Maui OED outlines 'Kamaʻāina Economy' and grants reforms; council seeks clearer rules on upfront disbursements

The Office of Economic Development on Wednesday presented a strategic framework the office calls the Kamaʻāina Economy and described steps to standardize county grant administration, increase grant-writing support and align recovery funding with workforce and infrastructure goals.

Director Jade Rojas-Letizi told the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee the county should prioritize industries that retain economic value locally and that feed workforce pipelines, naming construction, technology, health care, creative industries and small-footprint advanced manufacturing as target sectors. She described a strategy that ties short-term recovery investments to longer-term career pathways and efforts to keep dollars circulating locally.

Why it matters: The presentation matters for how county funds will be targeted during recovery and for the administration’s plans to reshape grantmaking so nonprofit partners and small organizations have clearer guidance and support. Council members pressed the administration about grant rules that affect line-itemed awards made during the budget process — especially when a line-itemed allocation may actually require procurement if it is a contract rather than a grant — and sought clearer, earlier communications during budget deliberations.

Key OED proposals and grant-administration changes

Kamaʻāina Economy framework: Rojas-Letizi described a values-driven, data-informed portfolio approach. The framework prioritizes: construction to rebuild housing and infrastructure; tech and knowledge industries to attract higher-wage jobs and stem outmigration; health care to shore up critical services and workforce pipelines; creative industries that amplify local culture; and small-footprint, high-value manufacturing that reduces import dependence.

Grants standardization and working groups: OED and the budget office described three cross-cutting working groups that include finance, corporation counsel, grants managers and grant writers from multiple departments. The groups aim to standardize a countywide grants landing page, harmonize application and reporting forms, reduce duplicate county funding to the same nonprofit projects and select a countywide grants-management software platform.

Grant readiness, workshops and data: OED reported nearly 200 applications in FY25 (190 applications), awarding 162 conditionally and executing 150 grant agreements (roughly a 93% execution rate). The office ran multiple in-person grant-readiness workshops (including sessions on Molokai, Lāna‘i and Central Maui) with about 135 participants for FY25 and ran a grants-workshop pilot this fiscal year with about 150 participants. OED said it has five grant specialists managing 258 open grants across fiscal years 2022–2026.

Upfront disbursements and council concerns

County code allows a 25% (or more) upfront disbursement for grants, but the code also requires that any remaining grant funds be distributed via reimbursement. Council members asked whether grantees who receive an initial disbursement can receive subsequent tranches without a reimbursement step. Corporation counsel clarified the code’s current wording: the law provides for an upfront disbursement but requires that remaining funds be handled through reimbursement; any change to allow multiple upfront tranches would be a policy or code amendment requiring further review by corporation counsel and finance.

Council members also asked for clearer guidance during the budget process about whether a line-itemed allocation should be structured as a grant (directed to a named nonprofit) or as a contract requiring procurement; budget staff and corporation counsel agreed to provide earlier guidance to council members during budget deliberations.

Operational changes and next steps

OED and budget staff proposed: a countywide grants landing page to centralize opportunities; standard application and reporting templates; expanded in-person grant-readiness workshops on neighbor-island communities; and evaluation of a unified grants-management software platform. The administration said it will propose some code amendments for council consideration (including possible amendments related to local-publication requirements for grants) and aims to launch a more standardized countywide grants process in FY27.

Council follow-up requests

Members asked OED to deliver a consolidated report on FY25 grants data that was due after the fiscal year closed; the department requested an extension and committed to provide the report by the end of the week. Members also asked OED, finance and corporation counsel to prepare recommended language and guidance for the budget process so that council members know whether to expect a contract procurement requirement or a direct grant when line‑iteming funds for a named organization.

Ending

The committee recessed and scheduled additional follow-up; OED leaders said they would circulate the final strategic framework after mayoral approval and would continue working with counselors, budget staff and grant managers to implement the recommended standardizations.

Discussion vs. decision

Discussion: presentation of strategic framework, grants statistics, working-group recommendations and training efforts; council questions on procurement vs. grant distinctions and upfront-disbursement rules.

Directions: OED to deliver the FY25 grants report by Friday; budget and corporation counsel to advise council members during budget deliberations about whether specific line items require procurement or may be provided as grants; OED to circulate the final strategic framework when approved.

Decisions: none finalized; no ordinances or code changes adopted at the meeting.