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City IT director warns of mainframe risk, seeks external funding after finding low‑cost software path
Summary
Brian McKee, director and chief information officer, told the budget committee on March 11 that Honolulu's legacy mainframe support is fragile and that a deal to obtain software from Arizona could waive license fees but still require an estimated $10–12.5 million for data conversion and implementation; the $10 million ask did not make the city’s FY27 budget.
Brian McKee, director and chief information officer for the city's IT services, told the Committee on Budget on March 11 that Honolulu is operating on a legacy COBOL mainframe that is functionally brittle and costly to sustain. McKee said he found an agreement with Arizona to obtain a modern system license at no charge but estimated conversion and implementation costs at about $10–12.5 million over two years. "The software itself is for free," McKee said, adding the conversion would require substantial staff and funding.
Why it matters: City services — vehicle registration, licensing and other back-office systems — run on aging systems; losing COBOL expertise and vendor support makes operations risky and can drive higher long-term costs and customer delays.
McKee outlined FY27 technology priorities including a county-wide Office365 rollout, replacement of P25 emergency radio consoles and investments in security and enterprise systems. He described a $5.3 million licensing line tied to Microsoft subscriptions and said negotiations with Microsoft were ongoing; he confirmed subscription costs would be an ongoing annual expense for many departments.
Council members asked about funding strategies for the mainframe replacement. McKee said the $10 million implementation request was not included in the mayor’s FY27 city budget and that the department will pursue federal earmarks, state Department of Transportation assistance, and other external funding sources. He described the Arizona arrangement as an opportunity to avoid paying license fees but not to eliminate conversion costs.
McKee also described ongoing digital-service work: Honolulu 311 has been rolled out and the city’s in-house team is building a constituent-management dashboard the council can review before a public launch. Members asked for a consolidated master list of software licensing agreements; McKee said his office has been inventorying city licenses and is standardizing purchasing where possible.
What’s next: IT staff will continue negotiations with vendors, pursue outside funding for mainframe conversion and provide council with further details on licensing and the proposed constituent-management tools. No formal vote occurred.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Brian McKee, Director and Chief Information Officer; Deputy Director Steven Courtney; Committee on Budget, Honolulu City Council (March 11, 2026).
