City council wants power to create special funds
Rosemarie Bernardo, reporting for the Star-Advertiser:
The Honolulu City Council wants the authority to create special funds to ensure fees and taxes paid by the public are spent for the proper purposes, such as requiring fuel tax revenue to pay for road improvements.
Bernardo quotes Mike Hansen, director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, as saying that allowing the council to create special funds “creates inflexibility in the budgetary process.”
“Special funds” are government revenue sources – taxes, fees – tied to the funding of specific programs.
Hansen’s remarks make perfect sense; it’s in the interest of the adminstration to want the greatest degree of flexibility for spending public monies. And it’s in the interest of the city council to attempt to control that spending using the very limited powers of the legislative branch.
The O‘ahu electorate will be able to vote on this matter in the November 6 general election.