Honolulu Budget Committee Reviews FY27 Budgets for DHR, DES, and DDC on March 13, 2026
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Honolulu Budget Committee Reviews FY27 Budgets for DHR, DES, and DDC on March 13, 2026
The Honolulu City Council's Committee on Budget convened on Tuesday, March 12, 2026, at 10:02 a.m. (HST) to review the Fiscal Year 2027 operating and capital budgets for three city departments: the Department of Human Resources (DHR), the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), and the Department of Design and Construction (DDC). The meeting was chaired by Councilmember Okimoto, with Vice Chair Nishimoto and members Kia Aina, Toba, Cordero, Dosantos-Tam, Tupola, and Chair Waters present. No public testimony was offered for the informational briefing. The committee heard presentations and engaged in extensive questioning on vacancies, technology investments, revenue generation, and project coordination.
Department of Human Resources (DHR)
- Director Nola Miyasaki presented a proposed FY27 operating budget of $9,544,967, a 10.18% increase from FY26, primarily driven by collective bargaining salary increases (8.51% increase) and new expenses for training and modernization (28.26% increase in current expenses). Key budget issues include subscriptions for NeoGov Attract (recruitment platform), an AI-based classification software, and a one-time pay equity study.
- Councilmember Kia Aina raised concerns about the handling of temporary hazard pay misclassifications, particularly for employees in a single department with up to 44 complaints. Director Miyasaki assured the committee that each case would be reviewed individually, but could not commit to a seven-day resolution. The grievance process for such issues is limited to violations of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), not general error correction, though DHR stated they have already corrected some mistakes.
- Councilmember Dosantos-Tam inquired about the timeline for AI-based classification software outcomes. Director Miyasaki noted a pilot had just begun with CSD and promised to provide metrics by September 30, 2026.
- Councilmember Cordero asked about progressional reallocations and the $4,822 line item for a non-progressional reallocation, which was clarified as a salary adjustment for a position with expanded duties. Vice Chair Tupola sought details on hiring efficiency; Miyasaki reported that candidate list turnaround is now under three weeks, and the NeoGov Attract module aims to speed candidate targeting.
Department of Enterprise Services (DES)
- Director Dita Hollyfield presented a budget requesting over $2 million more than FY26, mostly for collective bargaining and three new contract positions (zookeeper, golf administrative assistant, concessions assistant). The department manages the Blaisdell Center, Honolulu Zoo, six golf courses, and city concessions. DES relies on special funds (Golf, Zoo, Special Events). Revenue estimates for FY27 reflect a cautious outlook due to the planned arena closure (starting February 2027 for 20 months) and flat tourism.
- Key capital requests: $10 million for urgent Blaisdell Arena roof and sewer repairs (design already in progress), $5 million for golf course irrigation upgrades (notably at the Aloy course), and $8 million for zoo projects including a new bird aviary and multi-species holding area. DES is also pursuing sponsorships and revenue partnerships, such as a joint ticket with the Hanauma Bay shuttle offering zoo admission.
- Councilmember Kia Aina urged careful handling of Hawaiian names in sponsorships and suggested tapping into the Transient Accommodations Tax fund (Ordinance 21-3) for zoo capital projects. Chair Waters proposed wedding photography concessions at Waikiki pavilions. Vice Chair Tupola praised the department's revenue-generating initiatives and cross-departmental coordination.
- Councilmember Cordero expressed excitement about the zoo's new bird aviary and social media outreach. Committee members noted the importance of revenue generation during the arena closure.
Department of Design and Construction (DDC)
- Deputy Director Mark Yonamine presented the FY27 operating budget with a 0.3% increase over FY26, requesting four new FTE positions (two for the bridge program, one mechanical engineer, one vehicle) to address an aging bridge inventory and inspection backlog. DDC currently has 40 vacancies and is working to fill 29. Overtime is primarily used for bridge monitoring and emergency responses.
- Capital improvement projects highlighted include the $11.6 million civic center parking structure reconstruction, $40 million for the final phase of Salt Lake Boulevard widening, and $10.75 million for Blaisdell Center re-roofing. DDC noted coordination challenges with client agencies and stressed the need for clear scoping and earlier communication with council members.
- Councilmember Cordero and Vice Chair Tupola raised concerns about project coordination, citing examples where poor planning led to community dissatisfaction. Chair Waters questioned why DDC does not manage ENV's large-scale CIP projects (e.g., H-Power improvements), learning that ENV had reorganized to manage its own engineering due to consent decree requirements. Committee members emphasized the need for better inter-departmental communication and direct council updates from DDC.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were taken; the meeting was an informational briefing. Committee members expressed expectations for follow-up on specific issues, including:
- DHR to provide metrics on AI classification software outcomes by September 30, 2026.
- DES to continue revenue generation efforts and update the committee on AZA accreditation results in two weeks.
- DDC to improve direct communication with council members on project status and to work with MD's office on federal grant opportunities.
- The committee recessed for lunch at approximately 11:30 a.m. and planned to reconvene at 1:15 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Aloha and good morning everyone. It is Tuesday, March 12, 2026, and the time is 10.02 a.m. Will the Committee on Budget please come to order? Welcome to the committee members who are present in the chamber today, Committee Vice Chair Nishimoto, Council Members Kia Aina and Talba. Council members Cordero and Chair Waters is excused at this time. 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 in 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 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 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 Hawaii revised statutes. Members of the public may testify in either language. For oral testimonies offered in Olalo 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 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 please press SAR 9 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 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 testifier's 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. Members, as a reminder, if you have any supplementary questions for the departments that may come up during or after the meeting, please provide them to my office so we may compile them for the department or managing director's office to respond. We look forward to all of your questions. Agenda items number one numbers one and two on the posted March 17, 2026 agenda will be canceled. Agenda item number three will remain as a contingency due to the inclement weather if the scheduled meeting is canceled tomorrow. Please indicate by lunchtime if you have additional question requests or questions of any department or office so we can invite them back to the committee tomorrow or next Tuesday. If we do not receive any requests, both the Friday and Tuesday agendas will be canceled. I'd like to welcome to the chamber joining us, Councilmember Dosantos TAM. Agenda item number one, informational briefing, executive capital and operating budget review. We will first proceed with testimony. Clerks, do we have any in-person testifiers for this item? Chair there and then. Thank you. Proceeding now with remote testimony. Clerks, do we have any remote testifiers for this item? Chair there and then. Thank you. We will now proceed with the executive capital and operating budget review. Joining us first this morning, we have the Department of Human Resources. For your information, the presentation is available online on as Departmental Communication 188 2026. And this joining us this morning from the department, we have Director Nola and Miyasaki as well as Assistant Director Karen Miller. Good morning, Director Miyasaki. Good morning, budget chair Okimoto, members of the budget committee and members of the council. Thank you very much for this opportunity to present the fiscal year 27 budget for the Department of Human Resources.
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