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Committee backs changing housing fund to a $9 million floor; forwards several budget-related bills to council
Summary
Bill 50 would change the housing/homelessness allocation from 75% of Tier 2 property tax revenue to a floor of $9,000,000 per year; the committee forwarded the bill and several other budget and planning measures (bills 48, 49) to council with favorable recommendations after discussion about predictability and the potential for shortfalls.
The Committee on Finance voted to forward Bill 50, which replaces a percentage-based allocation for the housing and homelessness fund with a minimum annual allocation of $9,000,000, and also forwarded several budget-related bills to the full council.
Bill 50 makers said the change is intended to provide OHCD (the Office of Housing and Community Development) and partner organizations with reliable, predictable funding. Council member Inaba said the $9,000,000 floor would allow the housing fund to plan multi-year programs and retain unspent balances for future use.
Several members asked what would happen if the county collects less than $9,000,000 from the specified property tax class in a given year. Council member Kimball suggested language that would allocate "whichever is less" (either the total collected or $9,000,000) to avoid an automatic shortfall. Hilo representatives cautioned that returning to year‑by‑year appropriations would destabilize program planning; other members emphasized the need to revisit the arrangement when the current sunset in 2027 approaches.
The committee also forwarded Bill 48 (appropriating $270,000 of Federal Transit Administration funds for planning the Pahoa Transit hub) and Bill 49 (reallocating $500,000 to the Kukui Ola permanent supportive housing project in Kailua Kona) with favorable recommendations. All three measures were moved and seconded and carried in committee.
Committee members asked staff to continue reviewing the budget impact and to bring forward clarifying language if necessary in later readings.
