Budget committee advances mix of housing, recovery and social-service grants; wastewater cuts flagged as risk

The County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee on April 21 approved a series of one‑time grants and program increments aimed at disaster recovery, homelessness services, immigrant assistance and local arts, while continuing deliberations on larger housing requests and near‑term county budget tradeoffs.

Committee members voted to add funding or new line items for several nonprofits and programs, including a $6 million increase for the Lahaina Community Land Trustfor insurance gap aid to fire survivors; an increase of $1.35 million for Maui Economic Opportunityto expand rental assistance; a $250,000 grant to Maui Rapid Response for an emergency transitional housing property; $200,000 to Maui Rescue Mission for a mobile hygiene trailer; $450,000 to Maui Grassroots Collective for harm‑reduction and overdose prevention; and a $235,000 award to Roots Reborn for immigrant legal‑rights and navigator programs. The committee also backed a $12 million boost for Maui United Wayprogramming for households identified as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), and approved a $5 million add for a Lanai affordable housing project. Several of the items passed with recorded roll‑call votes.

The panel repeatedly emphasized that many of the requests are one‑time, stop‑gap allocations to meet urgent needs tied to the 2023 wildfires and ongoing housing stress. Committee members and agency officials also discussed how to pay for the additions, with options mentioned including repurposing or bonding some capital projects and considering targeted increases to non‑owner‑occupied real property tax tiers.

‘‘Cutting operations is the lifeblood of what keeps us going,’’ Department of Environmental Management Director Shane Agawa told the committee, warning that recent committee reductions could lower planned rate changes on paper but would not produce the intended residential relief because the utility rate model spreads burdens by customer class. Agawa said his department is exploring which capital projects could be delayed to protect operations, but cautioned that pushing needed wastewater rehabilitation further into the future raises risk of system failures. Eric Nakagawa, division chief for wastewater, described the department’s multi‑year capital and debt service schedules and said the county has moderated increases in past decades but faces unavoidable needs now.

Public testimony and departmental briefings kept returning to housing: Pacific Rim Land representatives described the shovel‑ready LaPoa Apartments workforce project in South Maui and asked the committee to add $25 million to the Affordable Housing Fund; members discussed whether the county should prioritize advancing infrastructure funding, and budget staff and the administration said some previously appropriated grants would need contract or scope updates before funds could be reallocated.

Committee votes at a glance (selected items from April 21 session): - Lahaina Community Land Trust (insurance gap): Motion to increase funding to $6,000,000 (mover: Councilmember Tamara Paulton; second: James Johnson). Vote: 9 ayes — carried. - Maui Economic Opportunity (rental assistance): Motion to increase MEO rental assistance funding by $1,350,000 (mover: Councilmember Senenci; second: Councilmember Johnson). Vote: 9 ayes — carried. - Maui Rapid Response (emergency transitional housing acquisition): Motion to add a $250,000 line item with use and resale conditions (mover: Councilmember Johnson; second: Councilmember Comma). Vote: 9 ayes — carried. - Maui Rescue Mission (mobile hygiene trailer purchase and 6 months' operation): Motion to grant up to $200,000 (mover: Councilmember Senenci; second: Councilmember Johnson). Vote: 7 ayes, 2 excused — carried. - Maui Grassroots Collective (harm‑reduction / overdose prevention / meals): Motion to add $450,000 (mover: Councilmember Senenci; second: Councilmember Wu Hodgins). Vote: passed (8 ayes / 1 no) — carried. - Roots Reborn (immigrant services, Know‑Your‑Rights and navigation): Motion to add $235,000 (mover: Councilmember Comma; second: Councilmember Johnson). Vote: 8 ayes, 1 excused — carried. - Maui United Way (ALICE household support): Motion to add $12,000,000 to the proposed budget line for countywide assistance (mover: Councilmember Paulton; second: Councilmember Johnson). Vote: passed (7 ayes / 1 no / 1 excused) — carried. - Lanai Affordable Housing (infrastructure): Motion to add $5,000,000 (mover: Councilmember Johnson; second: Councilmember Comma). Vote: passed (7 ayes / 2 nos) — carried. - Pulelehua (Pulelehua / Pulelehua‑related county funding): A motion to add a larger appropriation (33,000,000) or to reallocate an older encumbered grant was debated; a later motion to ensure $15,000,000 if older grants were terminated was taken but failed on a roll call (result: 4 ayes / 5 nos) — failed.

Why it matters: Committee members said the supplemental grants are intended to cover gaps not met by federal disaster programs, to keep residents housed, and to support recovery services that are active on the ground. At the same time, the committee is under pressure to hold the overall budget to levels that will not require mid‑year hikes or cause other departments to be cut to absorb new line items.

What’s next: Members asked administration and budget staff for written details on debt, carryover, and targeted bond conversions the committee could use to fund some of the larger requests without increasing the overall levy. Budget director Leslie Milner and departmental directors were asked to return with precise ready‑to‑spend timelines (entitlement and procurement milestones) for larger capital requests — especially for projects that require state approvals or substantial entitlement work before construction can begin.

Ending: The committee spent much of the day balancing urgent community needs against longer‑term capital obligations. Members said they would continue deliberations tomorrow, when they expect to consider mayoral and managing‑director items and additional departmental adjustments, and asked departments to return with precise schedules and revenue reconciliations before the next vote.