Latest news with #RickBlangiardi
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HGEA finalizes $41 million hazard pay settlement
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blan giardi's administration has finalized a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Hawaii Government Employees Association involving dangerous COVID-19-era work. To that end the City Council voted unanimously May 14 to authorize the city's request to settle approximately $41.4 million in claims for temporary hazard pay for HGEA's affected employees and members for essential government services performed during the pandemic. HGEA—the state's largest public-sector union, representing nine bargaining units within the city and county alone, including Ocean Safety Department lifeguards—will see its THP payout cover the period from March 5, 2020, to March 5, 2022. The mayor's office confirmed that the terms of the agreement include $15, 000 payments for those HGEA employees who filed hazard pay claims on or before March 18, 2022, and $7, 500 payments for those employees who did not file claims. 'HGEA members provided core services to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did members from other unions across the city's workforce, ' Ian Scheuring, the mayor's deputy communications director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 'As essential workers, and pursuant to their collective bargaining agreement, HGEA members have certain rights to hazard pay.' 'We appreciate the patience of our HGEA employees while the details of the settlement agreement were being finalized, and we appreciate the services that they provided the public during the pandemic, ' he added. HGEA, the last of three major government employee unions on Oahu to receive THP moneys, declined to comment on the settlement. In March the Council voted to authorize and resolve THP claims for affected employees and members of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and United Public Workers of Hawaii who worked during the pandemic. Claims for both unions—estimated to cost the city roughly $76 million—covered the period March 5, 2020, through March 5, 2022, the city said. City officials had set aside about $115 million to settle hazard pay claims and grievances arising from the pandemic. Previously, city Managing Director Mike Formby told the Star-Advertiser the city would consider 'temporary hazard pay for the city firefighters and employees of Oahu Transit Services—TheBus and TheHandi-Van.' He noted those payments will require 'THP appropriations ' in the city's fiscal year 2026 budget, which is under Council consideration for possible approval by June. This week Scheuring said 'that in the interest of fairness for all of our city employees who worked during the pandemic that we are going to try to work out settlements with the firefighters and our transit operators.' 'So that is still very much on the table, ' he added. 'Now that we've gotten the hazard pay agreements done with the unions for whom it was contractually obligated, our attention will turn to THP agreements with those other unions.' However, Scheuring explained, 'That entire process is still pending.' The Council's latest vote comes after both the city administration and Council pledged to repay eligible, unionized city workers employed during the pandemic THP in order to avoid legal entanglements. Hawaii's government worker unions, including HGEA, UPW and SHOPO, pressured the state and its four major counties to pay back their respective memberships for pandemic-era work. In 2024, UPW Local 646—among other city unions—worked to gain COVID-19-related hazard pay from the city for its membership via arbitration. On July 30, arbitrator and former Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Simeon R. Acoba Jr. issued a decision on UPW's hazard pay grievance against the city. According to UPW documents filed in August with the 1st Circuit Court, the union will receive a hazard pay differential of 15 % for the designated two-year period. Originally, UPW sought a 25 % pay differential based on individual workers' minimum pay grades, UPW spokesperson Maleko McDonnell previously told the Star-Advertiser. And with nearly 37, 000 members statewide, HGEA received a THP settlement for nearly 1, 300 former and current Hawaii County employees in March. The union's Big Island workers were granted a 15 % hazard pay differential for work performed during the same two-year time frame, a union news release asserts.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Honolulu EMS unveils 16 new and refurbished ambulances
The Honolulu Emergency Services Department held something akin to an outdoor car show at Keehi Lagoon Beach Park on Tuesday morning. In a line that stretched the length of one of the park's parking lots, the city showed off 16 new or newly refurbished ambulances—namely, 14 Emergency Medical Serv ices rigs and two Crisis Outreach Engagement and Response Sprinter vans—meant to respond to a myriad of lifesaving emergencies and medical care incidents across Oahu, on a 24 /7 basis. Most of the ambulances on display featured placards—'Makiki, ' 'Kahuku, ' 'Kailua ' and 'Hawaii Kai, ' among others—that denoted their respective areas of service on the island. The department also showed off its first-ever outfitted AmbuBus—deemed a state-of-the-art mass casualty vehicle that can treat and transport multiple patients at a time. Mayor Rick Blan giardi, HESD Director Dr. Jim Ireland, three Honolulu City Council members and dozens of city EMS and CORE personnel were in attendance. 'Today is a monumentous day for us, and I still can't believe, really, what I'm seeing, ' Ireland told those gathered. 'When I drove in I knew the numbers, I knew what we had purchased, but to just see this ; we've never had a purchase this big, or an acquisition.' He said that two years ago, 'when this kind of started, I wasn't even sure we were going to be able to get one ambulance.' 'We were coming out of COVID, there were supply chain issues, there were no chassis available, some chip was missing … all these factors were against us, ' he added. In spite of the difficulties, Ireland claimed the city put together a procurement package that includes the purchase of six new ambulances and eight remounted rigs. 'And these are existing boxes that for about half the price of a new ambulance, we were able to pick up and drop on a brand-new chassis, relieving an ambulance that might have been in excess of 300, 000 miles, at the end of its service life, ' he said. 'Instead of just auctioning it off, sending it off, putting it somewhere, we were able to remount that, get more ambulances for our dollar, save the taxpayers some money but, at the same time, give our teams the absolute best that they deserve and need to take care of people.' The new fleet includes four-wheel drive ambulances, too. 'I believe Kahuku and Waialua are getting four-wheel drive, ' Ireland said. 'We don't encourage four-wheel driving per se, but if they get into a muddy or sandy environment, that will help them kind of get out of that.' CORE's two Sprinter vans will help the group's effort to provide medical and social services to Oahu's homeless population, he said. HESD's director related how CORE's vans replaced an old 911 ambulance—dubbed '8080, ' based on its city and county license plate number—that racked up 330, 000 miles. 'It took us through up until maybe just a couple of weeks ago, ' Ireland said. 'And then we finally retired 8080, and we got these two new Sprinter vans for the CORE team.' He added that he was 'happy to report 8080 is scheduled to be one of our next remounts.' 'Because as many ambulances as this is—14 plus the two CORE—we're getting four more remounts in three months, ' he announced. 'Three to six months after that, we're getting four brand-new ambulances. So our entire EMS fleet for Oahu will be under a year old within about six months or so.' Blangiardi said the city's latest ambulance procurement was a 'historic day.' 'What I'm really proud of is the capability this gives our city, ' the mayor added. 'When we talk in terms of public safety and the concerns that people have, I don't think there's a more chilling sentence that I hope never to really have to utter again, I've done once before, but which is when you say, 'Call an ambulance.'' Later, Kahu Brutus La Benz performed a traditional Hawaiian blessing on the EMS vehicles, which involved sprinkling rainwater he'd collected at his Moiliili home on the ambulance rigs and their respective crews. The kahu also highlighted the efforts of the city's EMS and CORE personnel. 'You folks are the first ones to respond to our loved ones, ' La Benz said. Out of 14 EMS ambulances, six new ones cost about $377, 000 each. The eight refurbished and remounted rigs cost about $250, 000 each. The CORE Sprinter vans cost $304, 347 each, while the AmbuBus cost $650, 000, EMS officials said. The total cost for the new fleet is over $5.5 million, officials said. At the event, EMS Chief of Operations Jeff Zuckernick told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that refurbishing old ambulances—with many reaching 250, 000 to 350, 000 miles—can save taxpayers about $120, 000 per rig, 'which means then we can purchase more ambulances.' 'Our fleet was well past its due date, and this comes as a blessing, ' he said, adding that city and county ambulances typically last six to eight years, though some can reach 10 years old 'at the extreme.' Besides these new ambulances, Zuckernick said there are more city ambulances in service. 'There's 23 ambulances in service during the daytime, 21 ambulances at night, ' he explained. 'We have a rapid-response vehicle … that's during the daytime. We have four district chiefs that are always running calls, too.' 'So these (new ) ambulances are mostly going to replace the 23 ambulances that are on the road right now, ' he said. 'And then the 23 that are on the road right now will go into reliever or backup status.' The city, according to Zuckernick, ships its old ambulances to Braun Custom Ambulances in Washington state. There the company remounts the vehicles' boxes—the portion of the ambulance containing medical equipment, stretchers and first aid supplies—then ships the completed vehicle back to Oahu. 'Four are on the way right now, ' he added, 'and we have budgeted eight more ambulances next year.' Ireland, whose Council renomination in April to a second four-year term as head of HESD, which includes the paramedics division, initially faced months of vocal opposition. Opponents to Ireland's appointment—largely former EMS workers—leveled complaints and allegations about low morale, chronic understaffing, employee favoritism and frequent resignations during his directorship that allegedly affected the timely response of ambulances to emergencies on Oahu. But at the Council's April 16 meeting, Ireland told the panel his continued leadership at EMS would improve and advance the paramedic service well into the city's future. He said that work included purchasing more ambulances to reduce lengthy response times to 911 calls.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City's planned 115% sewer fee hike under Council scrutiny
STAR-ADVERTISER / OCT. 23 The city is looking at options to deal with a proposed 115 % sewer rate fee hike that is supposed to take effect in July. A worker maintains a primary clarifier at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. STAR-ADVERTISER / OCT. 23 The city is looking at options to deal with a proposed 115 % sewer rate fee hike that is supposed to take effect in July. A worker maintains a primary clarifier at the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. To publicly avert what one city official termed 'rate shock, ' Mayor Rick Blan giardi's administration and Hono lulu City Council are now offering competing ideas to deal with proposed city sewer fee rate hikes expected this summer. The city Department of Environmental Services says the planned sewer fee increases—which they say amount to a total increase of 115 % across all rate-paying classes over a 10-year period—would take effect July 1. Currently, the city says, an average single-family residential sewer bill totals approximately $110.89 a month. By July 1 that bill could rise to $122.04 a month. ENV contends planned sewer fee rate hikes are necessary to address rising operational costs as well as fund critical projects within its $10.1 billion capital improvement program, scheduled from 2025 to 2040. That includes work to upgrade the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant to full secondary treatment, which will cost an estimated $2.5 billion. Potable water fee rates will not be adjusted, as they are separate fees administered by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 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 since that time, other versions to Bill 60 have materialized—including a revision by ENV itself that supposedly lessens the initial blow of higher fees to its rate-paying customers. ENV Director Roger Babcock on Tuesday 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 at year 2035. Under this 6 % option, the city said the same average single-family residential sewer bill in the first year would go to $119.18 a month instead of $122.04, a 2.3 % difference. 'We were asked if we could do anything to try to modify the rate schedule in order to perhaps reduce rates in the initial years, ' Babcock told the panel. 'The important thing was we took our revenue requirements for the 10-year period, and actually beyond, and made sure that we had enough revenues in each year of the rate package.' He noted new rates should ensure the city is 'whole, in terms of operations and maintenance, debt service and new debt issued in order to do our (capital improvement program ).' During committee questions, Council Chair Tommy Waters noted ENV's new 6 % option 'starts at 6 %, but over the years, will increase up to 9 %, right ?' 'Correct, ' Babcock replied. Waters added, 'And ultimately, they both come out with approximately the same amount, which is about a 100 % increase, right ?' 'That's correct, yes, ' said Babcock. 'Because it's all based on the revenue requirements that we generated during our rate study.' But Waters asserted the city's new 6 % option is 'putting the big rate increases at the end of the 10-year cycle, rather than at the beginning.' Babcock said, 'It redistributes some of the increase from the earlier years—really the first three years only—(and ) moving that out a little bit to the later years.' Meantime, Waters told the committee 'we understand the reality that families are facing.' 'Food costs are up, transportation costs are up, utilities and electric bills are up, ' he said. 'One of the things that I'm suggesting, and I have a bill already drafted, which would infuse the sewer fund using the Oahu Transient Accommodations Tax, or OTAT, using approximately $49 million a year.' Waters noted 50 % of OTAT currently funds the city's over-$10 billion rail project. 'This is a tax on the visitors, whenever they come to Hawaii, ' he said, adding 8.4 % of OTAT goes toward city parks to mitigate impacts of visitors too. 'I'm suggesting we take the balance of 41.66 % and infuse it into the general fund.' Waters claimed by 'using cash from the OTAT ' the city won't have to issue as many bonds to fund major city projects like sewer treatment plant upgrades. 'Thereby, creating savings, ' he said. And rather than 'a 100 % increase over the 10 years, it would amount to approximately about a 70 % increase over 10 years, ' he added. Waters' tentative proposal to increase sewer fees annually for the next decade includes a 6.75 % increase for the first five years starting July 1, followed by an 8.75 % increase for the next two years, and then it would decrease to 7.75 %, 6.75 %, and 5.5 % over the remaining years. Although not a voting member of the Council's Budget Committee, Waters said, 'he'd love for this committee to seriously consider this approach, rather than ' the city's versions of Bill 60. Earlier in the meeting, the city's bond counsel spoke to the importance of Honolulu maintaining its strong bond rating—currently AA +—as the city tackles multibillion dollar upgrades to its sewer treatment infrastructure and related utilities. 'As you may know, the city has approximately $2.5 billion in aggregate principal amount of wastewater bonds outstanding, which are designed to finance improvements for the city's waste-water system, ' said John Wang, a partner with San Francisco-based law firm Orrick, Herrington &Sutcliffe LLP. He asserted current bond covenants 'or promises '—first established in 1998—commit the city and ENV to do 'certain things, while those bonds are held by investors.' 'These promises collectively form a legally binding contract with the city's existing and future bondholders, ' Wang said. 'These promises, of course, include the promise to pay bonds on time and in scheduled amounts but also include other important commitments.' He said that includes the 'rate covenant, which requires the city to set sewer rates at sufficient levels to generate revenues to allow the city to cover its (operating and maintenance ) expenses as well as its obligations to make debt service payment on the bonds, plus a certain cushion.' Wang added 'unfortunately, monies generated from the surplus and the city's general fund or any other monies derived from the general fund do not legally qualify as monies to meet this requirement.' He noted investors use bond ratings 'to help determine whether to buy bonds, and if purchased, at what interest rate.' 'The higher the rating on the bonds, the lower the borrowing costs, ' he said. 'And in turn, the lower the rating on the bonds, the higher the borrowing costs.' However, he asserted 'failure to meet the rate covenant could expose the city to legal risks.' 'If the city were not to enact sewer rates, and charges sufficient to meet the rate covenant, such failure could lead to a default under the resolutions and entitle bondholders to pursue legal remedies against the city, including declaring that all outstanding bonds to be immediately due or payable, ' Wang asserted. 'And the net effect of the city's borrowing costs could end up costing ratepayers more in the long run, ' he added. During public testimony Tuesday, Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa disagreed with Waters' plan to use OTAT funds to cover sewer costs rather than city rail, as she suggested such actions might sway bond investors. 'If you are taking cash, or you are taking TAT or you are taking any other money that could go to the general fund and using that to supplement the sewer fund, what does that tell investors ?' she asked. 'Investors want to have the assurance that (the city has ) the sewer money here, and that they have the general (fund ) money here.' 'And if you're taking from the general money and you're putting it over here, what happens to the general fund ?' she queried. 'Is the bond rating in the future going to go down because of that ?' Kaneohe resident Donald Sakamoto also expressed concerns over higher sewer fees. 'As a 'Go for broke' guy, I don't want to be too broke to 'Go for broke' anymore, ' he said. 'Fee increases are very hard for myself, who is disabled and a kupuna.' In the end, Budget Committee Chair Tyler Dos Santos-Tam—who'd offered his own version of Bill 60—recommended the budget committee postpone discussion on this measure to a time to be determined. However, the panel plans to deliberate the matter further at meetings in May. The full Council's overall budget sessions for fiscal year 2026—in which a finalized Bill 60 is likely to be included—are scheduled to continue through early June.
