OHA land assets division briefs trustees on FY26–27 biennium budget, flags need for director and grant-writing capacity

At a May 21 Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees briefing, interim land assets director Lori Walker presented the Land Assets Division’s proposed FY2026–27 biennium budget and told trustees the division is operating 13 distinct program budgets and needs additional staff and consultant support.

Walker said the presentation was intended to “speak to our budget request, and give time in between so that we can ask questions specific to the property groupings,” and warned trustees that the new briefing format and level of detail were producing “a lot of anxiety” as staff field repeated questions and follow-up requests.

The budget package groups the division’s work into commercial properties, legacy lands and a separate HLID (Halawa/Luluku Interpretive Development) project. Walker said personnel numbers are still subject to change and that the director’s personnel and fringe request will likely be revised after a job description prepared by the real‑estate consultant and human resources is finalized.

Trustees pressed Walker on two consistent themes: hiring an experienced director of resource management for land assets and establishing grant‑writing capacity within the division. Trustee questions focused on whether the proposed personnel totals would attract the level of experience the division needs and whether contracting for services should be reduced in favor of permanent hires.

Walker and trustees described a multi‑pronged approach: continue with a contracted real‑estate consultant through the close of its deliverables while preparing a permanent director job description, and test a contracted grant‑writer role that could evolve into a permanent position if grant revenues justify it. Walker said the consultant has been helping shape an “optimal future state” for the department and its staffing. She also said some consultant scope could be reduced if a director is hired and those tasks transferred in‑house.

Keone, who has been managing grant applications for the program, told trustees the division has “been awarded” several federal grants recently and assessed the stability of the funds. “I think our REPI funds are safe,” Keone said of the Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration funding; Keone also confirmed the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service award was under a 90‑day review at the time of the briefing.

Walker told trustees the division will follow up with missing details from the preliminary draft and that a position description for the land director had been delivered to administration and HR; trustees were told a job posting could appear in early June with a potential hire as early as August.

Next steps: trustees asked administration to provide a revised personnel/fringe estimate that better reflects market salaries for a land director and an initial plan for a grant‑writing contractor or hire. Walker and administration agreed to return with clarified budget line items and remaining consultant contract balances so trustees can consider shifting funds to personnel if appropriate.