OHA trustees review revised preliminary biennium budget; ask staff to link spending to strategic outcomes

At a meeting April 25, 2025, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Budget & Finance Committee reviewed a revised preliminary biennium budget for fiscal years 2026–27 and asked administration to provide clearer linkages between strategic-plan outcomes and specific budget expenditures.

Trustees spent the session in a question-and-answer format after Ramona Heng, introduced as the agency chief financial officer, distributed a revised preliminary budget and said the meeting would focus on clarification rather than a formal presentation. "Passed out is a revised preliminary budget that we, pretty much revised today," Heng said.

The core request from trustees was for a tool or report that connects strategic-plan indicators to budget line items so trustees can evaluate whether spending is aligned with intended outcomes. "There's a tool that I've talked about that would be helpful to me at least ... something that helps integrate the metrics and outcomes of our strategic plan with the actual budget expenditures," said Trustee Akina.

Administration told trustees the agency already publishes an indicators report showing population-level baselines and targets, but that program-level evaluation and integration with the budget will require additional work with the research and evaluation team. Staff said they will bring a more detailed, separate briefing to leadership that ties program costs to defined outcomes and will work with trustees on evaluation design.

Trustees also questioned recent changes to the preliminary numbers. Staff acknowledged a spreadsheet error in the personnel formula that produced a $1.6 million difference between the April 23 and April 30 reports and said the April 23 figure had been corrected. Staff described the change as a calculation error discovered during rapid revision of presentation materials.

Members raised several program-specific questions during the discussion. On a proposed federal advocacy fellowship listed in the budget, trustees asked whether a previously reported partnership with Kamehameha Schools remains active. Administration said it was not aware of a current partnership and will confirm historical and current arrangements.

On grants and contract execution, trustees noted what appeared to be a low distribution of awards to date. Staff said grant and contract disbursements have lagged due to limited capacity earlier in the fiscal year, that additional grant officers and temporary staff have been added to catch up, and that the agency aims to encumber awarded funds before the fiscal year ends. A trustee cited a figure of about $8 million shown on an internal report but administration said that number would require follow-up and could not be confirmed on the spot.

Staff announced that the emergency-funds contract has been executed and set to start May 5 with Hawaii Community Assets as the grantee partner. "That one has finally been executed, and so we have a start date of May 5. It is ... Hawaii Community Assets who will be ... dispersing those funds," Heng said.

Trustees asked for more details on several budgeted initiatives that appeared on page summaries: a Kealopono trafficking-prevention initiative listed under health outcomes, and an economic-stability line for paid internships and tech-innovation career pathways. Administration said program details for the trafficking initiative will be provided later; staff noted the initiative aligns with prior work on missing and murdered indigenous people and that federal funds are involved but specifics were not available in the briefing. On internships and certifications, the director identified Purple Maya as a potential partner and projected that across multiple workforce programs the agency hopes to serve roughly 50–60 beneficiaries with certifications and internship opportunities (including FAA drone-pilot training and other credentials).

Trustees were invited to watch upcoming budget briefings and to raise questions during those sessions. Staff said they expect the numbers to be stable going into scheduled briefings unless ad hoc committee changes or community input requires adjustments.

The committee concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed on a roll-call voice vote. The chair called the meeting to a close after trustees recorded their aye votes.

The meeting produced no final budget adoption or board vote on the preliminary biennium numbers; trustees requested follow-up briefings and additional integration work between strategic outcomes and the budget. Staff committed to returning with program-level evaluation approaches, confirmation on the status of the congressional-fellowship partnership, and fuller details on the trafficking initiative and internship programs.