Budget Committee amends Bill 23 (capital program) to CD1, clarifies project specifics and moves some operating equipment items to CIP

The Committee on Budget amended Bill 23 of 2025 (the executive capital budget and program for FY2026) to a CD1 on March 11, accepting the chair’s proposed edits that break large “procurement of major equipment” and broad capital buckets into explicit, project‑level line items and move several operating equipment proposals into the capital program.

Why it matters: the CD1 clarifies what the city intends to buy or build with CIP funds so the public and council members can track project scopes more precisely. It also shifts certain one‑year equipment purchases out of operating and into capital (an accounting and planning choice that affects how purchases will be procured and how funds are tracked).

Major changes adopted - Procurement clarity: large “acquisition of major equipment” placeholders were deleted and replaced with department‑specific procurements (examples cited in committee include mowers for the enterprise services, specialized vehicles for facility maintenance, and other equipment totaling several million dollars split across departments). The chair explained this is to add more specificity so the public can see intended uses. - Police vehicles: the committee accepted moving $6.3 million proposed for 63 HPD patrol passenger vehicles from operating into the capital program so those purchases will be handled as CIP projects. - Parks and resilience projects: multiple park projects previously discussed in operating were accepted into the capital program, including resilient lighting and comfort‑station work; the committee also recorded a $1 million parking‑lot improvement appropriation for Pu'ohulu Park (Waianae) to be included in the capital bill. - Street, drainage and traffic projects: the CD1 includes specific drainage improvements and clarifies multiple roadway and storm improvements by naming target locations (examples in committee included Kalihi area drainage, Kula'aupuni Street drainage in Waianae, and a traffic signal at Kapolei Parkway and Kamaaha Avenue).

What departments said - Budget and fiscal services staff and department directors supported the increased specificity; BFS staff indicated they would follow up about timeline constraints for replacing broad “as‑soon‑as‑possible” transmittal language with fixed deadlines for notices to council when federal or multipurpose funds are involved. - Department of Design and Construction and Department of Facility Maintenance supported moving multi‑year equipment or durable assets into CIP for procurement and life‑cycle tracking.

Process and next steps The committee chair recommended amending Bill 23 to a CD1 and reporting it out for second reading and public hearing. The committee also added several small provisos and notification timing changes (for example, narrowing a 14‑day notification window to seven days in one procedural provision) intended to speed council oversight of certain transfers.

Ending: The CD1 recommendation for Bill 23 was approved by the committee and the bill was reported out for second reading and public hearing; further technical edits and standardization of project descriptions were anticipated before final adoption.

Speakers quoted (first reference with role/title): Budget Chair (Budget Chair) noted the committee would “walk through the proposed CD1” to add specificity for capital line items. Andy Quano, Director of Budget and Fiscal Services, told the committee he would follow up about any operational impacts of shortening statutory notification timelines for multi‑purpose fund transfers.

Ending note: the committee approved the CD1 edits and directed departments to provide clearer project breakdowns so council members and the public can follow planned capital procurements and projects.