Finance Committee Meeting Summary - July 22, 2026
Finance Committee Meeting Summary - July 22, 2026
The Committee on Finance of the Hawaii County Council met on July 22, 2026, at 10:23 a.m. Chaired by Councilmember Connelly Kleinfelder, eight members were present initially, with Councilmember Viegas joining later for a total of nine. The agenda included quarterly reports on temporary hires, a resolution for safe routes to school funding, and several bills addressing fiscal impact statements, budget appropriations, and property tax classifications for bed and breakfasts.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Del Wilsuco testified via Zoom on Communications 98.5 and 98.6, criticizing the county's heavy reliance on 89-day temporary hiring contracts. He argued that the quarterly reports omit data for half of the fiscal year and conceal the use of retired staff through executive appointments and consulting agreements. He urged the council to demand a thorough audit of all temporary hiring forms, including those not listed.
Consent Calendar
- Communication 98.5: Third quarter report (January 1–March 31, 2026) of persons employed under contracts for less than 90 days, from Human Resources Director Summer J. Toki Hero. Motion to close file passed unanimously (9-0).
- Communication 98.6: Fourth quarter report (April 1–June 30, 2026) of the same. Motion to close file passed unanimously (9-0). During discussion, Councilmember Inaba questioned the use of 89-day contracts for law clerks and helicopter pilots; Director Toki Hero explained that long-term civil service positions are being developed for helicopter pilots after collective bargaining issues are resolved.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 604-26: Authorizes the mayor to enter an intergovernmental agreement with the state Department of Transportation to receive $6,282.72 in federally derived funds to update the county's motor vehicle registration system, enabling collection of a $5 surcharge for the Safe Routes to School program. Finance Department representatives Diana Nakagawa and Naomi O’Dell explained that the surcharge applies to most vehicles (excluding some like county/state vehicles and antiques) and that the funds will be deposited into the state's Safe Routes to School Program Special Fund for redistribution. Councilmembers expressed concerns about whether the funds would return equitably to Hawaii County and that the program has not been equitably distributed island-wide. Deputy Corporation Counsel Kira Wong noted that the fund allows multiple uses beyond safe routes. The resolution passed with a vote of 7-2 (Chair Connelly Kleinfelder and Councilmember Viegas voting no).
- Bill 171: Amends Chapter 2, Article 4, Section 2-12.7 of the Hawaii County Code to require fiscal impact statements from the finance director for council bills with fiscal implications. Councilmember Onishi, the introducer, requested postponement to work out details with the finance department. The bill was postponed to the September 15, 2026 committee meeting in Hilo, by a unanimous vote (9-0).
- Bill 172: Appropriates $6,282.72 from the state motor vehicle weight tax account to the vehicle registration other current expenses account for programming and updating the motor vehicle registration system. Passed unanimously (9-0).
- Bill 173: Establishes a new bed and breakfast home property tax classification for vacation rentals that are the owner's principal residence, with a 3% annual assessment increase cap and a temporary tax amnesty period for non-compliant properties. Councilmember Kimball, the introducer, requested postponement to allow the Real Property Tax Administrator and Deputy Administrator to provide input. Discussion covered concerns about fairness of the 3% cap compared to other commercial activities, potential disincentives for long-term rentals, and the timeline for amnesty relative to the registration process under Ordinance 2550. The bill was postponed to the August 4, 2026 committee meeting by a unanimous vote (9-0).
- Bill 174: Appropriates $500,000 from the state grants, Conaloa Small Business Recovery Grant Account to support one-time relief for Hawaii Island small businesses that sustained damage from the Conaloa storm. Passed unanimously (9-0).
Key Outcomes
- Communications 98.5 and 98.6: Closed files unanimously.
- Resolution 604-26: Approved and forwarded to council with a favorable recommendation, 7-2.
- Bill 171: Postponed to the September 15, 2026 committee meeting in Hilo, unanimously.
- Bill 172: Approved and forwarded to council with a favorable recommendation, unanimously.
- Bill 173: Postponed to the August 4, 2026 committee meeting, unanimously.
- Bill 174: Approved and forwarded to council with a favorable recommendation, unanimously.
- The meeting adjourned at 11:09 a.m.
Meeting Transcript
Aloha, welcome to the committee on finance. Today is July 22nd, 2026. It's 10 23 a.m. Thank you for joining us today. Here in the corner chambers, to my right, we have council members Kimball and Galimba to my left, council members Kalgiwada, Hustis, Kirkowitz, Onichi. Inaba, and we are missing currently, Councilmember Viegas will be joining us shortly. Uh, with myself, we have eight members in attendance. I'm calling this meeting to order. Mr. Kirk, is there any testimony to begin the meeting with? Thank you so much, Chair. We do have one testifier via Zoom. Del Wilsuco testifying on communications 98.5 and 98.6. When you're ready to begin, you can unmute your mic and introduce yourself, and then you'll have three minutes per agenda item if you clearly transition. If not, it'll be three minutes over. Hold on, though. Let me send you a request to unmute. If you click that button, you should be able to unmute. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. Whenever you're ready to begin your testimony, you can introduce yourself and good morning, and aloha chair and council members. In addition to my written testimony submitted yesterday, I would also like to offer my oral testimony today. It is regarding communications 98.5 and 98.6, specifically focusing on our county's heavy reliance on the 89-day temporary hiring system. While the administration frequently cites systemic hiring difficulties, a closer look at our short-term contract practices and outsourcing habits reveal a self-inflicted cycle of inefficiency that damages employee morale and locks local workers out of long-term career advancement. The data presented for this meeting provides an incomplete picture, reporting short-term hires for only two out of four quarters. And even the four quarters for one year would not be enough. So by admitting half of omitting half of the fiscal year's data, this council is prevented from conducting proper legislative oversight. Worse yet, this report is fundamentally opaque because it completely conceals the true extent of our reliance on retired staff. While the 90-day civil service logs track lower level lines, as in these two quarterly reports, high profile retired administrators are routinely brought back via executive political appointments or specialized consulting agreements. And because these positions are processed outside standard civil service logs, their presence is hidden from the quarterly disclosure packets. But you know, not only what we didn't see in the reports, are actually the psychological impact of the 89-day loop. The anxiety of knowing, not knowing if you have a job in three months, is known as chronic job insecurity. Being at will, classified means that they excuse me. 30 seconds. Oh, sorry. So I just urge, I just urge the council to demand a thorough audit on all the forums and all the quarterly reports, including those that are not listed, which are the executive appointees. Because again, it's not just what's on on paper, it's the psychological impact it has to the workers you're affecting, the temporary hires. You know, there it's clear that you have vacancies. I mean, it's very clear you have a lot of vacancies that should be filled. So just thank you so much for your testimony, Dill. Unfortunately, your time is up, so we're gonna move on. Chair, at this time, those are all the testifiers you have. Thank you very much, Mr. Mr. RSL. Mr. Hook, gonna go to our first uh communication. If anyone would like to testify in communication 98.5 that didn't get a chance yet, please speak up now. Hearing and seeing non-communication 98.5 third quarter report of persons employed under a contract for less than 90 days, January 1 through March 31, 2026 from Human Resources Director Summer J.
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