Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Rental Assistance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates ask county for larger rental assistance pool; homeownership counselors report pilot IDA success
Summary
Housing advocates urged the Maui County Council to scale rental assistance to address thousands of rent‑burdened households; housing counseling leaders described a pilot IDA program that helped three buyers and asked for continued county support.
Housing advocates and homeownership counselors testified at the Maui County Council budget hearing about unmet rental assistance needs and a pilot program to help buyers secure down payments.
Jordan Hocker of the Maui Housing Hui presented a preliminary estimate that more than 12,000 Maui County households are rent‑burdened or severely rent‑burdened and argued that county allocations should be larger than the proposed $3 million. Using UHERO data and prior emergency rental assistance benchmarks, Hocker suggested a baseline county allocation nearer $16.5 million to materially address one year of rental assistance for those households and said a $3 million allocation would reach only a small fraction of the need.
On homeownership programs, Marilyn Tongie (Halema'uma'u Homeownership and Housing Counseling Program) described a pilot Individual Development Account (IDA) match savings program. She said the IDA pilot helped three buyers close on homes by matching saved funds, and the program currently serves additional participants with a wait list. “If you fund it more, I would like to see it advanced, offered in Lanai and Molokai,” she said, noting interest from residents there.
Why it matters: Testimony contrasted a broad need among renters with limited county dollars in existing proposals and highlighted an example where local matching funds helped first‑time buyers complete purchases.
Council questions: Members asked about program wait lists and the feasibility of expanding IDA support to Molokai and Lanai; the counselor said pilot funding is ongoing and scaling would require additional county and partner resources.
No council votes occurred during the hearing.
