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New Hawaii County mayor flags wastewater, fire mitigation and EMS staffing as top state asks
Summary
Hawaii County's new mayor told the joint budget committees the county needs state help on expensive wastewater upgrades across multiple districts, expanded fire mitigation and EMS staffing in remote areas.
Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda told the joint Senate and House finance committees that wastewater repairs and expansion, wildfire mitigation and gaps in emergency medical services are among his administration’s chief priorities as it prepares its 2025 legislative package.
"I am 48 days in," Alameda said, noting his early familiarity with the county budget and operations and identifying wastewater funding as a foremost concern. He said the county must address obligations across Hilo, Hamakua, Kau and Kealakehe and cited deferred maintenance and deferred construction of community facilities as compounding needs.
Alameda raised wildfire and fire-mitigation priorities, listing exit routes, buffer zones and fire breaks as county needs and saying emergency-response gaps are acute on the island. He specifically noted the Makalei area lacks EMS capacity and said adding EMS staff there would require roughly nine positions across three shifts at an estimated $1,200,000.
In response to a committee question about costs, Alameda provided preliminary wastewater estimates: he said Keaukaha wastewater improvements alone could cost as much as $400,000,000 with Kealakehe another $50,000,000, and that combined estimates for Hamakua, Na'alehu, P'ahala and Kau could put total needs in the range of $750,000,000 to $1,000,000,000. Alameda said the county is evaluating grant and bond options but warned that heavy reliance on bonds could strain debt-service capacity.
The mayor expressed appreciation for state revenue-sharing mechanisms such as the general excise and transient accommodations taxes, noting they support county infrastructure and tourism impacts. He said the county will work with its federal delegation on possible federal grant funding for wastewater but that specific project-level legislative asks and detailed budgets would be supplied to committees after further internal review.
Alameda closed by endorsing his county delegation’s legislative package and offering to provide more detailed cost breakdowns to the Legislature.
