Council debates competing operating-budget floor drafts, reallocates vacancy savings for district priorities

Councilmembers on the Honolulu City Council spent the afternoon debating competing floor drafts to the executive operating budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and identifying sources for roughly $8.5–19 million in reallocated vacancy savings.

The council’s discussion centered on multiple hand-carried floor drafts. Chair Waters read a budget-focused FD1 that reallocated lapsed vacancy balances across a set of departments and created a provisional general-fund account to backfill the sewer fund if needed. Councilmember Del Santos Tam and others offered competing FD1s proposing specific restorations and new appropriations.

The FD read by Chair Waters proposed reducing about 33% of inactive vacancy balances in departments including Budget & Fiscal Services; Customer Service Center; Department of Design and Construction; Department of Finance Management; Department of Parks and Recreation; Honolulu Emergency Medical Services; Honolulu Fire Department; Honolulu Police Department; and the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, and reallocating savings to priorities identified by the Council. Chair…