Maui County Council adopts FY2026 operating and capital budgets, restores recovery and housing funds and sets $8 million for firefighter hazard pay

The Maui County Council on May 16 approved the county's fiscal-year 2026 operating and capital budgets and related bond and project bills after several hours of amendments that restored funding for wildfire recovery programs, demonstration housing projects and a wastewater grant match and set aside funds for negotiated hazard pay for firefighters.

Council members voted to adopt the committee recommendations encapsulated in Committee Report CR 25-26, which carries the first readings and attachments for Bill 41 CD1 (operating budget) and Bill 42 CD1 (capital program). Council Chair Alice Lee called the vote after multiple amendments were offered and debated; the motion carried with seven ayes and two members excused.

The budget package that passed includes several member-led restorations and funding conditions that councilors said respond to testimony and ongoing recovery needs. Notable adjustments the council approved or preserved during the meeting included:

- $12,000,000 for the Maui United Way Alice Initiative (countywide), retained after members pressed to restore the amount proposed by the administration.

- $3,750,000 for the experimental and demonstration housing projects fund to preserve projects already in the pipeline.

- $1,250,000 restored as a match for the Malaya regional wastewater reclamation system so the county could meet a federal EPA matching requirement.

- Up to $8,000,000 placed in the county's insurance/self-insurance index with a condition that the amount "must be used to pay the negotiated amount of temporary hazard pay for eligible Maui County Hawaii Firefighters Association members for performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency," a condition moved by Vice Chair Yuki Lehi Sugimura and approved by the council. As Vice Chair Sugimura put it when offering the change, the amendment would ensure "up to $8,000,000 must be used to pay the negotiated amount of temporary hazard pay for eligible Maui County Hawaii Firefighters Association members." The motion to add that condition passed on the council floor.

- Recognition in the FY25 budget and budget amendment (Bill 74) of federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, to support water-related projects; the council approved updated appropriation language after the administration transmitted a revised federal award.

Council members and the budget director said several decisions responded to public testimony and departmental briefings given during the hearing. Council member Kiani Rollins Fernandez, who proposed several of the restoration amendments, said testimony showed certain grants and pilot projects were already in the pipeline and needed to remain funded. "We heard in testimony that those items were important to restore," Rollins Fernandez said during deliberations. Budget staff and department officials clarified that some funds—particularly the experimental housing project funds—would be distributed through competitive processes, not as automatic direct awards.

The council also took steps to preserve funding oversight and reporting. For example, members asked that departments provide periodic updates on the status of competitive grant awards funded from the experimental housing appropriation so the council could track how pipeline projects moved from planning to award.

Balancing and minor technical adjustments

Council staff and the budget office flagged a remaining shortfall of $536,038 that needed resolution before final filing of associated county communications. Council and administration negotiators resolved that shortfall by trimming a separate settlement appropriation and adjusting conditional language; members recorded that reconciliation on the floor before final passage.

Votes at a glance

- CR 25-26 (Adopt committee report containing Bill 41 CD1, Bill 42 CD1 and related appendices): Adopted (vote recorded on the floor as 7 ayes, 2 excused)

- Hazard-pay condition (amend Bill 41 CD1/Countywide costs): Approved; up to $8,000,000 set in insurance/self-insurance to pay negotiated temporary hazard pay for eligible firefighters (vote on the motion as stated on the record: passage recorded; several members recused/excused on related votes as noted in the transcript)

- Restorations: Maui United Way Alice Initiative ($12,000,000) retained; Experimental and demonstration housing projects fund ($3,750,000) retained; Malaya wastewater match ($1,250,000) restored. These were approved via motions that amended the main budget motion and were carried as part of CR 25-26.

- Bill 74 (amend FY25 budget to recognize Bureau of Reclamation grant funds): Approved on the floor as transmitted by the administration to reflect newly available federal funding.

Why it matters

Council action funds wildfire recovery and housing initiatives and sets aside money for short-term hazard pay that the firefighters' union and the administration were negotiating to address risks and workload tied to the COVID-19 public health emergency and other operational needs. Multiple council members framed their restorations as attempts to maintain continuity for projects already under way and to protect matching funds tied to federal awards.

What's next

The council filed the amended budget and related county communications to the clerk as the body completed final votes. Several councilors said they expected continued oversight, including periodic reporting from departments on grant awards and project selection for the experimental housing fund. Budget staff noted that technical edits and final numeric balancing would be completed before the ordinance transmittal to the mayor.

Ending note

Council members repeatedly credited public testimony and administrative briefings during the long session. Members said the amendments sought to balance fiscal constraints with continuing recovery and housing needs following the 2023 wildfires.