Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann has unveiled his fiscal 2009 budget proposal, including an $831.5 million capital budget that calls for more than $475 million of new bond issuance.
Hannemann’s budget, released Friday, includes more than $202 million of sewer revenue bonds and $273 million of general obligation bonds.
The city and county of Honolulu governs the entire island of Oahu, home to more than 900,000 residents, or three-quarters of the state population.
Honolulu GOs carry underlying ratings of AA from Fitch Ratings, Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service, and AA from Standard & Poor’s.
Hannemann’s budget also includes more than $251 million for the Honolulu rapid transit project. The start of construction for the 20-mile rail line is projected in 2009. The budget doesn’t include any bonds for the mass transit line — residents of Oahu have been paying an additional excise tax for the project since the beginning of 2007.
