Honolulu Rapid Transit - The Rail - Bailout Looms - SOS
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It's wonderful for the players. It's a huge challenge and a huge responsibility for us to get our act together, get our butts in gear. Phil isn't going to bail us out because of our mental lapses. - Kobe Bryant
![State House Finance Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Luke
[T]he approach Say is suggesting is “actually kind of not a responsible approach by the
council members, only because this is a city project, and we have always made it clear that it
was a city project. I think the Legislature is not inclined, especially if now there is a
permanent source (of funding) that they could rely on,” she said, referring to the new option of
a city hotel room tax. “I would be surprised if the Legislature will take a look at this issue
again.” Besides, state lawmakers approved two previous bailouts of rail when it veered over
budget, delivering an extra $1.8 billion to support rail in 2015, and another $2.4 billion in
2017 to rescue the project. “It was difficult the second time,” Luke said. “I think even the rail
proponents in the Legislature are becoming more skeptical, and for the council to think that
this is the state's problem, I think they will be met with a chilling response.” She also said the
city needs to “provide all these answers that the public is looking for” that clearly explain how
rail has blown though billions of dollars while falling years behind schedule. No portion of the
rail line has opened to the public yet.
Honolulu Civil Beat (CB)
If the city must pony up still more cash for rail, local voters will probably prefer to have
visitors pick up the tab. That may be particularly appealing at a time when many Hawaii
residents seem to have soured on the impacts of mass tourism. From that perspective,
imposing a new city hotel room tax to raise more money for rail works well politically.
Mufi Hannemann, President, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association
CB: “Imposing a new city hotel room tax to raise more money for rail works well politically.”
Hanneman: “Absolutely, it does. It makes the tourism industry again the whipping boy.”
Source: Emerging Plan Would Pump Hotel Room Tax Revenue Into Rail
By Kevin Dayton, Honolulu Civil Beat, August 18, 2021
<https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/08/emerging-plan-would-pump-hotel-room-tax-revenue-into-rail/>
By the time rail is finished we'll all be flying around like George Jetson
John S. Pritchett for MidWeek, June 14, 2017](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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Honolulu Rapid Transit - The Rail - Bailout Looms - SOS
- 1. Honolulu Authority For Rapid Transit (HART) Honolulu City Council & HART Trust Us – We Care Honolulu City Council Chairman Tommy Waters I will continue to advocate for solutions to ensure that we can better manage tourism and ensure that our local residents do not have to bear the burden of closing budget shortfalls by paying more in property taxes. Honolulu City Councilman Calvin Say Why should you consider giving them all of that — or a portion of it — when they can't even manage their money? They can't even manage their project if they have a $3.5 billion shortfall. Honolulu City Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga “It's kind of a spooky time” for hotels. As for rail, “we know so little about what is actually do-able and possible, and there has not really been a very open discussion about what the alternatives are, and what each alternative costs”.
- 2. State House Finance Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Luke [T]he approach Say is suggesting is “actually kind of not a responsible approach by the council members, only because this is a city project, and we have always made it clear that it was a city project. I think the Legislature is not inclined, especially if now there is a permanent source (of funding) that they could rely on,” she said, referring to the new option of a city hotel room tax. “I would be surprised if the Legislature will take a look at this issue again.” Besides, state lawmakers approved two previous bailouts of rail when it veered over budget, delivering an extra $1.8 billion to support rail in 2015, and another $2.4 billion in 2017 to rescue the project. “It was difficult the second time,” Luke said. “I think even the rail proponents in the Legislature are becoming more skeptical, and for the council to think that this is the state's problem, I think they will be met with a chilling response.” She also said the city needs to “provide all these answers that the public is looking for” that clearly explain how rail has blown though billions of dollars while falling years behind schedule. No portion of the rail line has opened to the public yet. Honolulu Civil Beat (CB) If the city must pony up still more cash for rail, local voters will probably prefer to have visitors pick up the tab. That may be particularly appealing at a time when many Hawaii residents seem to have soured on the impacts of mass tourism. From that perspective, imposing a new city hotel room tax to raise more money for rail works well politically. Mufi Hannemann, President, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association CB: “Imposing a new city hotel room tax to raise more money for rail works well politically.” Hanneman: “Absolutely, it does. It makes the tourism industry again the whipping boy.” Source: Emerging Plan Would Pump Hotel Room Tax Revenue Into Rail By Kevin Dayton, Honolulu Civil Beat, August 18, 2021 <https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/08/emerging-plan-would-pump-hotel-room-tax-revenue-into-rail/> By the time rail is finished we'll all be flying around like George Jetson John S. Pritchett for MidWeek, June 14, 2017