Council amends climate-resiliency fund transfers to prioritize stormwater, mangrove removal and wildfire prevention

Honolulu City Council members on Tuesday adopted an amended budget resolution reallocating money from the city’s climate resiliency fund to a set of targeted projects including stormwater planning, mangrove removal on city-managed stream sections and wildfire prevention work. Council Member Morocco moved the measure and it was adopted after amendment.

The amended FD1 increases the cumulative transfer to the climate resiliency fund's current expenses to $7,385,000 and makes multiple project-specific changes, including reducing one stormwater transfer from $2.4 million to $2.1 million for the Department of Facility Maintenance, adding up to $700,000 for stormwater drainage improvements on Kula'aupune Street in Waianae, and moving $750,000 for mangrove removal on city-managed portions of Kaleipulu Stream to the Office of the Managing Director’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency (MDO). The FD1 also adds funding for wildfire prevention, a grant program tied to ordinance 205-23, administrative expenses for the fund, and energy audits and climate champions work for city-owned housing projects.

The amendment’s nut graf is that the council reallocated existing climate-resiliency monies to prioritize…