Audit slams Honolulu rail agency over management, costs
MARCEL HONORE / MHONORE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Mayor Kirk Caldwell and rail officials hold a news conference after the first rail transit cars arrived at Honolulu Harbor on March 24. The City Auditor released his latest report on HART today.
The agency overseeing Honolulu rail’s construction is relying on outdated financial figures and budgets, and it could take steps to complete the project more “economically, effectively and efficiently,” a city audit has concluded.
Rail’s price tag has ballooned by an additional $1.3 billion in the past year and a half, and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation could do a better job regularly updating the public and the city’s elected leaders on the climbing price tag, the city Auditor’s report stated.
The city Auditor’s report further stated that HART’s latest cost overrun figures aren’t reliable — and that they’re likely to climb even further. HART’s current estimates put the project’s cost at some $6.57 billion.
The audit follows a Thursday press conference in which HART Executive Director Dan Grabauskas went on the offensive a day early against the report. He described its findings as flawed and exaggerated, and he maintained that city Auditor Edwin Young was pressured by the City Council to rush and finish it nearly three months ahead of schedule.
Grabauskas further excoriated Young on Thursday for the leak of the confidential audit’s findings before its release. The embattled rail executive has faced recent criticism from top city leaders in an election year over HART’s handling of the project, which is now some two years behind schedule. He has so far deflected questions regarding a call by the City Council Chairman to resign.
117 responses to “Audit slams Honolulu rail agency over management, costs”
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Grabass has to go………..
Yes, the HART board should can him and don’t give him any parachute.
Another wooden stake into the inept HART of the $24.8 Billion Dollar TITANIC RAIL SCAM from no where to no where and much more than a BLIGHT!!!
STOP THE INSANITY……STOP THE TITANIC RAIL SCAM!!!
LOL, a little(?) exaggeration, but basically ALL correct.
The mayor should stop the rail guide way at Aloha Stadium and convert the guide to a two lane reversible Freeway which would: cap the rail cost to less than $3 Billion; cancel the GET surcharge extension; eliminate utility relocation along Dillingham Blvd ($100 million); eliminate the unsightly structure through downtown; eliminate the power plants, eliminate all the rail stations which cost $25 million each and eliminate the exponential rise in additional rail costs in the downtown route.
Another option is to stop the rail at Aloha Stadium which would: cap the rail cost to less than $4 Billion.
Stadium parking spaces are underutilized during the weekdays and the site provides an ideal location for a “park and ride” transfer point for express buses to windward Oahu, the Airport/Pearl Harbor and downtown bound commuter destinations. A portion of the Stadium parking area can be easily converted to a major express bus transit station to operate during peak hour traffic ( 3 hours am and 3 hours pm) with departures every five to ten minutes.
Don’t blame Grabauskus for all the problems HART is having. Most of the blame for the HART mess belongs to former Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who resurrected the rail project from the mass transit grave yard, and on his Managing Director Kirk Caldwell (our current Mayor), who conspired with others to obtain public approval of the rail project through lies and deception, and who oversaw the project during the flawed first three years. The HART Board of Directors also shares some responsibility for the mess. Grabauskus inherited the mess they created and is now being blamed for everything.
Exactly. When Mufi first introduced the idea way back, I was against the idea ONLY because Mufi told the people we are going to have rail, PERIOD. I thought about the same idealistic concepts ukuleleblue and wiliki (both complete BS shills) want us to have blind faith in, but heard ZERO details from Mufi, ZERO numbers crunching, ZERO economic forecasts.
Mufi was obviously shoving this down our throats for his own self-interest, ZERO attempt to explain to us why we should like his idea. Had he cared about the people and the future of Honolulu, he would have foreseen and factored in all the cost and economic issues that would come up. He did not, and still does not, care for the people.
grabby’s contract, similar to the firing clause in his Boston transit authority position, provides for a generous one-year severance package. Deja vu time for grabby. He was terminated by Boston in a similar toy choo-choo meltdown. His past keeps on coming back in regurgitative fashion. Figures, he’s getting to be an expert on being terminated. Wouldn’t you know it. The appointed toadies of HART (by cladwell and council) get the blame for hiring someone who was fired for similar botching of his job in Boston. Of course, his supporters maintain it was for political reasons. But hey, the entire toy choo-choo is a political boondoggle.
I see the NBA is going to allow the players to put patches on their uniforms corresponding to their paid sponsors–I think it would be a great idea if our lawmakers would do the same.
He failed in Boston, why did he get hired in Hawaii?
You might want to check the facts before attacking and blaming Grabauskas for the Boston Big Dig problems and for all of HART’s problems. Planning for the Big Dig began in 1982 when Grabauskas was 19 years old and still in school. Construction started in 1991 and was not officially completed until December 2007. The project was plagued from the start by poor planning, use of sub-standard materials, delays, massive cost overruns, one death caused by a collapsed tunnel ceiling and the hiring of Parsons Brinckerhoff to oversee the project, Yes, it was a mess. Parsons Brinckerhoff, where have we seen that name before? Oh, yes, they were involved in the planning of HART. Grabauskas became General Manner of the Big Dig project near the end of the project in 2005 and politicians expected him to correct all the problems that occurred before he got there. It was Mission Impossible. He was blamed for all the Big Dig problems and was fired. When Grabauskas was hired by HART, he inherited insurmountable problems created by former Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Kirk Caldwell, who was his Managing Director, Parsons Brinkerhoff, and other co-conspirators who succeeded in getting a gullible public to accept the project based on distortions and lies and who prematurely awarded contracts before the project was approved by the federal government. Grabauskas may be responsible for some of HART’s problems, but most of the blame should go to those who preceded him.
He is nearly done. He makes a common error when he attacks the messenger bringing bad, if expected news. Grabby should tell us how he will fix the problems the auditor describes. Let us shorten the route to middle Street and re-work bus routes. Building through the financial district is way too costly and not needed. The rail technology and route never made any sense.
RUSTY THE HATED SCREECHING RAIL REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN & AGAIN & AGAIN. Built on a foundation of lies, deception and Little brown envelopes of LUV ( from Auntie Ansaldo) MUFEE DA BULLY & Capt Kirk Caldwell are the main people responsible for he mess. followed by peter Carlyle (CARLIER)and back to Nester Garcia , Wayne Yoshioka etc. etc. etc
THEY ALL NEED TO RESIGN IN SHAME AND BE SPRAYED WITH HORSE DONG AND FEATHERED FOR THE RAIL TRIP DOWN TO KAPOLEI HALE.
Fire Keolu
and take Martin along too
Audit blasts HART. HART blasts audit report. Who to believe?
I believe the auditor. HART has been asking for more monthly practically every month since this project started. Why would we doubt the audit?
True. Bottom line. Is the project On Time and On Budget? No. Therefore, gotta go with the audit report.
To be fair, we need an audit of Ernie Martin and the City Council
The alleged “City Auditor’s report” is just a subterfuge. It is solely meant to create chaos in the minds of the public. Everyone commenting, herein and hereon, have fallen in to that “TRAP”. You are spending all of your time arguing over “who to BLAME now instead of asking for THE EVIDENCE. “THE BLAME” started with “MOOFIOSSO’S” Administration–when HE SOLD-OUT the citizens of Honolulu to cater to the Unions and major contractors. If this “AUDIT” was conducted by a CREDITABLE RECOGNIZED INDEPENDENT OUTSIDE Auditing Firm–it might have some basis in fact. Otherwise, it’s just another FRAUDULENT AUDIT–similar to the “ENRON” scandal. By repeated admissions–the alleged “auditors” don’t even have an “AUDIT-TRAIL”; and, several Prime-Contractors and related Sub-Contractors, can’t produce AFFABLE EVIDENCE(S) of their expenditures. Also, there is DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE that several “Politicians” have received “Contributions” from various “Contractors”. This report is just another Governmental “Dog and Pony Show”–meant to placate the public and create arguments and confusion. “THE PREMISE” is–there never should have been A “RAIL”. CONCLUSION–“REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM”! “Follow-the-MONEY”! At this point in time; it’s not a matter of WHO–it’s a matter of, SPECIFICALLY, “where was the MONEY SPENT and who were the RECIPIENTS(?)! The whole premise, concept, and project was and is a BOONDOGGLE!
Anybody else had to look up excoriated?
I think that’s a cross between “exorcised” and “infuriated”.
So what about the leaky auditor? Was he reviewing his report with Martin to see if said what Martin wanted it to say? Do auditors usually provide “previews” of their reports?
My understanding is that it is usual practice to provide drafts of the audits to the council chair.
The audit drafts were given to HART earlier for their review and by HART’s own admission forwarded copies of the audit draft to other parties who were not authorized to see it.
So, grabby was responsible for the leak, and is pointing fingers elsewhere? Sort of like the clueless lawyers who pointedly mention insurance company in their arguments for their plaintiff clients, hoping to create grounds for mistrial. Shameless to point out leaks when you done did it yourself.
You hit the nail on the head. What we are witnessing right now is a feeding frenzie caused by the auditor’s mishandling of his product. These articles are nothing more than shabai, being played on a grand scale by all the theater actors; HART, MAYOR, COUNCIL CHAIR and, last but not least, the paper we are currently reading. All have skin in the game and are looking to capitalize on the food fight. The ” common practice” to release previews is a big mistake and he should have read the tea leaves and published the report via his websiite, giving no advantage to all parties involved. “Publish” means making it available to the public and by giving the aformention actors pre-publishing privledge he unjustly empowered them to use the contents to their benifit. In today’s information age we do not need Honolulu’s not-so-great metropolitan newspaper to tell us what is the audit. We can read it ourselves and come to uor own conclusions without their obvoius bias and agenda.
Young was told by Grabauskas that the agency had to revise the budget because the council delayed in passing the GET extension. Fire Ernie. He’s delaying rail.
Young should have written on the cover that the budget used for the report is not the current one. Instead we hear from Young that Ernie pressured him to release the report early.
The audit findings was no surprise. With all the picadillos, lies, cost overruns and incompetent management, it was what we expected. Now lest see what kind of explanation that grabby comes up with.
In the meantime, we should ignore the propaganda spewed by paid rail blogger ukuleleblue who wants to sugar coat everything and will lie about anything to make the rail seem better than the boondoggle really is. And that also goes for wiliki who make outrageous false claims such as rail has been paid for and that 500,000 people will ride daily.
Fire ukuleleblue and wiliki!
Cannot fire UB and wili. Their performance at swaying public opinion is at the same level (LOW) as all the other employees of HART. They belong. They should be getting their (un)achievement bonuses any day now.
Fire Keolu
Go to page 174 of 176. Every “actual” rail ridership for all those cities were less than forecast.
Do we or don’t we believe “Wiliki”?
Yep every city that built rail had ridership projections that were very rosy but the reality was a stark contrast.
Here’s one more finding that disputes what ukuleleblue and wiliki constantly claim:
“””In December 2014, HART stated delay claims totaled $190 million
and were attributed to lawsuits, escalation costs, and other
delays. Of the $190 million, $146 million were executed through change orders funded by the project contingency reserves. We found that the remaining costs of approximately $44 million were either unsupported or the claim amount changed because HART does not have an effective method in tracking, monitoring, and reporting on delay claim costs.”””
This 2013 article shows the recoup rate for rail in multiple cities. Some of the results:
57% – San Diego Trolley (No manned rail stations. Self serve ticket kiosks. Random checks by transit police.)
49% – Boston
44% – Portland
33% – Phoenix
32% – Sacramento
25% – Seattle
21% – Buffalo & Los Angeles
Nei rail is estimated to have a 30% recoup rate meaning taxpayers will be required to subsidize the remaining 70% of O&M costs. As with the rest of rail’s financial debacle, the recoup rate could be even lower.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/2013/08/01/fact-check-one-of-the-best-light-rail-lines-in-the-country/
The fairbox recovery rate for Honolulu’s public transportation has averaged around 23% for the past twelve years. The 30% figure is pure shibai and based on some obscure policy statemnt that has never been actualized. Neither the Mayors norrthe city council members have had the political will to reach that goal and it is a fools errand to expect any future council or mayor to gain that will.
Yes, a bus pass with unlimited rides should cost more than $60. If the rail does the same thing, be prepared for the city to raise property taxes by 25% or more.
Shibai, where do you get 23% from? As you noted, by city policy, the recovery is to be no lower than 27%. Even in FY 2013, when the council authorized a lower limit, it was still 29%.
@ bikemom->The numbers come from the city/county’s comprehensive annual financial reports over the past decade. It takes a little digging, but the numbers are there. My analysis ran from FY2000 through 2012. It does not include 2013-14 but a quick check of FY2015 shows the following: Passenger Fares for Transportation Services – $56.1 million: Total Operating Expenses – $250.9 Million. That calculates to 22.4% for the expense recovery from the fare box. This is consistent with the FY2000 – 20142 analysis.
correction-last sentence “…- 2012 analysis.”
Of course, the actual bus fare can be lower than projected. If the budget stays the same, that actual costs are lower than projected.
Ridership depends on where it goes. Pure commute models typically have lower recovery rates. Convenient systems that have all you can want in daily lives (ie., linking social infrastructure, like schools hospitals, airport, etc) have higher fare recovery. The average is around 40-50% for systems that are the latter. We have a commute type, and it’s not even servicing central Oahu. So lower recovery rates should be expected. And since we are astronomically beyond affordable per capita measures, I wouldn’t expect our system to be close to 30%.
As far as traffic alleviation, it’s only temporary. The most complete transit systems I know still have huge surface street auto traffic. Bangkok has train, freeway overpasses, etc. Traffic temporarily improved when flyovers completed, but my old associates tell me traffic is back and even worse in some areas. Aside: In fact biggest bang per baht was elevated freeway overpasses. World Bank/IMF stopped entertaining metro rail projects while I was there because of their own studies showing that.
In my opinion, the ONLY WAY to reduce traffic is to limit auto ownership and require overnight off street parking. One or at most 2 cars per household; not mother, father, sister, brother all having cars. And to require off street parking proof on purchase/registration. Collateral effect is to increase public transit use. That’s at near zero taxpayer cost, just a matter of legislation. In fact, there are places where autos are equal in cost to registration, so it doubles the purchase price; the next license at the same household is even more costly. That’s a money maker for government.
But of course that will never happen. People would think it’s un-American. Oh well, there’s always going 50s sci-fi and getting flying cars like the Jetsons.
“Bang per baht”. Very nice, I think I’ll start using that.
I was in Bangkok about thirty years ago and they had no train. The traffic was horrendous. It took you a half hour to get one block. Returned to Bangkok four years ago. They now have the Skytrain, an elevated system like Oahu’s rail. What a difference. The traffic below is still heavy, noisy, polluted, and unsafe. However, the Skytrain is heavily used by school kids, tourists, and the people of the City. The Skytrain can get you from one end of the City in half an hour. The view from the air conditioned train is really scenic as you fly over the city above tree tops. And the ride is quiet and comfortable even if you have to stand for a few minutes to reach your destination. Some of the Skytrain stations in the heart of Bangkok are breathtakingly beautiful, with multi-story glittering shopping arcades and restaurants, fountains, landscaped plazas and terraces, and bridges to various office buildings and hotels, all above the traffic below
Wow! Most were way below the forecasted amount. If the same applies to us, we are really in trouble with this I’ll-conceived rail project.
I think that all the jobs that “rail” has created have been counteracted by the numbers of businesses that have gone bust on the rail route since this thing started. Just another government boondoggle.
More businesses have been developed since the start of rail, than have been put out of business by rail. More fuzzy thinking about rail
<<< HART’s current estimates put the project’s cost at some $6.57 billion.>>> After this rail project is finished, I bet the final cost is going to be more like $8 billion just to build it. They still didn’t reach the most difficult areas like Kalihi and downtown.
8 billion is overly optimistic. I honestly think the rail is going to cost somewhere between 12 and 16 billion if it’s built all the way to Ala Moana.
And the median home price on Oahu will be $1 million. Cost is always relative to the economy. Rail infrastructure will absolutely be needed here in the long range future. We recognize what we need, build it as early as possible and do our best to finance it. If we don’t finish rail all the way to Ala Moana now, our children and grandchildren will be in dire straights dealing with choked traffic decades from now.
ukuleleblue, total bu.ll.sh.it.
Our children and grandchildren will be in dire straits choked in traffic with rail. The rail is only expected to reduce traffic by 1-2% and that doesn’t factor in the ten of thousands of new homes being built out west because of rail. Not to mention west siders who are forced off their express buses onto rail will have longer commutes.
There’s a thing called return on investment and the rail won’t solve the traffic problems, and it’s going to cost more than 10 billion. It’s just not worth it. We could have built a second freeway above the current one and doubled the number of lanes available to get to work and home.
” If we don’t finish rail all the way to Ala Moana now, our children and grandchildren will be in dire straights dealing with choked traffic decades from now.”
You are apparently unaware that the rail was SUPPOSED to go to UH Manoa. In fact, it was it’s very stated for existing. Somewhere along the way, as connected insiders each took their cut and slice, some developers realized they could be really greedy and just steal the whole route. SO now we have an out of control, leaderless project spending taxpayer money like crazy on a train that doesn’t go where it needs to go.
Now if you really cared about the people who live here, you’d be outraged over the results of this audit instead of encouraging everyone to ignore and keep paying despite how many broken promises and wrong projections.
Which brings up an important question. Where do you live on the mainland and what is your connection to this mess of a rail project?
Want to show me something HART? Stop paying ukus with our money for his ridiculous comments. Until that is done, everyone at HART should be fired.
Kalaheo1: A M E N !!!
UkuBS: you are a vile, disgusting, Goebbels-like troll spewing your propaganda. Go climb under your rock and begone.
Oh oh. Getting bad over at Alii Place, eh?
Having to stoop to Wiliki’s level and use kids and grandkids as human shields now. Very pathetic.
UB and wiliki fit right in with all the other incompetent HART losers. They are role models in the bizarro HART universe.
ub: So, “…our children and grandchildren will be in dire straights dealing with choked traffic decades from now.” Is that a fashion comment? What is a “dire straight”? Pleated pants that are starched in epoxy? You must be local. Or a transplanted Hawaii-born guttersnipe. Like Eliza Doolittle, you were able to fool us with your canned garbage, but this “dire straights” remark shows where you come from. Yup. Dire straights, indeed. ub ub boo, doo bee doo bee doo – doo-bee-us remarks made by a doo-bee-us person.
More businesses have been developed since the start of rail, than have been put out of business by rail. More fuzzy thinking about rail
I wish the rail opponents could tell me, with teir love for cars, and with the increasing population and increasing number of cars, where do you park those cars in the city, where street parking is nearly non- existant, where do you house all the cars for mom, dad, and all the kids, and where do we build more highways and roads for all those cars? And how do people who cannot drive or cannot afford a car, get around? We have unaffordable houses, condos, and rental units, that are the cause of a lot of homelessness. With rail, many affordable buildings and rental units are being built near the rail stations
You didn’t mention the power plant and the police force they’ll need to create. Those are just two of the items they’ve been ignoring.
Time to shorten the route and stop the bleeding.
Agree. We can return the $500M and come out way ahead.
Forget shorteneing the rail line, just END the rail project. Even if the rail line is a couple miles, a NEW fossil fuel electric generator has to be built on Oahu and HART has not even included that cost in their budget.
The mayor should stop the rail guide way at Aloha Stadium and convert the guide to a two lane reversible Freeway which would: cap the rail cost to less than $3 Billion; cancel the GET surcharge extension; eliminate utility relocation along Dillingham Blvd ($100 million); eliminate the unsightly structure through downtown; eliminate the power plants, eliminate all the rail stations which cost $25 million each and eliminate the exponential rise in additional rail costs in the downtown route.
Another option is to stop the rail at Aloha Stadium which would: cap the rail cost to less than $4 Billion.
I find it baffling that every time rail was on the ballot it passed & every time a candidate ran on a stop the rail campaign they lost.
exactly! the people of hawaii voted for this thing. there were many opportunities to stop this but the people here are easily fooled and bought. sad but true. and only now when they finally realize what a boondoggle this is do they object. too late. next time think before you vote!
Unions are very organized in convincing their members and family to vote their way. I know a lot of anti-rail people who does not vote.
Unions subsidize mediocrity and are a refuge for feckless workers. They have long outlived their usefulness.
What is baffling is that the initial vote was not if we wanted rail or not and that the route was supposed to be to the UH. Remember? And do you think that PRP had nothing to do with electing Caldwell?
Because of PRP union slander and proganda including voter suppression like in the last mayoral election. Oahu should NEVER go to a mail only vote cause that makes it way to easy to manipulate counts.
I find it baffling that people still use that vote for rail lie. We never voted for or against rail. The fulls who caused this mess only let us vote on whether we wanted steel on steel or another form of rail. They decided there would be rail. The People were never involved in that decision.
And as for anti rail politicians, the elections were rigged (Cayetano) and people were bought off (Pine).
How is it that Scott Nago still has a job in government?
Because he was paid and rewarded for his ‘math errors’ in not providing enough ballots at key election stations on the East and Windward sides of Oahu where more people were in favor of Cayetsno but could not cast their ballots.
You are totally correct on the mail in ballots too. You know those “improper” votes will be “lost in the mail”.
We honestly never had a real vote on RAIL AND THE ELECTIONS WERE RIGGED BY PRP AND JOHN WHITE. Just think we could have Ben Cayetano and NO NEW TAXES & NO RAIL and even better we could have had tom Berg as a watchdog to make sure our government ran honestly . so now we have NO SHOW PINE and POT HOLE KIRKY CALDWELL -OH JOY- & don’t forget Branden the Elephante who is one of the largest lying new Council Member NO MORE VOTES FOR THEM PLEASE
Any financial investment company that takes your money for investment purposes and miscalculate or misuse invested funds can be charged or sued, but if you are a government entity, you have a license to legally scam the public and get away with it.
Yep, make a multi billion dollar error, just raise taxes and on we go. In private business, heads would be rolling for those kinds of errors.
Correct. To think that the legislature passed a bill to extend the rail tax not knowing this all of this in the audit. Maybe they should have waited for the audit? Did the legislature drink the kool aid? lol
Not sure it matters. They “grilled” Capt. Kirk and he had no answers and they still passed the bill.
The leg pass the bill because they didn’t want kirk to raise tthe property tax. They should have shot down the GE Tax extension and let kirk raise the property taxes 40%. He would have guaranteed he’s out of office in the next election.
“Audit slams Honolulu rail agency over management, costs”
But I don’t understand! Kirk Caldwell said he was going to make sure rail was “on time and on budget” and Dan Grabauskas has been doing such a great job that HART’s Board of Directors has been giving him huge bonus.
Thank goodness some ‘official’ is calling out HART, but now what?
Nothing but Kabuki theater, the rats that cam leave the sinking ship like Hornay leave and Grabby who gets a hefty taxpayer derived salary will lie and make excuses to keep his job and the train to nowhere project going. The next step is for the Feds to get involved since they p&ed federal money away as well. Once the feds audit and come to the same conclusions. they will demand return of their money and the project will be SHUT DOWN because there is nomway the City or State csn cover the costs without completely diverting public education and welfare funds to pay for these useless project. This is exactly what happend to the Hawaii Health Connector which was also a completely useless and failed Hawaii project that flushed millions of dollars down the toilet , except the rail project is flushing wasting BILLIONS of dollars. Guys like Grabby, Horner, Kirk AND Mufi should go to JAIL for the lies and manipulations they have given to the public.
Exactly! Why aren’t the feds investigating thia massive fraud.
Ditto!!!
Grabauskas needs to go. And don’t buy out his contract like last time at the MBTA.
It is becoming more evident that the powers that be have no idea what their doing no less have any idea about building a rail. This is not good.
This just proves what the Smart ones have been saying for a decade.
Rail was sold on Lies and Misinformation and this reeks of CORRUPTION. Heads should roll but Nothing will be done since the Dems control this state. How sad, we could have built new freeways, schools with AC and so much more. Disgusted!
Some people just can’t see or comprehend the writing on the wall. GO AWAY GRABBY!!!!
Check his off shore accounts.
As stated in BACKGROUND…City voters voted in 2008 for rail. In 2010 voters approved city charter to establish HART. So let’s just Do It and keep marching to AMC. Stop the drama.
The 2008 vote was what kind of wheels the train would have and to verify that building a train was something a city could do. the 2010 vote was to create HART.
No one ever voted to let them lie and raise taxes and waste our money. That’s like saying that we voted for Nestor Garcia so he could whatever he wants.
IRT: NanakuliBoss…..The 2008 vote was a FRAUD…..the 2010 vote was a FRAUD……STOP THE TITANIC RAIL SCAM!!!
Nestor “Da Rat” Garcia.
Nesta da molesta
Stop lying already.
It’s the auditors report. He’s lying?
All this costs and headaches could have been avoided in the beginning. Once you hear a project will cost billions then careful thought and study should have been done more thoroughly. Did they think businesses and livelihoods would be affected NO. I was always against the Rail. I would have voted for Trains. There are a lot of tracks throughout the Island. Just refurbish and get some cars. Good enough for an Island.
Grabby has to go…NOW!
Grabauskas is done being any kind of administrator for a transportation project, stick a fork in him. The reason he is fighting so hard to keep his job is that after this debacle and the one before, he will only be able to get employment here working for minimum wage!
Let’s extend the rail to UH Manoa! Let’s build a rail spur into Waikiki! Let’s build a rail spur to Mililani! Let’s extend the rail to Ko Olina!
Let’s read the audit and understand why there isn’t enough money to finish the mall train!
shelllback While their at it build a spur to Uranus and maybe Mars. duh
Elections are upcoming and PUT IT TO VOTE….CONTINUE THE RAIL :YES/NO
Of course, the one party will word the question so illogically that “yes” will mean “no” and vice versa. Just like they always do on these kinds of questions. And a blank vote will count as “yes”.
Sorry, but none of this makes any real sense. Just think about it for say, less than a minute.
And Caldwell remans virtually silent! He is pretending he had nothing to do with this fiasco. But, in reality, it is Caldwell pulling the strings and he holds primary responsibility for this mess, from the beginning and NOW.
Fire Ernie he’s delaying rail.
Please read the audit instead of pasting in the same nonsensical phrase over and over again.
Of all the people who have turned this rail project into the giant out-of-control mess it is, Ernie Martin probably is the least to blame. And without him getting this audit, we’d still be relying on lies from Dan Grabauskas, Don Horner, and Kirk Caldwell.
Ernie has been against rail Metro from the get go. He ran for City Council against John White of PRP, who supported rail. His constituents on the North Shore, and Wahiawa, voted for him because they are against rail. He has been coming up with all these hair brained schemes to derail rail, like calling for the resignations of Grabauskas and Horner, capping the amount of the GET tax that could be spent on rail, stopping rail short of the city, which would jeopardize the Federal funding for rail. Ernie needs to be held accountable for all the delays, obstructions, rail cost escalation he is responsible for.
If anyone should get fired it should be you. The day is coming soon and I hope criminal charges as well
And sir, what are the criminal charges against me?
I think everyone knew it was going to be way over budget, how much over budget does it need to be to stop rail? double – triple the original estimate? Stop the madness!
Hasn’t he quit yet??? Go Grabby go. Get out of Hawaii, we do not want you.
The alleged “City Auditor’s report” is just a subterfuge. It is solely meant to create chaos in the minds of the public. Everyone commenting, herein and hereon, have fallen in to that “TRAP”. You are spending all of your time arguing over “WHO” to BLAME now, instead of asking for THE EVIDENCE. “THE BLAME” started with “MOOFIOSSO’S” Administration–when HE SOLD-OUT the citizens of Honolulu to cater to the Unions and major contractors. If this “AUDIT” was conducted by a CREDITABLE RECOGNIZED INDEPENDENT OUTSIDE Auditing Firm–it might have some basis in fact. Otherwise, it’s just another FRAUDULENT AUDIT–similar to the “ENRON” scandal. By repeated admissions–the alleged “auditors” don’t even have an “AUDIT-TRAIL”; and, several Prime-Contractors and related Sub-Contractors, can’t produce AFFABLE EVIDENCE(S) of their expenditures. Also, there is DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE that several “Politicians” have received “Contributions” from various “Contractors”. This report is just another Governmental “Dog and Pony Show”–meant to placate the public and create arguments and confusion. “THE PREMISE” is–there never should have been A “RAIL”. CONCLUSION–“REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM”! “Follow-the-MONEY”! At this point in time; it’s not a matter of WHO–it’s a matter of, SPECIFICALLY, “WHERE” was the MONEY SPENT and who were the RECIPIENTS(?)! The whole premise, concept, and project was and is–a BOONDOGGLE!
Fire Ernie. He’s delaying rail.