Hawaii County council approves 2025–26 operating budget after debate over $2 million food-security amendment

The Hawaii County Council passed Bill 31, the county—s operating budget for fiscal year 2025—6, on second and final reading June 5 after a daylong hearing and debate in Hilo.

Councilmembers voted 7 ye, 1 No and 1 absent to approve the $953,288,869 budget as amended. The council rejected a proposed amendment (Communication 158.22) to add a new $2,000,000 food-security line item, but approved a housekeeping account update and a separate amendment to extend two contract positions that manage ARPA-funded food and agriculture grants.

Why it matters: Testimony from more than a dozen nonprofit staff and volunteers detailed recent federal cuts to commodity food programs and pleaded for local funding to prevent gaps in services for keiki and kupuna. Council members and department officials said they shared those concerns but raised questions about department capacity, procurement and the long-term source of recurring funding.

Bill 31 and the food-security proposal Council member Kaguata moved Communication 158.22, a proposal to increase the county—s prior-year fund balance by $2,000,000 and add a $2,000,000 line in the Department of Research & Development—s "miscellaneous contractual services" for food-security programs. Kaguata said the amendment responded to recent information about federal cuts and community need and cited programs such as Malama to Farmer and Kokua Harvest that had already begun distributing ARPA-funded grants.

Kristen Frost Albrecht, executive director of the Food Basket (Hawaii Island—s food bank), told the council: "This amendment would provide essential funding to bolster food security programs that benefit our community's most vulnerable residents at a time when significant federal budget cuts are creating a serious economic void in social safety net programs." Enola Kaneta, director of operations for the Food Basket, said the Kupuna Pantry served about 1,300 low-income seniors monthly and warned that the program could be lost without replacement funding.

Deputy director Dennis Lin and Finance Director Diane Nakagawa told the council the Research & Development (R&D) office already manages dozens of ARPA contracts and has limited staff capacity to administer a large new grant program within the fiscal year. Nakagawa said adding the amendments would reduce the county—s projected fund-balance ratio from 10.3% to 9.5%, which she noted affects the county—s bond rating and long-term fiscal resilience.

Discussion and vote on the $2 million amendment Council debate featured two central tensions: (1) community testimony describing immediate food shortages and program cuts, and (2) department concerns about procurement rules, monitoring and whether R&D could issue and manage sizeable competitive grants quickly enough to spend funds this fiscal year.

Council member Galimba, who supported the amendment, argued that the money could seed both immediate food assistance and longer-term production support. Opponents, including Council member Klinefelder and others, said they favored building a recurring, sustainable funding source rather than a one-time appropriation from fund balance and raised the need to reallocate existing county pots instead of using reserves.

The motion to amend with Communication 158.22 was moved by Council member Kaguata and seconded by Council member Galimba. The clerk recorded 3 votes in favor (Council members Galimba, Kaguata and Kimball), votes against and absences as announced; the motion failed.

ARPA contract-extension amendment passes Council member Kimball later moved Communication 158.25, an amendment to extend two R&D contract positions that oversee ARPA food and agriculture awards so the county could remain in compliance with federal requirements. Deputy director Lin said the ARPA portfolio included roughly $5.2 million in awards the department must monitor.

Kimball told colleagues the two contracts were set to expire in September and December 2025 and that the amendment funded six more months of coverage to ensure monitoring and reporting. Finance Director Nakagawa supported the extension, citing the risk of returning federal money if compliance lapses. The council approved 158.25 (8 Aye, 1 excused). Kimball and department staff said the contract holders would be encouraged to apply for permanent civil-service positions as recruitment proceeds.

Other amendments and final passage The council also approved a housekeeping amendment (Communication 158.24) to update legacy account numbers; that amendment did not move funds. After a final roll call the council passed Bill 31, as amended, 7 Aye, 1 No (Council member Kaguata), 1 absent (Council member Kurkowitz).

Votes at a glance - Motion: Amend Bill 31 with Communication 158.22 (add $2,000,000 food-security line item). Moved: Council member Kaguata. Second: Council member Galimba. Outcome: Failed (Recorded yes votes: Galimba, Kaguata, Kimball; motion lost). Notes: Widely supported by nonprofit testimony; departments warned of limited capacity to deploy within FY2025—6. - Motion: Amend Bill 31 with Communication 158.24 (housekeeping/account-number updates). Outcome: Passed (8 Aye, 1 excused). Notes: No funding changes. - Motion: Amend Bill 31 with Communication 158.25 (extend two R&D ARPA contract positions through the fiscal year). Moved: Council member Kimball. Outcome: Passed (8 Aye, 1 excused). Notes: Amendment funds six months of contracts to maintain ARPA compliance; staff encouraged to apply for civil-service positions. - Motion: Pass Bill 31 draft 3 (operating budget) as amended. Outcome: Passed (7 Aye, 1 No, 1 absent). Yes: Galimba, Eustace, Connolly Kleinfelder, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, Chair. No: Kaguata. Absent: Kurkowitz.

What remains uncertain Department staff said they could provide more complete impact reporting for R&D—s impact grants and ARPA subrecipients after contracts move forward and final reports are filed. Council members who opposed the $2,000,000 amendment urged work on a long-term funding mechanism for food security rather than one-time fund-balance draws.

Community and program context Testimony at the public hearing was extensive and largely in favor of immediate county support. Speakers who identified affiliations included Hope Services Hawaii, Kokua Harvest and the Food Basket; many speakers described volunteer networks, CSA distributions and emergency food windows. Food-bank testimony cited cuts to USDA commodity and Kupuna Pantry programs and described a local need concentrated among low-income households and seniors.

Ending note With Bill 31 passed, council members said the broader questions about recurring funding for food security and R&D—s capacity to scale grants will inform future budget work and possible follow-up legislation.