Mayor Caldwell meets with bond raters; will testify before special Senate committee in DC

News Release from Office of the Mayor, July 16, 2019

HONOLULU – Mayor Kirk Caldwell is currently in San Francisco after leaving O‘ahu Sunday afternoon. While in San Francisco Mayor Caldwell will meet with bond rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings Inc. During the Tuesday meeting with representatives from Moody’s and Fitch, Mayor Caldwell will highlight the recently passed Fiscal Year 2020 budget that funds the services O‘ahu residents demand, improves and creates new infrastructure throughout the island, and maintains a healthy reserve in the city’s rainy day fund. Currently, the City and County of Honolulu maintains bond ratings of AA+ and Aa1 from Fitch Ratings Inc. and Moody’s Investor Service, respectively. These strong bond ratings help O‘ahu taxpayers save money on borrowed funds for capital improvement projects and other initiatives.

Upon departing San Francisco Tuesday, Mayor Caldwell will travel to Washington D.C. where he will testify on Wednesday in front of the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, chaired by Hawai‘i’s senior Senator Brian Schatz (testimony and Sen. Schatz press release attached). The hearing starts at 7 a.m. Hawai‘i time and can be viewed live on the committee website: https://www.democrats.senate.gov/climate

On May 30 during his annual State of the City address, Mayor Caldwell unveiled Honolulu’s Resilience Strategy, which was developed through extensive community input and lists 44 action items to better prepare the people of O‘ahu for the effects of climate change and sea level rise, while also increasing resilience among our communities. The strategy directly addresses the challenges of long-term affordability and the impacts of the climate crisis on the people of O‘ahu. Implementation of the strategy will make O‘ahu more economically self-sufficient, more focused on sustainability, and in a better position to bounce back from manmade or natural disasters. 

For a copy of the Resilience Strategy, please follow this link: https://www.resilientoahu.org/resilience-strategy

Mayor Caldwell is scheduled to return to O‘ahu on Thursday, July 18.

Managing Director Roy K. Amemiya Jr. will serve as Acting Mayor while Mayor Caldwell is away.

—PAU—

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