May 2025 Message from District 4 Councilmember Tommy Waters
Chair Waters speaks to Ernst & Young LLP after their presentation during Budget Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Council Chambers (Courtesy: Council Support Services).
Welina mai kākou,
It seems like things get more and more expensive here in Hawai‘i every day - rising fees and unanticipated rate hikes seem like our new norm, and the political and economic turbulence that is rocking this country right now is as unpredictable as it is scary. On O‘ahu we are similarly facing a confluence of city cost increases that, taken together, threaten to overwhelm our local families.
But while most of these cost increases are beyond our control, there are some we can actually help to mitigate. For instance, I recently introduced an idea designed to address the steep and devastating increases to sewer fees that the City Administration is currently proposing through Bill 60 (24). No doubt, important infrastructure upgrades like the Sand Island Treatment Plant must happen if we are to maintain dependable sewer services now and into the future. But my team and I have also been looking into other city funding sources that we can tap into right now, to significantly defray a part of the 100% increase we’ll see over the next ten years. For a family getting by with a $200 bill now, that has the potential to be devastating.
I have proposed that we redirect the funding for long-vacant positions which have not been filled for over three years, and apply it to effectively reduce this year’s proposed increase which is 9%. This temporary measure provides the flexibility to allow departments to continue filling key vacancies when they need to, and requires the City Administration, in ensuing years, to carefully examine and re-examine all of the other sources of money in the budget that can be used to further reduce this devastating fee increase to our residents and their families.
I know how tough it is to make ends meet these days, and my colleagues and I are committed to painstakingly going through the City’s budget to find fiscally responsible budget cuts that we can make right now, that don’t hurt our programs and services in the future. I look forward to continuing to fight for O‘ahu’s families by looking for ways to maintain our quality of life throughout our island home.
Mahalo,
Tommy Waters
To request a service or report an issue (ex: Potholes, roadkill, graffiti at City facilities, storm drains, and more), download the Honolulu 311 app. For more information, click here.
If you have a concern you'd like to submit, feel free to contact my office and we'll be happy to assist you. Email: tommy.waters@honolulu.gov | Main Line: (808) 768-5004
