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Housing director urges staffing help as department reorganizes; union consultation complete, next steps with DPS to post positions
Summary
Department leaders told the committee they must hire staff to implement programs. Director Richard Mitchell and deputy director said union consultation has concluded and the department will work with Department of Personnel Services to price and post positions, but hiring remains a timeline and capacity challenge.
Maui County’s housing director told the BFED committee the department’s top operational barrier is staffing, and asked council members to help amplify recruitments once position descriptions are finalized.
The bottom line: Director Richard Mitchell said the department has completed a reorganization approval step and will now work with the Department of Personnel Services (DPS) to price, classify and post positions; he said the department needs help circulating job postings to recruit qualified candidates.
What the department told the committee Mitchell said the department has gone through two reorganizations and union consultation and that the next required step is pricing and classification of position descriptions by DPS. “We have got to get the department staffed up,” he said, adding that once positions are posted the department would ask council members to share postings widely.
Deputy Director Mata'afa added the department is exploring expedited options including an emergency governance proclamation to relax some civil service rules for affordable housing hires and a recruitment‑retention internship program (R2) that could bring workforce development candidates to county service.
Council response and requests Members repeatedly asked for written follow‑up, including a clear timeline of the remaining steps before positions can be publicly posted and whether the department has identified candidates. The department said it will provide a written status update detailing how many positions remain to be posted, which positions are intended to remain unfunded, and which steps DPS must still complete.
Why it matters Department leaders said program expansion — including rental assistance, Ohana assistance and experimental housing pilots — requires staff to manage contracts, monitor grantees and oversee procurement and development activities. Council members said staffing speed is central to implementation and urged administration coordination with DPS and other county offices.
Ending: The department and administration said staffing improvements are a high priority; the department will supply a written breakdown of open positions, remaining steps and an anticipated posting timeline.
