Council gives final approval to $1.07 billion budget | News, Sports, Jobs

The Maui County Council has approved its final version of the budget and will send it to Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. for his approval. A county spokesman said he is expected to sign it. The Maui News COLLEEN UECHI photo

The Maui County Council passed its $1.07 billion version of the fiscal year 2024 county budget on second and final reading on Tuesday.

The council had until Saturday to pass its version of the budget or Mayor Richard Bissen Jr.’s proposed $1.08 billion budget would have automatically taken effect.

Fiscal year 2024 runs from July 1 through June 30, 2024.

The council’s budget now heads to the desk of the mayor, who “is expecting to sign,” said Mahina Martin, chief of communications and public affairs in the mayor’s cabinet.

Bissen spoke before the council to offer support of the budget and thanked them for their work as well as respect and patience shown to the administration.

First-time Budget Committee Chairwoman Yuki Lei Sugimura thanked fellow members along with staff and administration in working to putting together a budget they can be “proud of.” She said she feels the budget is “fiscally responsible and sets up our county for the future.”

“This budget reflects our dedication to affordable housing and shelter for our residents as we have included funding for several housing projects across the county,” she said prior to the vote on the budget. “Additionally funding is included to repurpose Haggai Institute for housing and to support Ka Hale A Ke Ola in their acquisition of the Anchor Square property in Lahaina.”

Sugimura also noted that the budget supports the new East Maui Water Authority, allocates nearly $29 million to the emergency fund, helps pay down unfunded liabilities under post-employment obligations and also moves several capital improvement projects from using bonds to using general funds to mitigate the impact of current high-interest rates.

She also noted how nonprofits also got funding in the budget, including those that support agricultural promotion, watershed protection, mitigation of invasive species, social services, tourism management and travel costs for youth sports and activities.

“The needs of our county are dynamic and can only be addressed by working together,” she said.

Council Member Gabe Johnson, whose residency seat is Lanai, highlighted things in the budget such as a feasibility study on having the county run a ferry between Lanai and Maui, bus passes for people with low incomes and funding for a 12-bedroom dorm at Aloha House.

“I think if you look at all the things that we put in on this budget, I hold my head strong. We really did a good job,” Johnson said.

Council Member Shane Sinenci also called the budget “fiscally responsible” as well as environmentally responsible, pointing out that it includes acquisition of open spaces and wetlands for flood mitigation as well as protecting watersheds and securing critical water resources.

He also noted how council members listened to communities they visited during the budget process, which led to securing life-saving defibrillators for kupuna driving to Hana, funding critical medical aid to those who cannot make it to the emergency room and to nonprofits working on the “front lines” in the communities.

“I know we had a rough start of this fiscal year but I think we did come together in the last few months to balance this fiscally responsible budget,” Sinenci said.

Council Member Tamara Paltin, whose residency seat is West Maui, called on the new administration to do more with funds she has placed in the budget every year to help with pedestrian safety.

“Somehow we keep falling short in West Maui,” said Paltin, pointing out how critical it is to make improvements for pedestrians as a Lahaina man was killed Tuesday after he collided with a truck while trying to travel across the Lahaina Bypass and Honoapiilani Highway intersection.

She also noted how speed bumps are needed along Lahainaluna Road, as a student was recently hit there in May during after-school traffic.

On Tuesday, the council approved an amendment introduced by Paltin to add $640,000 that she hopes will help move along the distribution of federal funds to help residents with housing debts such as back mortgage payments along with loss of utilities or home energy services. The funds are from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Paltin said she has long sought to get the county to move about $8 million in federal funds into residents’ hands before the deadline to expend the funds in 2025. Other counties around the state quickly implemented programs to distribute the funds, but Maui County waited.

Paltin has said the county could have helped more families who were forced to move away due to the pandemic.

Housing and Human Concerns Director Lori Tsuhako told the council Tuesday that the administration at the time wanted to expend the Community Development Block Grant Program funds first, which included mortgage assistance.

Tsuhako said she is in negotiations to find a contractor to help distribute the funds.

Hearing that more costs than anticipated could be involved in getting a contractor to help distribute the funds, Paltin figured that giving the Housing and Human Concerns Department $640,000 — on top of around $1.2 million already expected to go toward the contract costs — could assist with covering those extra costs and move the distribution along.

Other changes to the budget on Tuesday included the addition of tax rates that hotels and resorts would pay during a water shortage. Earlier in the budget session, the council approved Council Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez’s proposal for a new overall water rate category for hotels and resorts.

From July 1 to Dec. 31, hotels and resorts will pay $6.32 per 1,000 gallons. This will increase to $8.12 per 1,000 gallons of water starting Jan. 1, a measure that aims to get resorts to conserve more water.

If there is a water shortage, the county has locked in rates for users depending on the water shortage stage.

From July 1 to Dec. 31, hotels and resorts will pay $6.32 per 1,000 gallons during a Stage 1 water shortage, $7.88 per 1,000 gallons in a Stage 2 water shortage and $9.45 per 1,000 gallons in a Stage 3 water shortage.

Beginning Jan. 1, hotels and resorts will pay $8.12 per 1,000 gallons in a Stage 1 water shortage, $12.15 per 1,000 gallons in a Stage 2 shortage and $14.20 per 1,000 gallons in a Stage 3 shortage.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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