The Honolulu City Council Committee on Budget heard March 11 from Department of Parks and Recreation Director Laura Thielen who said the department's proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget totals about $118 million and includes three Tourism Accommodation Tax-funded initiatives to address wear from visitor use.

Thielen said the FY26 budget is roughly 60% personnel costs and 40% current expenses, with about $13,000,000 of that earmarked for utilities. She told the committee that the department has 1,200-plus positions and hires more than 200 seasonal staff each summer to run the summer fun program for roughly 10,000 youth.

Those program and maintenance costs, Thielen said, are the backdrop for three TAT-funded priorities the department included in its request: replacement of aging rear-loader garbage trucks and a contract for weekly park rubbish removal; expanded urban-forestry budgets for tree trimming, treatment of invasive pests and removal of diseased trees plus contracted 30-foot firebreaks adjacent to residences; and planning and initial infrastructure work for Kalailoa (Kailua) regional park development.

"We need to replace these trucks," Thielen said, describing multiple rear-loader trucks that are frequently in the shop and a contractor the department now hires weekly to keep parks clear. "We're going to be putting these onto an asset management schedule going forward so that we can purchase them more sequentially." She said the department had one truck approved earlier and delivers on that prior initiative has been slow because of procurement timing.

On trees and invasive species, Thielen said the city reduced routine trimming in prior years and that longer trimming cycles have increased failures, debris and risk of property damage. The department is pursuing a larger trimming schedule, redrawn geographic contract boundaries to attract more bidders and funding for treatment of coconut rhinoceros beetle and for removal where trees are beyond saving. "Every dollar that's spent on prevention saves $5 on disaster response," she said, attributing the ratio to emergency-management guidance.

For Kalailoa, Thielen said the city has recently taken title to the area and can now invest capital-improvement funds; the department requested funds to upgrade a septic-based comfort station to current wastewater standards and to begin master planning. The master-plan cost estimate, she said, was adapted from a 2019 bid and adjusted for inflation.

Thielen and members also discussed the legal framework for using TAT revenue: under the Council Revised Ordinance of Honolulu 21-33, 8.34% of TAT receipts are to supplement (not supplant) maintenance and restoration of natural resources impacted by visitors. Thielen said the department's three initiatives do not exhaust the total TAT allotment and that the administration set aside about $2.5 million in a provisional account for council-directed projects.

The Committee did not take a final vote on the department budget at the meeting; members questioned specifics and procurement timing and instructed staff to follow up on the truck procurement schedule and firebreak contracting.

Why it matters: parks maintenance, tree health and solid-waste removal affect everyday use of parks, public safety and emergency costs, and the Kailua project is intended to expand recreational facilities in a fast-growing area of O'ahu.