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Council approves bills on lapsed funds and transfer reporting amid administration pushback
Summary
The City Council passed two bills (Bill 64 on lapsed appropriations and Bill 65 on transfer reporting) after extended questioning of the Budget director, who warned of administrative burden and contested the practicability of some reporting requirements.
The Honolulu City Council passed two budget‑related measures after lengthy questions of the Department of Budget & Fiscal Services (BFS). Bill 64 (CR360) requires earlier reporting on projected lapsed appropriations; Bill 65 (CR361 / Bill 65 CD1) expands quarterly and annual reporting of transfers. Both measures passed third reading with several members voting with reservations.
Andy Kawano, director of Budget & Fiscal Services, told the council the administration does not currently project lapsed appropriations as of the proposed January date and warned that producing such projections by object code would be “essentially impossible” to do accurately and could add administrative burden without commensurate value. He said the administration already provides some transfer information but said Bill 65 would require more extensive quarterly comparisons and data retrieval.
Council members who supported the bills said they sought better transparency to understand where millions in lapsed funds occur at year‑end. Council member Tupelo argued that the council could pilot reports and work with DIT or OCS to reduce burden; others said they had funded legislative branch positions to help with analysis.
Both bills passed with recorded reservations from members who cited duplication of effort and administrative workload concerns. The council asked the administration and its staff to work on implementation details and to consider phased or pilot approaches.
What’s next: The administration must implement the new reporting requirements and the council indicated it expects follow‑up, including potential technical guidance and pilot options to avoid duplication.
