June 2026 Newsletter Message

This budget season, I’m pleased to report that the Honolulu City Council has fought hard to build a more transparent, accountable, and intentional City government. Prior to this year and in my time as councilmember, City’s circuitous budget process has routinely led to monies being set aside but not always spent, a large number of positions being funded but not always filled, and numerous Council-requested projects being listed but not always delivered. Not only does that leave money on the table, it leaves a lot of good projects, ideas and concerns from constituents unaddressed.

I have a great deal of respect for the Administration's work in preparing its initial budget proposal, but our job as a Council is not to simply act as a rubber stamp. Through robust and collaborative discussion, the Council is charter-mandated to ensure our city’s budget is responsive to our residents' needs, incorporates our community’s priorities, and plans strategically for the future. We may not agree on every line of the budget, but by discussing various amendments as a group, we learn more about the communities that my colleagues represent and hear stories that may not have been accounted for when the budget was initially constructed. We lean on the collective perspectives and experiences of our councilmembers and seek compromise - because we are much closer to the communities we represent, hear from their constituents every day, and have a great deal to offer in partnering with the Administration to create a stronger, more thoughtful budget .

When we budget more intentionally, we can identify resources that are not being used effectively and redirect them toward the real pressures families are facing every day. Housing. Transportation. Infrastructure. Public safety. Cost of living. Every dollar must have a purpose. Every project must have a plan. And every budget decision should move us closer to a City government that residents can see, understand, and trust.

That is the route this Council is taking.

With aloha,

Tommy