A new transit authority would run the city's rail system, TheBus and TheBoat, with the power to tax and condemn property, under a resolution advanced by the City Council yesterday.

Before the new agency is created, however, voters would have to approve a change in the city's charter.

The transit authority would also oversee design, construction and operation of the planned $3.7 billion commuter rail system.

The agency would be headed by a 13-member board of directors, with five appointed by the mayor, five by the council and three by state legislative leaders and the governor, according to the plan advanced by the council.

An alternative proposal, put forward by Mayor Mufi Hannemann's administration, would have a board of nine members, the majority of whom would be appointed by the mayor.

If the resolution, which the council tentatively approved on an 8-1 vote, passes on a final vote and is signed by the mayor, it would be placed on the November ballot.

The ballot measure to authorize a transit authority might be the closest Honolulu voters get to a referendum on the rail plan. A move by a citizens' group to put the rail issue on the ballot has so far failed to collect the necessary signatures.

The group, Stop Rail Now, said it had collected about 11,000 signatures as of May 27, five weeks after launching the petition drive. If it maintains that pace, the group would fall short of its goal of 40,000 signatures by Aug. 1, making it unlikely to get the measure on the November ballot.

Hannemann hopes to start construction on the commuter rail late next year. The system, which would connect West Kapolei with Ala Moana, is scheduled to open in phases between 2012 and 2018.

Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz introduced the transit authority resolution that advanced yesterday. Under the proposal, the authority would be able to condemn property, tax, spend money and issue bonds, among other powers.

INDEPENDENT AGENCY

The idea behind the resolution is to create a semiautonomous panel with the power and flexibility to more efficiently build the 20-mile transit project, said council member Todd Apo. That agency then would integrate the train with other mass transit operations in Honolulu.

"The question is just the degree of autonomy that entity would have," Apo said. "The main thing is to get a degree of separation from the department of transportation through the development phase of the project. Once you get down the road to the operational phase, you then have an authority that can combine the mass transit with TheBus with TheBoat ... and not distract the (transportation) department from the things it needs to continue to do, which is (building) new roads, to signals and optimizing traffic flows."

The transit authority board would hire an executive director responsible for day-to-day operations. City employees currently working on the commuter rail project would transfer to the new agency, so the measure would not create an entirely new bureaucracy.

Under the administration's version of the resolution, the authority also would have the power to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas.

OBJECTION RAISED

Council member Charles Djou, who opposes the rail project, said the city should not be abdicating the power to spend money, issue debt and condemn land to unelected individuals.

"These are all heavy-handed powers and we vest them only with elected officials," Djou said. "The concept of giving an unelected body, that is unaccountable to the people, the same authority, in my opinion just turns democracy on its head.

"It is an unelected body that is going to take the people's money, spend it without their consent, put people in debt, take away their land and investigate people, all without any accountability to the people."

Djou was the only member voting against the resolution. The resolution now goes to the Executive Matters Committee before a potential final vote by the full council in July.

The council is racing to pass the transit authority resolution in time to get the item on the November ballot.

If it is unsuccessful, or the charter amendment fails, work on the train project will proceed under the continued direction of the city transportation department.

Council member Gary Okino likened the proposed transit authority to the city Board of Water Supply, which is another semiautonomous city agency. The transit authority is expected to operate independently, with reduced outside interference, he said.

The creation of a transit authority is "absolutely essential," Okino said. "It's all a matter of implementing the project quickly, efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible."