Mayor and Budget Office present $3.93 billion operating budget, $1.21 billion CIP in FY2026 proposal

Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services on Wednesday presented the administration's proposed fiscal year 2026 operating and capital budgets, including a $3.93 billion operating plan and a $1.21 billion capital improvement program (CIP).

The proposal, presented to the City Council Committee on Budget, projects roughly a $46 million (2.6 percent) increase in real property tax revenue driven by assessed-value gains in residential classes and outlines new provisions for homelessness, federally funded grant contingencies and climate resiliency.

The administration described the document as its most developed attempt to date to match priorities with constrained revenues and growing fixed costs. "This was our best piece of work to date," Mayor Rick Blangiardi told the committee, adding that the team has tried to anticipate uncertain federal and national economic shifts.

The budget book presented by Budget Director Andy Kawano places the general- and highway-fund revenues as the unrestricted sources supporting operating services. "These revenues are the unrestricted revenues that come…