Honolulu City Council CARES
By Lauren Ballesteros-Watanabe, Oʻahu Group Program Manager
The pandemic has touched every household throughout our islands, but not all have been impacted the same way. Fortunately, there is so much innovation exhibited by community and nonprofits to meet these challenges with intention and compassion. But we also need to have our institutions and government reflect those same efforts.
A just economic recovery is an opportunity to redress historical inequities and elevate our communities to thrive in vibrant, affordable, and healthy environments. This transition should also strive to eliminate race-based, gender, and socio-economic disparities as we work to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And of course, as if to neatly complete the vicious cycle, air pollution makes people more vulnerable to the effects of contracting COVID-19. Again, communities of color bear the brunt of this burden as well, and Hawaiʻi has a long history of environmental racism. As the effects of climate change intensify, the spread of pathogens and viruses will only become more likely. These problems feed each other.
A just recovery also utilizes practices of a circular economy and food access that will assist in transforming Honolulu County into one that keeps our investments local, radically reduces excessive consumption into reuse of finite resources, and lessens the City's dependence on tourism.
The Honolulu City Council has been working hard to figure out how best to use the federal relief CARES money. They created an Economic Assistance and Revitalization Committee to make sure the funding goes to making our economy and climate future more resilient and equitable than ever before. Check out some of their work:
RESOLUTION 20-183 - Urging the PUC to extend the moratorium on utility shut offs. Passed back in August in support of our moratorium extension campaign. Simultaneous efforts put pressure on Hawaiian Electric and the Public Utilities Commission to get us a victor! We are now calling on Hawaiian Electric to implement true bill forgiveness measures for customers that can demonstrate unemployment or loss of income due to COVID-19.
RESOLUTION 20-211 - Encouraging the Mayor’s administration to support a circular economy, food access, and local agriculture in implementing Honolulu's economic recovery. This is in part through our efforts in collaboration with our nonprofit friends and the work of the Agriculture Response & Recovery Working Group convened by Hunter Heaivilin, our Oʻahu Group Chair.
RESOLUTION 20-206 - Commitment to Equity and Social Justice for frontline communities. This resolution proclaims the Honolulu City Council's commitment to equity and social justice and to the realization of equitable outcomes for frontline communities through COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery programs. The intent of this bill is to acknowledge the past harm or neglect that government actions or policies have had on working class communities of color and how to right those wrongs through this commitment.
RESOLUTION 20-208 - Urging the City Administration to adopt the Honolulu Economic Recovery and Employment Support (H.E.R.E.S.) package, including the following elements:
supporting city projects to promote job creation, economic activity, and community spending;
establishing a commercial landlord tenant real property tax grant program to provide rent forgiveness and relief; and
allowing outdoor dining and retail activities in city parking lots, yards, and landscape areas.
Learn more about Council happenings here and stay up to date by subscribing to our Honolulu CouncilWatch email list.