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Committee earmarks $1.8 million to clear towing-service backlog; directors seek flexibility to pay past invoices
Summary
Budget staff and department directors told the committee $1.8 million is needed to resolve outstanding towing and abandoned-vehicle invoices. The committee discussed contract timing, storage constraints for towing yards, and restructuring future solicitations by geographic districts.
The city’s Budget Committee acknowledged a roughly $1,800,000 amount set aside in the proposed budget to resolve past invoices and backlog for towing, derelict-vehicle work and related services, and directed the administration to keep expenditure language flexible so invoices tied to multiple departments can be paid.
Council members questioned whether the $1.8 million appropriation should be restricted to a single department or object code. Director Andy Kawano, Budget and Fiscal Services, and department officials asked that the proviso not limit payments to only one department’s invoices because past invoices include work paid on behalf of multiple departments, including the Honolulu Police Department and customer services. The committee agreed to remove a restrictive proviso and keep the appropriation available for invoice settlement across relevant departments.
Council members also questioned the adequacy of a proposed $1,800,000 annual budget for towing services going forward. Department of Customer Services and police representatives explained the current contract runs through year-end and is being re-solicited; a large part of next‑year funding is intended to catch up on overdue payments to vendors. The committee heard that storage capacity for impounded vehicles is a key constraint and that future solicitations may restructure contracts by geographic districts while preserving storage requirements to ensure adequate parking capacity.
Director Oshiro (CSD) said the next solicitation may allow consolidation of districts with shared storage or subleasing arrangements to address yard-space shortages. The committee instructed departments to return with details on contract structure and to provide updated language for the $1.8 million spending provision to permit invoice settlement that crosses departmental object codes.
