Council prioritizes Maui fire recovery and housing in $1.7 billion county budget

The Maui County Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a $1.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the county's first budget since last summer's devastating wildfires .

The council prioritized aiding the ongoing recovery in Lahaina and parts of the interior, improving wildfire mitigation, social services and housing solutions for 12,000 people displaced by the fires of August 8.

The nine-member committee made modest changes to Mayor Richard Bissen's proposed budget in March, primarily by investing about $29 million more in capital improvement projects and about $21 million less in operations. Ultimately, the council's version of the budget was about $8.5 million, or 0.68 percent, more than the mayor's proposal.

Significant sums are being earmarked for critically needed affordable housing projects in West Maui, including $15 million for developer Paul Cheng's Pulelehua project in Kapalua if its water problems can be overcome and a loan of $36 million to Ikaika Ohana to rebuild its 89-unit Kaiaulu o Kupuohi project. -Income rental housing in Lahaina. The budget includes an additional $3.1 million to purchase the land as part of the Lahaina rental housing project pending a 65-year lease agreement with the developer.

Jasmine Valdez, who works the front desk at the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas in Kaanapali, north of Lahaina, last month urged the council to dedicate more funds to affordable housing on West Maui. She said it affects not only her and her family who lost their home in the fire, but also her staff and colleagues who need affordable housing close to their work so they don't have to leave the island .

Overall, the council increased the amount the mayor had proposed using from the affordable housing fund by $14.5 million, bringing it to $61.4 million for the 2025 fiscal year.

The board also strengthened the Maui Emergency Management Agency in light of its much-criticized handling of the Aug. 8 disaster, increasing its total number of positions from nine to 22 and providing $300,000 for an updated plan for the center emergency operations and development of an incident management team. .

The Maui Fire Department received more than $1 million for 18 new positions in the Fire Operations and Rescue program, as well as funding for four positions in the Fire Prevention and Rescue program. money for new vehicles and a station in Haiku.

As cleanup efforts are underway in Lahaina and the temporary Olowalu landfill slows its filling, the council has earmarked $33.4 million in next year's budget for a permanent landfill site for debris fire. Legal challenges, however, continue to arise with the county's plan to use eminent domain to acquire a site in central Maui.

The board decided not to fund public information officers in several county departments, as Bissen proposed.

Council member Yuki Lei Sugimura, who oversaw the budget bill, said in a recent committee report that the council's budget committee “noted apparent communication deficits and ineffective coordination” during the 8 fires. August, but recommended “keeping most communications functions centralized.” improve response times and messaging.

The board has been working on developing the upcoming fiscal year's budget over the past few weeks, holding public hearings across the county to gather feedback. The mayor has 10 days to veto the entire budget or parts he disagrees with, which the council then has 10 days to overturn, according to the county charter.

The overall budget breakdown includes $1.05 billion for operating expenses, $210 million for capital improvement projects, $217.5 million in grants and $320.9 million in revolving/revolving funds. special.

One of the main factors the board faced, working with the administration, was how to handle the state's contribution of $224.5 million less than it had anticipated. receive for the next financial year.

Some of that was offset by shifting funding to general fund bonds, but Sugimura noted in his committee report on the budget that the mayor had budgeted a $130.9 million state appropriation to the county , as a disaster recovery fund from the Maui wildfires, which would be managed by the Department of Management.

Instead, the state authorized a $62.5 million loan, which the county decided to decline because of the higher interest rate, according to its report. The state also provided only $1 million of the $20 million the administration hoped to get for security checkpoints in the Lahaina burn zone. The council added $14 million to the budget to help cover those costs.

Council member Gabe Johnson said he never thought the county would ever face a budget intended to deal with a disaster as colossal as the fires, and that says a lot about the pandemic of Covid-19.

He highlighted the country's ability to maintain a strong bond rating that allows it to borrow money at more favorable rates, and ultimately said “we tried to accommodate everything we could” in the budget to the upcoming exercise.

Civil Beat's coverage of Maui County is funded in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.