Hawaii County Council Special Finance Hearing Budget Review – April 16, 2026
Hawaii County Council Special Finance Hearing Budget Review – April 16, 2026
The Hawaii County Council held a special finance hearing on April 16, 2026, to review the proposed fiscal year 2027 budgets for the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Parks and Recreation, Office of Aging, County Auditor, County Clerk, and Mass Transit Agency. Council members questioned department heads on staffing, capital projects, rate structures, and program performance, with several commitments to follow up on specific issues.
Department of Environmental Management
- Discussion Items: Director Dan Gervin reported that the department transported nearly 87,000 tons of waste, accepted 214,000 tons at the landfill, cleaned 36 miles of sewer lines, and processed 1,357 abandoned cars. Key goals for FY 2027 include completing the Pahala wastewater collection system (40% complete, expected fall 2026) and the wastewater treatment plant (clearing trees, construction underway). A new sewer rate structure is being developed to cover operating expenses over five years; the current structure does not cover costs and requires general fund subsidies. The department has 264 positions with 70 vacancies. The Hilo wastewater treatment plant groundbreaking was in July 2025 (transcript noted 2005, clearly a typo per context), with real construction expected to start in June 2026. The Kahaluu sewer project has funding for conceptual design. The Calicati wastewater treatment plant bid was protested and will be rebid; the department anticipates a three-month delay but still expects to meet the timeline. Councilmember Onishi expressed opposition to rate increases without addressing historical agreements for certain districts. Director committed to finding relevant documents. Councilmember Kimball discussed staffing gaps and coordination with DPW. Councilmember Houstis noted budget discrepancies and the need for tighter spending.
- Key Outcomes: The director committed to monthly budget monitoring. The department will work with HR to modify position descriptions to attract more applicants. A new rate structure proposal is expected by end of summer. The council requested a follow-up on the impact of project delays on the financial plan.
Department of Parks and Recreation
- Discussion Items: Director Hornma presented FY 2025 accomplishments, including park improvement projects in each district, island-wide events, and zoo additions. The department has 2,521 positions with 57 vacancies, primarily in parks maintenance and aquatics. Lifeguard recruitment challenges were noted; a partnership with Honokaa High School and a lifeguard training pathway are underway. A new work order system and online pavilion rental system are being implemented. The safety committee will restart after filling an HR specialist role. CIP projects include the Waimea Community Center re-roofing, beach park comfort stations, and the Hilo Skate Complex. Councilmember Kurkewitz raised concerns about the Isaac Kippol Kalani Hale Beach Park timeline (pushed to 2028) and the need for permanent signage at cultural sites. Councilmember Kimball asked about the boat ramp, Wainaku Gym, and tree removal at Honokaa Park. Councilmember Kaga Wada discussed the Hilo Skate Complex funding and Moholi Park playground. Councilmember Kleinfelder noted a $1.4 million grant for the Kilauea Armory that had not been used; the grant is now being matched with FEMA funds for hardening. The department will provide a list of prioritized projects.
- Key Outcomes: The department will update its website with project status. A second park planner position is in the works. The council will work with the department on prioritizing CIP projects. The armory grant will be used as a match for FEMA funds.
Office of Aging
- Discussion Items: Executive on Aging Kotwe Onalani Fukuda reported FY 2025 outcomes: 4,000 unique contacts, 60,528 transportation trips, 459 Kupuna receiving case management, 47,369 home-delivered meals, and 36,364 congregate meals. The office has 20 positions with 7 vacancies. The budget for FY 2027 is $3.84 million. Priorities include expanding access to nutritious meals through farm-to-table partnerships, intergenerational initiatives, and strengthening case management via internships. A new contract with PNR for grandparents raising grandchildren to attend summer fund programs (Kilekaha) is funded at $20,835. Councilmember Onishi requested partnership for a nutrition program at Kali Senior Center. Councilmember Kurkewitz asked about scam awareness and workforce development. The office is piloting a case management internship.
- Key Outcomes: The office will explore partnerships with other schools and community groups. The council will connect the office with potential partners.
County Auditor
- Discussion Items: Auditor Claire McCadam presented the office's FY 2025 accomplishments: completed audits of DPW building permits and bridges, DEM derelict vehicles, and liquor control travel expenses; investigated 32 hotline complaints. The office has 5 positions with 1 vacancy. The FY 2027 budget is $1.225 million. Priorities include auditing the Office of Housing and Community Development for homelessness funds, completing follow-up reviews, and planning a cybersecurity audit (phased approach). Councilmember Kimball requested a cybersecurity audit update; the auditor will work with corporation counsel on how to present findings. Councilmember Kaga Wada clarified the scope of the housing audit: it will focus on compliance with grant requirements, not on effectiveness.
- Key Outcomes: The auditor will provide a timeline for the cybersecurity audit and coordinate with IT. The housing audit is expected by end of 2026.
County Clerk
- Discussion Items: Clerk John Hendricks and Deputy Clerk Aaron Brown presented a brief memo. The office has vacancies for an HR technician and a legislative specialist (one started today). Digital boards have been implemented, saving paper and staff time. A new project is underway to integrate legislative information into a single online portal, similar to Honolulu's system. The elections division is preparing for the upcoming election, with heightened security concerns. The clerk noted the SAVE Act at Congress could create challenges if enacted close to the election. Councilmember Kurkewitz asked about equipment replacement and staff comfort. The office has a systematic laptop replacement plan.
- Key Outcomes: The council thanked the clerk's office for its work. The clerk will continue to monitor federal election legislation and coordinate with the state.
Mass Transit Agency
- Discussion Items: Assistant Administrator Jennifer Martin reported FY 2025 ridership of 1.2 million trips. The agency has 26 positions with 8 vacancies. The FY 2027 budget includes $16.8 million in grants for vehicle purchases. The agency is procuring 40 new vehicles (7 fixed-route buses by October, 6 smaller vehicles by early 2027, plus hybrids and diesel). The fare-free program is funded through 2028. The base yard battery electric infrastructure construction has started. The agency is working on a passenger app for real-time bus location. No new CIP projects were added; the agency will re-evaluate the master plan. Councilmember Houstis discussed the need for bus shelters and park-and-ride lots. Councilmember Kaga Wada asked about the Pahoa bus hub and library co-location; the state is waiting for full funding. Councilmember Kurkewitz raised security concerns; security on buses has improved. Councilmember Kleinfelder discussed GET fund revenues: $75 million actual in FY 2025, $70 million estimated for FY 2027. The council emphasized the need to accelerate capital projects before the GET surcharge sunsets in 2030.
- Key Outcomes: The agency will work with DPW on bus shelter installations (Pepekeo, Pahoa, Ainaloa, Volcano expected in FY 2027). The council will consider adding CIP projects for infrastructure. The agency will provide a list of bus stop priorities.
Meeting Transcript
Aloha, welcome back. We are in a special finance hearings calling this meeting out of recess. Our next department joining us this morning is the Department of Environmental Management. Director, when you're ready, please introduce yourself, introduce your team, and thank you all for being here this morning. Remember to push your for everyone just push your the green button, which turns the mic on when it goes red, you're live and you're being recorded. And that way our folks who are joining us in Kona can hear us as well. Thank you. Well, good morning, everybody. Our team this morning has four people myself, Dan Gervin, and uh Robin Bauman, and we have Chris Lande and Mike. So uh hopefully we'll be able to answer all your questions for that group of people. Uh we'll go through our um our presentation here. There we go. Well, in uh over the last year uh we have uh transported nearly 87,000 tons of uh waste and refuse. Uh the landfill has accepted uh 214,000 tons of refuse. The um our maintenance crew has cleaned uh 36 miles of sewer lines, and we have processed 1,357 abandoned cars, and uh 437 of those were uh disposed of. As far as uh fiscal year 27 goes, some of our goals are to uh complete construction at the Pahala wastewater collection system. There's really two phases to that. The uh collection system, which is well underway. Uh as of yesterday, I think the estimate was that it's 40% complete, and that that will be uh finished this fall. We have just recently started construction on the wastewater treatment plant. I believe they are clearing trees on the construction site at this point. The contract's been awarded, and that will go forward over the next couple of years of construction. The um eye uh main force main line is again well underway, and that will be done early this fall. That needs to be done in time for the Iron Man competition that takes place in Kona, and so we'll be well ahead of that. An item that we'll be coming to you with later this year is a new rate structure for sewer fees. Uh, the current rate structure does not fully cover our ongoing operating expenses. And uh what one of the questions I heard here on Tuesday at some of the opening discussions was how did we get here with this extreme commitment to uh reinvesting in our wastewater facilities? Well, one of the ways we got here is underfunding our wastewater operations, and you do that for a decade, and suddenly you have a very large repair bill. So we are trying to fix that so that uh we don't just go down this uh same road again, and uh we will be bringing forth a proposal for a rate structure that will be increasing rates over a five-year period with the ultimate goal to balance our ongoing operating expenses with our collection fees, and at least have a balanced budget from that standpoint that will not cover capital projects, but at least it will cover our ongoing operating fees. So uh that's in development right now. It will start the process and be showing up before you end of summer to early fall. Uh we have noted the uh new model for the signs for the county signs, and uh, we are already working to put some of those signs at our properties. I believe Lapa Hoyhoy already has one of the new signs. Is that a true statement? Yes. Good. Okay. Um we do hope to plan uh one more auction. Uh the last auction they did went very well. A large number of vehicles sold off, and uh we hope to do another auction uh yet this year. The groundbreaking at the Hilo treatment plant that occurred July of last year in 2005, but we are quickly approaching the date when some real construction will start on the site. We've been waiting for major pieces of equipment and pipe and electrical supplies to arrive. That is coming in, and hopefully in June, this coming June, we'll start to be doing some real construction on a day-to-day basis out there. We all also had the groundbreaking at the Hail Holloway, but as I said, that is going to be done late summer, early fall, and that'll be completed. We did award construction of the treatment plant at Bahala. That's a recent achievement for us. And as I said earlier, I think we have crews on site either right now or will be very soon starting to clear trees on that site. We completed the transfer station at Lapahoi. And I don't know if any of you saw the videos, but they had a very nice blessing, and a nice group of people from the community came out and participated. I believe that you participated in that.
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