Mayor's proposed FY26 budget trims overall mayoral spending, shifts grants to other departments

Chair Yuki Lee Sugimura opened the Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee hearing and invited the mayor's office to present the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget for Maui County.

Cynthia Lalo, chief of staff to the mayor, told the committee the mayor's office is submitting a proposed budget that is 13% lower overall than the previous year. Lalo said that drop reflects the removal of community development block grant disaster-recovery general-funded costs and the planned transfer of several grant programs to other departments the administration believes are better positioned to manage them. She said the shifts are intended to streamline operations and put programs with more relevant subject-matter expertise under departments such as the new Department of EV Resources and East Maui Water.

The administration described priorities that include strengthening cross-departmental coordination, expanding grants coordination services to help departments identify and manage awards, and assigning mayor's-office staff to serve as liaisons to departments. Lalo said those steps are meant to increase capacity to respond to community needs and to ensure grants and programs are housed where they can deliver results.

Budget Director Leslie Milner acknowledged only limited changes in the mayor's office's budget lines and said some position changes reflect shifting responsibilities. The mayor's office noted that some programs previously in the Office of Innovation and Sustainability are now housed in departments focused on environmental protection, agriculture and natural resource management.

Committee members asked for details on what was transferred out and what new items were added so the council could see net changes in dollar terms and staffing. Staff said they would provide a written breakdown of programs and dollar amounts moved between departments and any position-count changes.

The mayor's office also flagged specific items that will be coordinated with other departments going forward, including the county's film promotion work, the feral animal control grants and elements of resiliency and sustainability efforts that have been moved to other departments. Lalo said the office will continue to support grant-writing and grant-management efforts and to provide facilitation for departments that need assistance building competitive applications.

Committee members reserved detailed follow-up questions to written responses; staff said questions and follow-ups would be circulated and that the committee could adjust calendars once departments' responses arrive.

The meeting record shows the mayor's office presented these broad priorities and the committee requested detailed, itemized follow-up on transfers, added items and staffing changes to provide full fiscal context for the 13% reduction.

The committee proceeded to question the mayor's office on multiple program-specific items during the same hearing.