Roughly 2,000 city jobs are unfilled because the right person hasn't been found.

Meanwhile, the city has set aside about $40 million to be used if the vacant jobs are filled.

Now, some City Council members are saying the money should be used to pay for other city expenses.

Shifting funds from the jobs reserve could help the city meet immediate needs without raising taxes.

"There is a bunch of money for vacant funded positions," said City Councilman Todd K. Apo, chairman of the Budget Committee.

Others argue the money must be kept in reserve so the city can hire qualified candidates when they are identified.

The funds also are used to cover pay raises, overtime costs and to maintain the integrity of the city's bond rating. That's because the more money the city keeps on hand, the better the bond rating, which decreases the city's costs when it borrows money.

"My job is to fill jobs, and it's very important that the departments have the money and flexibility to fill the vacancies," said Ken Nakamatsu, city director of Human Resources. "Departments need the majority of the money not only for positions but to pay for raises and overtime costs."

The City Council is considering a bill that would allow the council to shift a certain percentage of the money set aside for vacant unfunded positions toward "other post employment benefits," including healthcare, life insurance and pension obligations.

MILLIONS FOR BENEFITS

The city currently has $91 million set aside for fiscal year 2009 to pay pensions and $90 million for retiree healthcare. Last year, the city set aside $40 million for other post-employment benefits and is budgeting $52 million for the coming fiscal year.

Municipalities from California to Iowa are shifting funds from staffing to cover pension and benefit obligations.

In Honolulu, the city currently budgets $39.7 million for vacant funded positions.

The vacancies range from design engineers to musicians in the Royal Hawaiian Band to park maintenance workers. They include a truck driver job that pays $39,084 a year, a sanitary chemist at $40,512, a groundskeeper with a $31,236 salary, and a musician in the Royal Hawaiian Band who would earn $33,756.

All positions bring medical coverage and a county pension plan.

In 2007, there were 2,365 vacancies out of 10,726 city positions, or about 22 percent.

CONTRACT HIRES INSTEAD

City officials say they have vacancies because of difficulty attracting qualified candidates and a hiring process that requires exams and takes on average 30 days to complete.

Council member Apo said what often happens is city departments hire contract workers when they can't find full-time employees.

"We've asked the city departments, one by one, to make sense of the situation," Apo said. "You can't keep coming in and saying you're going to fund 30 vacant positions then hire contract workers and pay overtime."

Since 2001, the city has hired an average of 1,914 contract hires each year to compensate for the vacancies.

Nakamatsu, the director of Human Resources, said a recent audit found that "too many" city positions are filled by contract workers, a situation the city administration seeks to reverse.

There are also legal concerns that money set aside to fund vacancies cannot be used to pay for anything else.

Mary P. Waterhouse, director of the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, said money set aside to pay for positions can't be used to pay pension benefits or other unfunded liabilities.

"The restricted funds such as sewer and transit funds can only be used for authorized purposes," said Waterhouse, speaking before the council's Budget Committee Wednesday. "The integrity of these special funds would be compromised."

The proposed fund transfers are still being discussed by the Budget Committee before they are sent to the full council.

EFFORTS TO FILL VOID

Meanwhile, Nakamatsu points to increased efforts by the city to try to fill the staffing void.

Seven city departments set up shop at a recent job fair in response to the collapse of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines.

Representatives from the departments of Human Resources, Community Services, Facility Maintenance, the city clerk's office, the Honolulu Police Department and others manned three city booths at the fair.

The city received 366 applications and resumes and scheduled 170 interviews as a result of recruitment efforts at the fair.

As of April 22, 21 hires were being processed.

"We recognize because of the civil service process and the (city) contract there will always be a certain amount of vacant positions," said Nakamatsu. "By having that money (however) it makes it easier for the departments."