Honolulu City Council Committee Meeting: Appointments, Zoo Gift, and HPD Staffing Report - January 15, 2026
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Honolulu City Council Committee Meeting: Appointments, Zoo Gift, and HPD Staffing Report - January 15, 2026
The committee met to consider three resolutions: confirming appointments to the Fire Commission and Police Commission, accepting a $125,000 gift for the Honolulu Zoo, and receiving an informational briefing on the HPD Staffing and Retention Task Force's report. All resolutions were advanced for adoption.
Public Comments & Testimony
- William Mornellas, a retired HPD major, testified in support of recruiting more Hawaiian, Samoan, and Filipino police officers to underserved communities like Waimanalo, Nanakuli, and Papakolea. He emphasized the importance of community-based recruitment.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 25-321: Fire Commission Appointment – The committee considered the appointment of Geyson Antai to the Fire Commission for a term expiring December 31, 2029. Antai, in-house legal counsel for Queens Health Systems, stated his interest in supporting the fire department's leadership and ensuring accountability. No public testimony was offered. The committee voted to report the resolution out for adoption.
- Resolution 25-322: Police Commission Appointment – The committee considered the appointment of Gary Yabuta to the Police Commission for a term expiring December 31, 2030. Yabuta, executive director of the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and a former Maui police chief with 47 years of law enforcement experience, expressed his commitment to helping select the next HPD police chief. Councilmembers praised his experience. No public testimony was offered. The committee voted to report the resolution out for adoption.
- Resolution 25-329: Gift Acceptance for Honolulu Zoo – The committee accepted a $125,000 gift from the Honolulu Zoological Society to install fencing around the giraffe exhibit to meet AZA accreditation standards. Director Tina Hollifield from Enterprise Services noted that the zoo is six weeks away from an accreditation visit. No public testimony. The resolution was reported out for adoption.
- Informational Briefing: HPD Staffing and Retention Task Force Report – Councilmember Tupola, chair of the task force, presented the report (Council Communication 251-2025). The report detailed current vacancy statistics: 2,177 authorized sworn positions with a 41% increase in vacancies from 2021 to 2024; only 98 officers hired from 2,136 applicants in 2024 (4% yield). Civilian vacancies: 101 of 352 civilian personnel eligible to retire. Recruitment challenges included high drop-off at entrance exam (34%) and background checks (17%). The task force made several recommendations including: a $2,000 employee referral bonus for recruits who complete academy; a pre-academy mentorship program; a housing stipend (estimated $12 million/year); employer health insurance contribution increase; parking stipend for civilian employees; retention bonus for senior personnel; expansion of civilian roles; expanded reserve officer program; digital evidence modernization; simulation-based training; and culture improvements including leadership training and 360-degree evaluations. Chief Bannick indicated that lower-cost items like parking stipends may be more immediately feasible. Councilmembers expressed interest in a phased approach to funding, particularly for housing stipends.
Key Outcomes
- Resolutions 25-321, 25-322, and 25-329 were all reported out of committee for adoption by the full council.
- The committee received the HPD task force report for informational purposes; no formal vote was taken. Councilmember Tupola indicated that the committee will revisit progress after one year to measure the impact of implemented recommendations. The budget committee will consider funding options during the upcoming budget cycle.
Meeting Transcript
I would like to welcome committee vice chair Kia Aina, committee members Nishimoro, Okimoto and Tupala. Pursuant to Section 92-3.7 Hawaii Rights Statute. This meeting will be conducted as a remote meeting by interactive conference technology with the following procedures in effect for the meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to provide oral testimony on all items on the agenda in person in the council chamber and remotely when each agenda item is taken up 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 Hawaii Revised Statutes. Members of the public may testify either in either language. For our testimonies offered in Olala Hawaii, additional time may be necessary and will be allowed for the testify to provide an English translation for the testimony. Before testifying, each person shall state their name. Persons who have not registered will be given an opportunity to testify following the registered testifiers. When I call for anyone else standing by remotely, please utilize a zoom raise hand button to indicate your desire to speak. For those joining us by telephone only, please press star nine to indicate your desire to speak. Geisen Antai to the fire commission of the city and county of Honolulu for a term to expire on December 31st, 2029. And here in person, uh Mr. Geyson, would you like to or Mr. Antai, would you like to say a few words? Hello. Uh alo, Chair, committee members. My name is Geyson Antai. It's a privilege to be here today. Uh currently I serve as in house legal counsel for the Queen's Health Systems. I'm part of that role. I have the privilege of overseeing our corporate risk management uh program. And so a lot of my work focuses on safety, accountability, compliance, um, and really supporting all of our health care providers throughout the enterprise. And with that said, I have a deep appreciation and respect for all the men and women uh of the Honolulu Fire Department. Um I have a deep respect for the role the fire commission plays in stewardship and maintaining public trust. And so it'd be an honor uh and a privilege to serve on the commission discapacity model. Members, any questions? Okay, Councilmember Tupola. Aloha, Mr. Antai, thank you for being here. So did you seek out the position on the commission or did they seek out you and kind of what is your interest in this particular commission? Absolutely. I I did seek it out. Um I reached out to the mayor's office mainly because I wanted an opportunity to serve on a city commission. Um, and I thought fire commission, you know, played well with my experience in health care and working, you know, with our frontline and emergency services uh personnel. What do you think um mainly your main focus will be on the commission? Or I don't I'm not sure if you've actually watched some of the commission meetings already, if you kind of like have some thoughts about how you think you can make it better. But what is your preliminary thoughts about your specific role on the commission? Yeah, absolutely. I think you know, supporting uh the fire department chief and deputy chief would be, you know, uh, I think an important uh contribution I can make on the commission. I think uh with my background, um accountability and governance is really important. Um so you know, I I would I haven't been able to watch any excuse me, prior recordings of any uh commission meetings, but I I'd go in there and listen and support the current members as well as the leadership of the department. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Okay. Uh we'll not proceed with in-person testimony in the council chamber. Anyone chair there and then. Okay, it looks like nobody on remotely also, right? Okay. Now members, we are in discussion.
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