Maui County committee hears police request to transfer $3 million from salaries to operations; vote deferred

The Maui County Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee on April 14 heard Department of Police officials seek approval to transfer $3,000,000 in unencumbered salary appropriations to operations and equipment accounts, and deferred a decision to the full Council meeting on April 17.

Committee Chair Yukile Sugimura opened discussion on BFED 35, Resolution No. 25-30-87, which requests a $2,000,000 transfer from the technical and support services salary index to operations and equipment and a $1,000,000 transfer from the investigative services salary index to operations and equipment.

Why it matters: Police officials said the transfers are planned to cover unanticipated, one-time operational costs through the end of fiscal year 2025: upgrades and maintenance for countywide radios and radio-shop operations; building maintenance at aging stations in Wailuku and Lahaina; and investigative costs, including helicopter-related expenses, utilities, overtime and a higher-than-expected contract with Ballard’s.

Deputy Chief Wade Maeda summarized the request, saying the transfers will cover “one-time asks that we did not anticipate” and stressing that the radio costs under discussion support multiple county agencies, not just police. He told the committee that the Ballard’s contract for investigative services “was unexpectedly higher than we thought it was, and they won the bid.”

Budget Director Leslie Milner provided account details on request. She said the department proposes moving $2,000,000 from the technical and support services salary index and $1,000,000 from the investigative services salary index; after the transfers the indexed remaining balances would be (per Milner): 910116 → $54,532; 910067 → $507,159; 910430 → $953,843; 910174 → $266,804. (These figures were provided by the budget director during the committee interchange.)

Committee members sought specifics. Councilmember Rollins Fernandez and others pressed the department to provide a detailed, line-item breakdown of the items covered by the $624,000 labeled “daily operations” in support services and the $495,000 labeled “daily operations” in investigative services. Deputy Chief Maeda said the support-services daily-operations money would cover station maintenance, radio-shop repairs and emergency procurement needs; the investigative-services daily-operations money would cover forensic bills such as DNA and sexual-assault kit testing, utilities and overtime tied to vacancies.

Several members raised concerns about recurring carryover savings in salary accounts and asked for transparency on which vacant positions are producing the available funds. Maeda said the department has used vacancies and temporary assignments as a tool to meet operational needs and to staff investigative work with overtime and temporary assignments. He also said the department is trying to promote and move people into vacant positions to reduce overtime pressure.

Public comment: One in-person testifier, who identified themselves as JC Law and referenced Roberts Hawaii, expressed support for the police: “My local police department, 99.99%, and I support this resolution,” the testifier said.

Committee action: After extended questioning and requests for written detail, the committee deferred the resolution for final action at the full Council meeting scheduled for April 17. Chair Sugimura said members would receive the requested written breakdowns of the “daily operations” line items and a list of vacant positions linked to the salary carryover.

What the department will provide: Committee members were told staff will supply in writing: (1) a detailed line-item description of the “daily operations” expenditures for both the support services and investigative services programs; and (2) a list of the police department positions and the vacancy status tied to the salary carryover that is being reclassified.

Next steps: The committee deferred BFED 35 to the April 17 Council meeting for action. The department and budget office will deliver the requested written clarifications to the committee before that date.

Reporting note: Quotes and attributions are drawn from the April 14 BFED committee transcript. The first reference to each official uses the full name and role as announced at the meeting.