Mayor vetoes budget cuts to Office of Economic Revitalization

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has vetoed budget cuts to the city Office of Economic Revitalization.

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The Honolulu City Council stripped the office of $1.5 million, or 15 positions, after an audit found it was not meeting all of its goals.

In his letter to the council Tuesday, Blangiardi wrote the cuts “would impede current efforts and progress on services provided to those who are economically disadvantaged and struggling in our communities.”

“This is so irresponsible I don’t have the words for it,” Blangiardi said. “This is a failure of leadership. This is really a failure to understand a basic function. We’ve got 37,000 small businesses in Hawaii, over 1,000 farms.”

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The council’s 6-3 vote to approve the budget earlier this month is enough to override the mayor’s veto. Council members now have 30 days to reconsider their votes.

A council statement issued Tuesday afternoon said the mayor’s line-item veto “raises serious legal questions.”

“Nothing in the City Charter appears to permit the use of the veto power to restore funding for OER after the Council removed it,” the statement said.

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The council will hold a public hearing on the matter July 8.