Mayor Kirk Caldwell laid his plans for the City & County of Honolulu is his annual state of the city address. At the top of his wish list is a request for $834M in capital improvement funds for road repairs, sewer upgrades and park improvements. He also asked for more transparency and accountability to address the rising cost of rail construction, proposed to house 346 chronically homeless people through Housing First, double the number housed during the current fiscal year, and planned for $490M in sewer-capacity improvements, more than double the current year’s $213M.
Caldwell asked City Council to approve $100M to continue his road-repair efforts, highlighting the 1,000 lane miles already repaved. He also said that the city is ahead of its goal to improve parks, including the restoration of 27 restrooms and 16 playgrounds, with an additional 10 new playgrounds planned. His request includes an additional $21.6M in capital improvement funds for parks and $1.4M to restore restrooms and playgrounds.
Homelessness continues to be a high priority for the mayor. According to Caldwell, 173 chronically homeless people are housed through Housing First. He asked for $6.6M to house an additional 173 people. Caldwell acknowledged the public’s impatience on homelessness, and stated that he believes that the city is making a difference. According to the mayor, “It's is a long journey that we’re just beginning.”
Caldwell’s campaign promise that rail would be built “on time and on budget” has been challenged by increasing costs tagged now at more than a billion dollars over budget, from an anticipated price tag of $5.2B in 2012 to $6.6B this year. He indicated strong support for a Honolulu Charter Commission proposal that would transfer the management of the rail system from the Honolulu Rapid Transit Authority to the city once the trains are running.
