The Federal Transit Administration informed the City and County of Honolulu that the rail financial plan needed to be strengthened before they would commit to giving the city $1.55 billion in federal funding. As a result, Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle is requesting the City Council to approve a $450 million line of credit to be used only in the event of a “catastrophic, unforseen event” that would cause the project to run out of money. Executive Director for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART), Daniel Grabauskas, stated, “The hope and the belief would be that you would never call on this line of credit, but if you were 90 percent done with the project and something catastrophic happened that more money was necessary, you’d have a little extra reserve or some opportunity or some option. That’s what this is about.”
Opponents to the Honolulu Rail Project question how this $450 million line of credit will be paid back to the state if used. They argue that the rail system will not be able to generate a profit in the first place and would have to be subsidied by the city tax payers anyway. Ann Kobayashi, the City Council Budget Committee Chair, stated, “It’s a big worry for me. To me its like asking every resident to co-sign a loan for HART, and I don’t think that’s right.”
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 4-23-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
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