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Council creates police staffing and retention task force with extended report deadline
Summary
The committee approved a task force to study HPD vacancies and retention, expanded the reporting deadline from 90 to 180 days, and asked participating agencies and unions to deliver a written plan with budget recommendations.
The Committee on Public Safety and Customer Services voted to create a nine‑member Police Department Staffing and Retention Task Force to produce a written plan addressing Honolulu Police Department vacancies and retention and to report back to the council within 180 days.
Council Member Esther Tupala, who introduced the resolution, said the lapsing of $50 million from departmental budgets made the issue urgent: “The lapsing of $50,000,000 out of this department was alarming,” she told the committee. Tupala said the task force should produce a plan that links proposed strategies to budget line items so the council can track implementation.
Major Parker Bodie, who leads HPD’s human resources division, told the committee the department “got over 450 vacancies,” underscoring the scale of the shortfall. Bodie said HPD supports the task force’s intent and offered to answer operational questions.
The composition listed in the resolution includes HPD leadership, the managing director’s office, representatives from relevant unions, one council‑appointed current HPD officer and an observer from another police agency. Committee Vice Chair Kia Aina urged flexibility on the reporting deadline; members agreed to a verbal amendment changing the deadline from 90 days to 180 days to allow time for thorough work and stakeholder consultation.
Public testimony supported the task force and emphasized specific staffing pressures. Eddie Fujioka, who submitted written testimony and spoke remotely, urged the committee to prioritize emergency dispatchers, noting dispatchers are non‑uniformed, receive lower wages than other county dispatchers and frequently work skeleton crews.
The chair amended the resolution to reflect the 180‑day reporting schedule and recommended Resolution 25‑160 as amended be reported out for adoption; no objections were recorded and the chair’s recommendation was ordered.
