The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu City Council on Dec. 3, 2025.
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Dec. 3, 2025, 10 a.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu City Council
Tommy Waters, Chair
Andria Tupola, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: Bill 76 (2025) — RELATING TO GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
Aloha Chair Waters, Vice Chair Tupola and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 76 (2025), which would require the Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services to create a free, online budget database accessible to the public.
This database would include information on every city expenditure, such as the amount of money spent, where the funds came from, the date of the expenditure, the department or agency that spent the money and the vendor or entity that received the funds.
Grassroot believes an online, searchable database would go a long way toward making Honolulu’s government more transparent and accountable to island residents.
Right now, the public can access budget information through one of several annual and quarterly reports. However, there is no simple way to locate specific expenditures across a range of dates. Furthermore, an online database would help the public determine whether funds were being allocated in accordance with their intended purposes.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
