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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY 2024 (Office of the Mayor) Budget Narrative OFFICE OF THE MAYOR FY 2024 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS Derek S.K. Kawakami Mayor Michael A. Dahilig Managing Director 1 Department: MAYOR’S OFFICE Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2023 to FY 2024 BUDGET COMPARSION FY 2023 FY 2024 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 1,553,982 1,709,275 155,293 10.0% Benefits 1,006,485 1,055,077 48,592 4.8% Utilities 3,001 3,196 195 6.5% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1 2 1 100.0% Operations 652,104 678,804 26,700 4.1% 3,215,573 3,446,354 230,781 7.2% 2 The Office of the Mayor encompasses two functions: the Mayor’s support functions, and the Office of Boards and Commissions. Both offices are wholly supported out of the General Fund. The proposed operating budget comparison to the prior year’s budget is charted above. Close to 80% of the proposed appropriations would cover Salaries, Overtime and Fringe Benefits, with the remaining 20% for all other expenditures. Overall, there is a 7.2% increase in the Office of the Mayor’s budget over last fiscal year. 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET Other than salary increase by resolution or classification, a notable change is another increase in the contract price with our D.C. consultants who offer guidance and communication with our federal delegation. Their work is critical in delivering information regarding federal legislation and funding opportunities. Most recently they stewarded our successful congressionally directed spending requests to Senator Schatz and Senator Hirono’s office resulting in an additional $7,772,000 on top of the $8,495,000 from last federal budget for Phase II improvements to the Lima Ola Community, $1,200,000 to support our Wailua/Kapaa Sewer Collection System through inspections, and $1,200,00 to implement the wetland restoration portion of the Waimea 400 master plan. Non-salary items should reflect the 6.5% inflationary factor given to all departments as a part of the internal budgetary process. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FROM FY2023 The enactment of Acts 220 SLH 2021 and 177 SLH 177 continue to pose severe operational challenges for our various boards and commissions. The requirements to use remote technology are overly narrow and tend to micromanage the ability of these bodies to maintain decorum and conduct business without losing control or wasting resources due to either connectivity interruptions or vexatious complaints to the Office of Information Practices. The “troll” effect is also becoming a remote management issue with obscene comments or images being bombed in the middle of proceedings. Many of these folks, when asked to refrain or are ultimately cut off from the proceeding make complaints to OIP, eating up resource time with our staff across departments to defend proceedings. Coordination and lobbying with the increasing volume of federal grant opportunities has been manageable, but capacity issues may arise with our policy and operations oversight functions should IIJA, IRA, and earmark streams of funding continue to pour in. We continue to restore functions within the Boards and Commissions office COVID-19 pandemic drew resource time for emergency functions and priorities. Much of the Boards and Commissions staff was utilized for support functions from call center to grants management leading to backlogs in normal administrative functions and 3 appointments to some boards and commissions. We are on track to have normal service Contested Case hearings are becoming a growing concern given increasing litigiousness in permitting and taxation decisions. While the boards and commissions office is currently managing, more work is being pushed to contracted hearings officers leading to increasing costs. 4. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2022 • Our public information team continues its commitment to providing timely and accurate information, and often do so by working long and odd hours. Whether through video messaging or press releases, our team works with our county departments and agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations to ensure our public has the information they need. Public meetings, road resurfacing and subsequent road closures, COVID-19 updates, landslide information, awards and recognitions are in the realm of the service our team provides. This past year, a transition from COVID-19 updates to weekly video updates on county announcements have been implemented. An official mayor Instagram account was established and is now daily being filled with content. • Rebuilding our antiquated infrastructure and addressing decades of deferred maintenance is one our top priorities. Our Operations Team continues to provide management support with our many Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) which are centralized out of our Public Works administration office. • The Office of Boards and Commission provides administrative support for 18 Boards, Commissions and Advisory Committees with over 100 volunteers who make critical decisions regarding County functions. The Office has initiated an individualized orientation training and resource manual for each incoming volunteer, was the first in the State to operationalize the newly created Special Needs Advisory Committee for Elections, and assisted with the hiring of a new Fire Chief.