The new year is one day old, which means most people have not yet abandoned their New Year's resolutions. So while everybody's on a roll, this might be the moment to inspire our public servants to make promises of their own.

And since dropping weight seems to be the preferred form of goal-setting in this yearly ritual, perhaps Hawai'i's more communal challenges also could be met with a similar reduction in excess "baggage."

Here are 10 worthy targets for improving public policy, in no particular order:

1. Elected leaders of the state, motivated by plummeting revenue projections, already have resolved to work together on the painful budget cutting ahead. Let's hope they lose the added burden of partisanship and bickering.

2. In this collaborative spirit, it also would be a thrill simply to see Honolulu's transit project proceed with the guidance of the best experts available, hired openly and competently. As for the rancorous City Hall drama that's been so prominent in 2008: Ditch it.

3. For at least a little while, election-year politics are behind us. Let's leave it there and enjoy this respite. The rocky road ahead into uncertain times deserves full focus.

4. If the slate of construction projects is going to deliver any economic punch, Hawai'i will have to jettison some of its famous bureaucratic delays.

5. Negotiations for union contracts are likely to be difficult. So among the things to come off the table are remnants of recently soured relations. The teacher-drug-test battle comes to mind. The need to preserve jobs within budgetary constraints sets the bar high enough as it is.

6. It would be a wonderful 2009 if some of the horrid conditions in public housing could disappear. Talk about the need for a New Year's makeover. It's time to be rid of the poor living conditions and threats to health and safety.

7. Leaders must find ways to pare back the impediments to healthcare access, especially in rural areas. Past attempts to deal with this have withered.

8. They have had better luck with a revamped energy policy, committing to reducing fossil-fuel use in Hawai'i. They need to stay on that "diet."

9. Our elections process needs to lose some of its entanglements with big-monied interests. A pilot project for "voter-owned" elections on the Big Island is encouraging, but it's only a baby step.

10. One thing Hawai'i doesn't want to lose is its sense of gratitude for the natural and cultural assets of the Aloha State. At a time when economic prospects and material rewards look meager, it's important to remember and be grateful for the things we do have — from the natural beauty of this place we call home, to the wonderful spirit steeped in giving and concern for one another that is shared by our residents.

Keeping that in focus, and the challenges ahead in perspective, should be the overriding resolution in the coming year.