Chair Waters, Budget Chair Okimoto. My name is Jody Labed, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve on the Board of Review 1 for real property tax appeals. Have been active on various community boards throughout the years. Serving on the Board of Review will allow me to contribute my experience and skills to the board. I have a very long-standing interest and real passion for real property tax issues and have been an active member of the Hawaii Association of Realtors Government Affairs Tax Subcommittee, and I was this past chair for the Honolulu Board of Realtors City Affairs Tax Subcommittee. My goal is to support fairness, transparency, and equitable taxation while being mindful of the importance of a balanced city budget paired with tax assessments based on sound valuation. Mahalo for this opportunity. Thank you very much, members. Do we have any questions for the nominee? Thank you very much. Thank you. Seeing no questions, we'll now proceed with in-person oral testimony in the council chamber.
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