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Budget committee accepts HPD CD2 amendments as members press for clarity on community policing spending and lapses
Summary
The Honolulu City Council Budget Committee accepted CD2 amendments for the Honolulu Police Department but members pressed department leaders on recruitment bonus timing, ongoing vacancies and notable year-end lapses; Chair Okimoto said the council will monitor expenditures tied to vacancy-task-force initiatives.
The Honolulu City Council Budget Committee on a review of the Department’s CD2 amendments accepted the changes listed on pages 8–16 and moved on to other agenda items after extended questioning of department officials.
Major Ryan Hironaka, finance division of the Honolulu Police Department, briefed the committee on the department’s proposed changes and said HPD would work with the budget outlined in CD2 and was open for questions. Vice Chair Dos Santos Tam asked whether a $1,000 retention payment tied to successful completion of a recruit’s first year of service must be encumbered in FY2027 or will require funding in FY2028; Hironaka said the second installment would likely need to be funded in a future year when the benchmark is reached.
Councilmember Tupola told HPD and the committee she supports the department while urging regular reporting; she said she will bring a July resolution so the council can receive updates on how vacancy-task-force funds are spent. Councilmember Cordero pressed for sustained support for community policing and flagged a financial issue: she said HPD had significant lapses (she referenced an amount of $20,283,055 as a past lapse) and asked the council to track lapse amounts so appropriations for community-based initiatives are not undermined by year-end lapses.
Members also sought clarity about how community-policing positions and materials will be used across enforcement, traffic and special events. Chair Okimoto thanked the department and council offices for their collaboration and announced the chair would accept the CD2 amendments to HPD as listed on pages 8–16.
What happens next: The committee accepted the amendments and the council will continue monitoring HPD’s reported expenditures and recruitment-bonus timing as the budget process proceeds.
