When Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell took office it was revealed he had a well-funded transition team to help install him in office and fill his cabinet.

That group is now giving the city 15 park benches — valued at about $10,000 — to sprinkle around the Honolulu Hale Civic Center grounds.

Caldwell’s transition team had raised eyebrows when it was revealed it had raised nearly $400,000 from some influential donors, including the United Public Workers union, Hilton Worldwide, Outrigger Enterprises, Mitsunaga & Associates and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii.

The money was used to pay for an inaugural luau for the mayor. About $40,000 also went to one of Caldwell’s former campaign aides, Harry Mattson, who was leading the effort to recruit city department heads.

Local attorney Lex Smith, who is the president of the transition team and Caldwell’s campaign chair, had said in the past that any extra cash that was raised would be donated.

—Nick Grube