Finance and Economic Development Committee Budget Review for FY 2026-2027 – April 2, 2026
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Finance and Economic Development Committee Budget Review for FY 2026-2027 – April 2, 2026
The committee reviewed proposed budgets for the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Office of the County Attorney, and the Department of Liquor Control. No public testimony was offered. The meeting recessed until April 6, 2026, at 9:00 AM.
Department of Parks and Recreation
Deputy Director Preston Chong presented an overview: 192 employees (including five 89-day hires), 20 vacancies, serving 76 parks, four campgrounds, 14 community centers, three stadiums, a golf course, and 13 cemeteries. The proposed budget is $28.8 million, a 3% increase from the prior year, largely for equipment replacement (e.g., tree trimming equipment). Key discussion points:
- Golf Course: Revenue is on track despite challenges (heavy rain, tree removals, CRB infestation). Approximately 50 coconut trees have been removed due to CRB. The course is using drone treatments and steaming to manage the beetle. A new concessionaire is expected to open soon, and a refreshment cart is in operation.
- CRB Management: $100,000 allocated for mitigation (drone applications, steaming traps) for parks outside the golf course. Council members asked about effectiveness, costs ($40/tree for drone treatment), and collaboration with the state for adjacent lands.
- Park Maintenance: Concerns about portable toilets ($390,000 total), especially at Blackpot Beach. Council requested detail on contracts and locations. Discussion on high cost of permanent bathrooms; some members suggested wooden structures as alternatives.
- Adopt-A-Park Program: $10,000 budget for materials. Council asked for a history of expenditures and explored expanding to a broader volunteer program for park improvements.
- Convention Hall: Renovations delayed; major closure expected for 3–6 months in 2027. Council asked about contingency plans for events.
- Equipment Replacement: Council requested a detailed replacement schedule for major equipment (e.g., chipper, stump grinder, boom truck) showing useful life and age.
Office of the County Attorney
County Attorney Tyler Sandler reported no budget changes from the prior year. The office has 15 attorneys (5 remote, 10 on-island) and one vacancy. Recruitment for the vacant position is ongoing, with interviews scheduled next week. Council asked about remote work challenges; office is stable.
Department of Liquor Control
Director (acting) reported that all liquor investigator positions are filled as of yesterday. Premium pay for overtime was implemented for investigators (time-and-a-half for last two hours). A conditional offer has been made for the director position. The budget is fully funded by license fees; any surplus is refunded to licensees. Operations are steady.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken. Council directed staff to provide follow-up information on several items: breakdown of community grant awards (last four years), details on security services and portable toilet contracts, replacement schedule for large equipment, adopt-a-park spending history, and CRB mitigation plans for parks outside the golf course.
- The committee recessed and will reconvene Monday, April 6, 2026, at 9:00 AM to review budgets for the Fire Department, Emergency Management Agency, Police Department, and Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good morning. I'd like to call back to order the Finance and Economic Development Committee and the fiscal year 2026-2027 departmental budget reviews that there could reflect that all members are present on the schedule today. We'll be hearing from Department of Parks and Rec, followed by Office of the County Attorney, and finally the Department of Liquor Control. As we do each morning, we'll take public testimony at the beginning related to any of the departments or agencies that we're reviewing for the day. Is there anyone in the public wishing to testify? Seeing none. Um we'll now begin with our review of the budget details for the Department of Parks and Rec. The department um will provide a brief overview and we'll then entertain questions regarding the the department's budget and operation synopsis submitted, followed by questions relating to the operating budget uh based on their different departments. Good morning, council. Good morning. Preston Chong, acting or deputy director of parks now. So I can just start off by saying for the Department of Parks and Recreation. Currently currently we have uh 192 employees, uh which five of those are 89 day hires, and we have a total of 20 vacancies, and this was as of today, which will constantly change tomorrow. We in the budget for this year we are asking for under a three percent increase from last year from 2.80 million to two, I mean sorry, 28.0 million to 28.8 million. We are currently serving uh 76 parks, four campgrounds, fourteen community centers, the three stadiums, the golf course, and thirteen cemeteries. And for this year's budget, we are still asking again for equipment which will replace some of the equipment that has been on the list for fixement for a while, including a lot of equipment for the tree trimmers. Do we have any questions? Um everybody saw their synopsis. Do we have any questions on it? Your mic. I know that the golf uh facility has really been doing a lot of work. I see it's uh eight percent, so I'm just uh that is not the physical improvements, right? That's not the capital improvement. So I'm just looking at where the eight point one percent came from. That's mostly salaries. What what's our increase in the golf coming from, or should we wait till we get to that detail? Uh increase in expenses. Yeah. Yeah, we can wait till the detail. Most of it is salaries. Yeah. And some other services. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we can wait till the details. All right. Council Member Cooley. So on the bottom of uh page four operational challenges number three. The very last sentence is in the very near future. We foresee additional playing fields will be needed. Um I know that you know the county's um available land is limited. So I just wanted to ask if you guys were aware of the Anahola sports complex project, also named uh the Anahola Recreational Economy Project. I know that they just closed um on their reporting and expenditures for uh $500,000 CIP grant from the state where they um did a master plan of uh lands uh specifically for fields and for gymnasium, even for rodeo. So there are lands specifically available potentially in on a hola, not for the county to own, but for the county to partner with and utilize so you don't have to go buying own land for these particular purposes if you partner um with them. And I can put you in touch with uh Garrett Banner. Okay, since you're not aware of it. Thank you. Appreciate that. Um, and it's relating to the TIF flag football, which is gonna grow, I think it's big. But you know, we we really accommodate the state because KIF is not a county league, it's a state league, and the state has land, they have way more land than the county does. Have we tried to work with them as far as um partnering with them for land so we can I think a partnership, you know, even if we were to maintain it, but you know, have the state lands made available so we could use it not only for KIF flag but uh for our our leagues as well.
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