A city agency tasked with leading Oahu’s economic development appears to be closer to having its funding cut and a majority of its positions slashed by the Honolulu City Council.

But Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration as well as many independent nonprofit organizations assert that scrapping the city’s Office of Economic Revitalization will only hurt the community at large.

In the current fiscal year that ends June 30, OER — staffed largely by contract-­only workers, not perma­­nent civil service employees — is authorized for 25 full-time positions and is funded for over $2.2 million.

The Council’s latest proposal to cut OER funding by about $1.4 million and reduce up to 20 positions follows a scathing report issued by the Office of the City Auditor in January that reported OER had not implemented many of its economic programs nor shown transparency in its multiyear financial budgets.

Attached to the city Managing Director’s Office, OER has a stated mission to build a strong economy that improves the quality of life for every community, small business and family on the island. The agency was established through a City Council resolution in 2020.

During the Council’s Budget Committee hearing Friday, the panel continued to review OER in light of the city’s proposed $5.08 billion budget package for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1.

Val Okimoto, the budget committee’s chair, said the recent city audit “has made it clear that the current structure of the OER is not meeting the standards our residents deserve.

“When this office was established in 2020 it was given a clear mandate to strengthen our economy through agriculture, technology and workforce development,” she said. “Five years later the auditor finds that progress has been made on only three of its eight core responsibilities listed in the (City Charter).”

At the meeting, many area nonprofits rose to OER’s defense.

. . .

Sherry Menor, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s president and CEO, backed the agency’s ongoing work with small businesses.

“In a time like this, we believe that collaboration and partnerships with the government is critical and very effective in ensuring that our small business community is supported,” she said.

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