HONOLULU — Honolulu must contribute more money to help construct the city’s rail line before getting any of the $744 million in federal funding that has been withheld from the project.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that a Federal Transit Administration spokeswoman said Tuesday the agency is insisting the city provide more money.
Honolulu must commit $25 million in city funds toward rail construction in the fiscal year that begins July 1. The city must also commit $92 million more in the next seven years before the federal government will resume funding the project.
The cost of the rail project has skyrocketed from about $5.2 billion to about $9.2 billion, forcing city officials to seek bailouts from the Hawaii Legislature in 2015 and 2017 that totaled billions of dollars. The 2017 bill increased the transient accommodations tax statewide by 1 percent, with the proceeds earmarked for the rail project.
Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com