Maui County management outlines FY26 budget shifts, recovery staffing and warehousing plan

Managing Director Josiah Nishita told the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee that the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes administrative shifts and one-time investments aimed at recovery and operations.

Nishita said the administration will transfer the county's planning and development team into the Office of Recovery to bolster recovery efforts and is requesting additional staff for that office. He also said the budget adds a Board of Ethics program under the Department of Management and requests several one-time investments, including about $500,000 to upgrade security servers, $500,000 for base-yard master planning and roughly $500,000 for an organizational review of the Department of Personnel Services to help with hiring and retention.

The requests are intended to support both near-term recovery work and longer-term administrative modernization. "We are proposing to transfer, essentially our planning and development team, from the management program to the, office of recovery program to assist in recovery efforts, ongoing," Nishita said. He added the Personnel Services review is meant to "identify, maybe some possible ... rule changes or best practices" to improve hiring and retention.

Office of Recovery Director John Smith, who opened remarks after Nishita, said the Office of Recovery will continue to oversee previously recognized FY25-funded programs and that some program funding was already captured in FY25 amendments. Smith and Deputy Managing Director Erin Wade joined Nishita on the dais to answer detailed questions.

Why this matters: the transfer of planning staff and the added recovery positions change where responsibility for rebuilding projects and grant administration will sit; the county is also asking for funding to modernize operations and protect county networks while dealing with ongoing recovery demands.

Key details - Staffing/transfers: planning & development moved into Office of Recovery; additional Office of Recovery staff requested (positions and counts not specified in the transcript). - IT and infrastructure: $500,000 requested for security/server upgrades; additional funds for modernization and expansion positions in ITS were discussed. - Personnel review: about $500,000 requested for an organizational review of Personnel Services to improve hiring/retention. - Board of Ethics: budgeted as a program under Department of Management for administrative oversight while the board will function independently; the executive director is expected to be a licensed attorney. - Donated-appliance warehousing: the administration identified the old Homemade Bakery site as leased warehousing for donated appliances; staff said warehousing is expected to be needed for roughly 3–5 years and that higher-value items will be prioritized for storage there. - Duplicate budget entries: Nishita told the committee staff found duplicate entries in some submissions that could be removed from the request.

CDBG-DR, HUD and FEMA reimbursements Committee members pressed staff on recovery funding flows. The county's CDBG-DR action plan is being finalized and will be submitted to HUD; staff told the committee HUD has 45 days to review and the county expects a HUD response in June. Committee members were reminded that CDBG-DR is intended for permanent housing and is generally a fund-of-last-resort rather than short-term rental assistance.

On FEMA public assistance, the county said some reimbursements have arrived but substantial work remains. Staff said there is an expected $20 million in obligated PA reimbursement and additional tens of millions of dollars of outstanding PA work the county is pursuing; however, the amount that will ultimately be reimbursed is not yet known.

State Revolving Fund and wastewater projects Deputy staff said the Kahului aeration project is being pursued for state revolving fund (SRF) support but timelines depend on the amount the state ultimately receives from recently appropriated federal funding. Department of Environmental Management expects construction funds in FY27 unless SRF prioritization allows an earlier FY26 construction request via amendment.

Donated-appliance distribution program Committee members asked how long the county will hold donated appliances and where. Management said the county has identified a lease at the former Homemade Bakery site and that warehousing costs are expensive; the county estimated supplies and storage will likely be needed for about three to five years and that donated goods are already being distributed.

What leaders asked and said - "We have been helping them kind of navigate the process of establishing the, that office a result of the Charter Amendment that passed," Nishita said about the Board of Ethics, describing legal and administrative reasons for placing the program under Management while preserving the board's independent function. - "We have 2 other changes that were identified ... duplicate entries. And so, we'd also like to notify the committee of that that, those items could be removed," Nishita said.

Next steps and looming decisions The county will submit the CDBG-DR action plan to HUD and expects a review by June. Staff also told the committee they will return with written responses to several detailed budget questions (labeled MD-2 in the meeting), and that some line items may be adjusted by council action or budget amendment as additional information about federal funding becomes available.

Discussion points raised by council members included requests for a status update on a managed-retreat fund (a $500,000 item), concerns about hiring and vacancy rates that affect how much personnel funding is spent, and questions about where recovery-related grants and programs should be housed administratively.

Ending Committee members signaled they would defer final decisions while they review written follow-up (MD-2) from management and recovery staff and consider amendments in subsequent budget sessions.