Latest news with #DosSantos-Tam
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Honolulu City Council advances sewer fees bill
Mayor Rick Blangiardi administration's proposed 10-year, 115 % sewer fee rate increase that's expected to begin this summer has been countered by the Honolulu City Council. The Council's five-member Budget Committee voted 4-1 Tuesday, with Radiant Cordero dissenting, to approve passage of a committee draft of the city-initiated Bill 60. Budget Committee Chair Tyler Dos Santos-Tam's version of the measure, which shaves the city's decade-long span for increased rates down to about six years, will start Jan. 1, 2026 and run through 2031. Dos Santos-Tam's Bill 60 proposes sewer fee increases for a household that uses about 6, 000-gallons per month—deemed 50 % of all single-family households in Honolulu—equates to a 6 % increase in sewer fees in fiscal year 2026, 7.5 % in fiscal year 2027, 8.5 % in fiscal year 2028, followed by 9 % over the remaining three fiscal years. If adopted, Bill 60 would see a 60 % base charge—a fixed monthly fee—and a 40 % volumetric charge, or fees based on monthly water usage. Currently, city and county sewer bills calculate a 70 % base charge—a fee of $77.55 for all single-family homes—and a 30 % volumetric rate, which is applied equally for every 1, 000 gallons used, the city Department of Environmental Services states. ENV indicates that a household using 6, 000 gallons per month pays $99.77—with the base of $77.55 plus $22.22 for the volumetric rate. Dos Santos-Tam's version of Bill 60 also will align with ENV's 6-year capital improvement projects plan. 'So we can get through a full CIP cycle, ' he added. 'And then we can deal with what happens in the out years thereafter.' Under Dos Santos-Tam's Bill 60, the budget committee voted to allow 'rule-making authority ' for ENV to set up a program called Customer Assistance for Residential Environmental Services, or CARES, to help with 'affordability and equity ' of increased sewer fee rates. Sewer customers who qualify based on household income of less than 80 % area median income will be eligible for a $20 to $25 credit on their monthly base fee. The program will be funded at $10 million per year. Customers will have to apply for the program to prove eligibility and then be re-verified every six months, ENV states. Bill 60 is scheduled to return for a third and final reading before the full Council on June 4. In October, ENV initially proposed to increase sewer fees annually for the next 10 years—by 9 % over the first six years, followed by smaller annual increases of 8 %, 7 %, 6 % and 5 % over the subsequent four years. But by April, ENV Director Roger Babcock presented to the Council's Budget Committee the so-called 6 % option—which sees sewer rates rise by 6 % on July 1. Those rates would increase by 7.5 % in 2027, 8.5 % in 2028, 9 % in the following four years, then rise by 8 %, 7.5 % and 7 % in the final three years, ending in 2035. City officials say proposed sewer fee hikes are necessary to support ongoing wastewater operations and maintenance efforts, as well as a $10.1 billion capital improvement program for Oahu's wastewater collection and treatment system that is planned through 2040. The fee hikes also will fund projects to prepare the city's wastewater infrastructure for climate change and sea-level rise, city officials say. And they assert the work includes a $2.5 billion upgrade to the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant as required under a 2010 federal consent decree. Previously, Council Chair Tommy Waters—who does not sit on the budget committee—offered his version of Bill 60, a 6.75 % increase for the first five years, starting July 1. The initial increases would be followed by an 8.75 % increase for the next two years, then a decrease to 7.75 %, 6.75 % and 5.5 % over the remaining years, 'thereby creating savings, ' Waters said previously, adding instead of a 100 % increase over the decade, 'it would amount to approximately about a 70 % increase over 10 years.' But at Tuesday's hearing, Waters admitted his version of the bill was found to have calculation errors. 'We started from 2012 rather than 2016 … which is the last date that sewer increases took effect, ' he explained. During a presentation, ENV Director Roger Babcock highlighted that Waters' proposed Bill 60 in fiscal year 2026 would provide less revenues—about $397.5 million, a 13 % drop—compared with the city's current revenues of $457.03 million devoted to sewer funding. 'So that's a $60 million decrease, ' Babcock said, 'which would be very problematic for the program.' In contrast, Babcock noted the city's proposed 6 % option would provide $484.4 million in revenue needed to support required sewage system upgrades. Initially stating he'd resubmit a corrected version of his measure, Waters later backed Dos Santos-Tam's draft of Bill 60. Still, Waters noted households using 6, 000 gallons of water or less per month could see their sewer bills rise by over 61 %, from $99.77 per month to $160.85 per month. 'And those using 9, 000 gallons per month, which is the typical user—a family with two kids, a dog, maybe in-laws—that would go up from $110 to $204 ' per month, an over 85 % increase, said Waters. 'I mean that's really what we're voting on.' At the meeting, city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services Director Andy Kawano favored Dos Santos-Tam's measure as 'revenue calculations will meet our required minimums going forward through 10 years.' However, 'there could be an option, if it's more palatable for Council members, to truncate the (10-year ) term to five to seven years, that's possible, ' Kawano claimed. 'If we do that, we would meet our required minimums for every year, for one through five or one through seven, depending on what Council members decide.' Ways to defray the overall cost of the city's wastewater operations also were touched on at the meeting. During public testimony, Frank Doyle, a former city and county ENV director, testified the Council and city should work together to end the 2010 federally-mandated consent decree that included upgrading the island's sewage treatment plants to 'secondary treatment.' Although secondary treatment does not make the water drinkable, it does turn it into recycled water that can be used for things like landscaping, city officials say. 'Since entering the consent decree the city has spent billions of dollars for improvements of our wastewater system, and has essentially completed almost all of the requirements of the decree except for the one, largest project—a $2.5 billion (secondary treatment ) project for Sand Island, ' Doyle said. 'If secondary treatment was required at Sand Island (Wastewater Treatment Plant ) in 2010—because it really holds some significant public health or environmental concern—that project would have been prioritized immediately.' 'Instead, it comes in last, not needed until 2030, ' he said, adding no real public health concern occurred in 2010. 'And there isn't any today.' Doyle requested the Council 'urge the administration to continue to pursue a discussion with EPA ' on the consent decree. 'And if the administration doesn't want to do it, the Council should do it, ' he added. In 2010 the negotiated consent decree included three phases and a 25-year implementation schedule, the city says. According to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the work was meant to reduce the public health risk caused by exposure to pathogens in raw sewage and the amount of harmful pollutants affecting the island's marine environment. At the time, overflows caused millions of gallons of untreated sewage to be discharged into water off Oahu. The city had to pay a total fine of $1.6 million to be split between the federal government and state to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act and Hawaii's water pollution law, the EPA states. Those violating acts included the March 24, 2006, Beachwalk force main break which spilled about 50 million gallons of sewage into the Ala Wai Canal, according to the EPA. For his part, Waters stated 'as a Council, we've asked the administration to discuss with the EPA removing the need for secondary treatment or extending the term of the consent decree.' 'We need to extend the sewer fees, but not for the full 10 years, as requested, ' he added, 'to give us time to work with the EPA and find alternatives to funding the wastewater system.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City aims to loosen requirements to help more small businesses
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The transit construction mitigation fund was created to assist businesses hit hard by rail construction along Dillingham Boulevard according to Honolulu City Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam. 'We put this program in place last year knowing that a lot of the businesses have been suffering for years and so we wanted to create a pathway to get some kind of relief from the city,' he explained. Search continues for missing kayak fisherman off Kona coast Anthony Han, owner of Soul Chicken, is one of the few small business owners that qualified for the $10,000 grant. 'Luckily I got approved for this,' Han said. 'So I just got the check. Just so lucky I got it.' According to the city, only 34 applications were submitted. They said 15 were ineligible — for a number of reasons — and 19 applications were returned for revisions. In the end, only six small businesses were awarded. The city had allocated $250,000 for the fund, expecting to help over 20 businesses.'The restrictions were a little bit tight and only a few businesses were able to qualify than we wanted,' Dos Santos-Tam said. So he said he and Councilmember Radiant Cordero want to loosen the requirements. They are proposing the annual max revenue limit of $750,000 be increased to $1 million or less. They want to eliminate the maximum employee requirement completely and change the date a business had to have opened from Jan. 1, 2022 to at least 12 months prior to the start of any rail project construction. 'What makes Kalihi special are all these old mom-and-pop businesses,' Dos Santos-Tam added. 'And we want to make sure that they get a chance to survive.' Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Construction along Dillingham Boulevard to relocate the power lines in preparation for rail, is expected to be completed some time in 2026. But businessowners said without more assistance they're not sure they can make it that long. Han said he is grateful for the $10,000 grant, but that it's not enough to keep him from going under. 'This is the beginning of the construction. So it's going to be getting worse the situation soon,' Han said. Honolulu City Council will be discussing proposed changes to Bill 31 regarding the Transit Construction Mitigation Fund in a meeting Tuesday at 9 A.M. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Empty home tax could generate millions in revenue, but won't necessarily create more homes for kamaʻaina
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A recent report says that an 'empty home tax' in Honolulu could affect hundreds of homes and create tens of million dollars in revenue a year. But it won't necessarily create more homes for kama ʻaina to rent or own. Supporters of the proposed empty home tax say the need is clear. Search continues for missing kayak fisherman off Kona coast 'If our city leaders can send a message and say 'look, we're in a crisis, Oahu is just not for sale anymore' I think that would be a big help,' said Ross Isokane, of Housing Now! Coalition. Ernst and Young recently completed a report, at the city's request, to look at how feasible the tax would be on Oahu. These findings will be presented to the city council's budget committee on April 29. 'We wanna strike a balance but at the end of the day, we need to do something about our housing crisis,' said Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, Honolulu city council budget committee chair. The report used water usage to determine if a home was vacant. It estimated that between 2-to-4 percent of the nearly 300,000 homes on Oahu are empty. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'When I walk around Kakaako and see, at night, and see all the lights that are off in the condos, I think to myself 'well gosh, getting those units into the hands of residents, whether it's for sale or for rent, really can help,'' Isokane said. However, between 81 and 87 percent of those homes would be exempt. Examples like a homeowner who passed and relatives are figuring out what to do, or kupuna homeowners who've moved to assisted living. 'For those folks who own three or four or five properties, and again, the lights have never turned on once, you know those are the ones that really should be paying for the privilege,' Dos Santos-Tam proposal isn't set in stone yet so the report had to look at four difference scenarios based on exemptions and tax policy. Over a ten year period, the report estimates that the tax could bring in on average a minimum $29 million a year. At maximum, close to $55 million a year. Dos Santos-Tam says money isn't the goal. 'If all of these units convert over and the city doesn't make a single dollar in new tax revenue from it, I think that's a good outcome,' Dos Santos-Tam said. The report stated an empty homes tax is neither intended nor proven to address affordable housing issues by itself because that's dependent on other factors like housing supply and costs. 'It's my hope that whatever policy we adopt, whether it's an empty homes tax, a new tax class, whether it's some other thing, we can convert these units into something new,' Dos Santos-Tam said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Honolulu City Council looks at ADUs to bolster housing supply
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Increasing housing supply is the target of a bill that just passed its third reading in the Honolulu City Council. It extends accessory dwelling unit fee waivers set to expire. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'Bill 63 expands the sewer waivers, permitting fee waivers, the grading and stockpile. My cousins live with my grandma, and this is really a chance for local families to be able to add on additional space for family members,' said City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam. Pushback on the bill has been sparse, but some residents are concerned about parking availability and neighborhood character. 'Doing our small part,' state officials on Iwilei's traditional housing project 'Other issues that we have, of course, is the capacity of our neighborhoods, things like sewer capacity, parking, and all of these other issues that we as the council and the mayor through the administration are also gonna have to work on in order to really, make a dent in our housing crisis.' Dos Santos-Tam said. The bill has garnered support from entities like the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii. Last year, the state passed a bill that allows for at least two additional dwelling units per residential lot. 'So we've seen, several hundred ADUs, some possibly over a thousand, being built over the past few years,' Dos Santos-Tam said. 'We hope that that pace increases. But, again, it's gonna take an all of the above approach really to start making a dent.' Adding ADUs is just a part of local government plans to add housing inventory for residents. 'It's really difficult to build kinda small and medium apartments, and that's why we see out in the market.' Dos Santos-Tam said. 'We have a lot of, the sort of subdivision developments out in West Oahu. We have a lot of high rises coming up in town, but those kinds of small and medium apartments really haven't been built, the kind of things you might see in Makiki or McCully. So we're looking at changing the standards for how we build these small apartments. In addition, of course, we need to also look at office conversions. We have a couple of these downtown office buildings that are practically vacant, and so that's also gonna help to transform our downtown area.' Check out more news from around Hawaii Bill 63 has been transmitted to Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who has until March 13 to return it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spike in e-bike accidents prompts rise of new law
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A new measure introduced by Councilmembers Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and Augie Tubla hopes to combat the surge in e-bike accidents on Oahu. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The Honolulu City Council passed Bill 52, a measure that aims to establish clear safety guidelines for bicycle riders and pedestrians. According to Councilmember Dos Santos-Tam, the initiative emphasizes the need to take action with Oahu e-bike injuries nearly tripling within the past two years. E-Bike Safety and Speed: Key Insights from Hawai'i Bicycling League 'We needed to take decisive action to protect our keiki and all riders. This bill establishes clear safety guidelines while ensuring e-bikes remain a viable transportation option for our community,' said Dos Santos-Tam. The bill calls for a 750-watt power limit for e-bikes on public roads, helmet requirements for all riders under 18 years old and guidelines to prevent reckless riding that gives HPD clear enforcement authority. Honolulu Police Department and Emergency Medical Services strongly support the bill as it reduces preventable injuries and promotes responsible e-bike usage. 'This isn't about restricting e-bike use – it's about protecting our community. With the support of HPD and EMS, these measures will help ensure that everyone can safely share our roads,' Councilmember Tulba added. Check out more news from around Hawaii The bill now awaits a signature from Mayor Rick Blangiardi's desk for approval. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
