Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee Meeting - April 21, 2026
Maui County Council Budget and Finance Committee Meeting - April 21, 2026
The Budget and Finance Committee met on April 21, 2026, to continue deliberations on the FY2027 budget, focusing on departments excluding countywide expenses, fire, public safety, housing, human concerns, and liquor control. The meeting began with public testimony and included council member priority amendments. Key topics included funding for early childhood education, wildfire health recovery, affordable housing, and shoreline management.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool (Partners in Development Foundation): Multiple parents and a staff member testified in strong support of county funding to preserve the program on Maui. The program serves approximately 200 children across four sites, with each teaching team costing $600,000 to support two sites. Total funding needed to sustain Maui sites is $1.2 million, of which $1.2 million is already in the mayor’s proposed budget (two-thirds of the need, with one-third match secured). Testifiers emphasized the program’s role in early childhood education, family bonding, cultural grounding, and community support, particularly for families displaced by the 2023 wildfires. The loss of federal Native Hawaiian Education Act funding was cited as the cause of planned closures in August 2026.
- Ho'ala Health Initiative (University of Hawaii): Two testifiers (Alika Monakea and Ruben Juarez) requested $2 million in county co-funding to expand the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and establish a permanent prevention and disaster recovery health system. They reported that 2,000 Maui residents have been served to date, with high rates of depression (one in two individuals) and respiratory impairment. The program aims to serve 5,000 individuals annually through screening, diagnostics, and community navigation.
- Camp Maluhia (Scouting America): Glenn Katagawa and Lea Fadachi requested $500,000 for camp upkeep, repairs (roof damage, pool, painting), and continued community use. They noted the camp hosts scouting events, church groups, and programs for incarcerated youth.
- Department of Housing (Director Richard Mitchell and Deputy Director Mata Afa): They testified in support of the department’s Affordable Housing Fund allocations, including $1 million for Aloha House (supportive housing for individuals below 50% AMI), $6.595 million for Habitat for Humanity’s Hana homeownership project (25 lots, ready for power connection), and $1 million for developing county-owned land. They described the rigorous RFP process used to select projects and urged the council not to cut these items. They noted the Paris (Permanently Affordable Rental Unit Strategy) program did not apply in the current cycle.
- Paya Mantokuji Mission (Managed Retreat Fund): Kaina Shiki opposed the $2.5 million request, arguing the applicant lacks a defined project, is pursuing state legislation to bypass environmental review, and has compliance issues. She stated relocation of structures is feasible (previous cost estimates ~$2 million) and urged using the fund for retreat, not shoreline hardening.
- Other testifiers: Tom Crowley spoke against proposed water rate increases and described a 90% drop in his bed-and-breakfast business. Christopher Salem reiterated concerns about unaccounted developer infrastructure agreements. Several additional parents testified in support of Tutu and Me.
Discussion Items
- Council members discussed the Tutu and Me funding, with Member Batangan confirming the $1.2 million in the mayor’s budget is intended to cover the two-thirds need. Members also explored options for the Paris program and the Cove Beach Village acquisition, though no formal motions were made on those topics during this session.
- Member Paulton introduced an amendment to add a grant condition of up to $300,000 for the Marine Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute, to support coral reef restoration, sea turtle rescue, and heat-tolerant coral breeding. The amendment was seconded by Member Johnson and received support from Members Cook and others.
Key Outcomes
- Amendment adopted: The committee voted to add a new condition to environmental protection grants: up to $300,000 must be for a grant to the Marine Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute. The motion passed with 8 votes in favor and 1 excused (Chair not voting or excused).
- The meeting recessed at 11:14 AM and resumed at 11:25 AM to continue the budget discussion. No further votes were taken before the break.
Meeting Transcript
Of finance, excluding um county countywide expenses, fire public safety, housing human concerns, and with liquor control. So those are the departments we'll be taking up today. I have asked staff to distribute exhibit one and a summary of yesterday's changes by department showing what we added a net total of 2.6 million to the budget. Have we distributed it? No? Were we going to? Oh. Oh, so that will be distributed to you today this morning, I guess. Before we start a discussion, we will begin by taking public testimony. I can tell we're gonna have public testimony with the number of people in the audience, so thank you very much for joining us. So if you are a testifier wanting to provide testimony, you should sign up with staff. Join the meeting online versus on Teams link or call in to the phone number noted on today's agenda. Testimony on the on the budget is not limited to the department's schedule today, but you may testify on anything in the budget, county budget. Written testimony is encouraged and can be submitted via the e comment link and Maui at Maui County.us backslash agendas as well. Under the Sunshine Law, the chair will receive oral testimony from agenda items at the beginning of the meeting. Um for individuals wishing to testify via Teams, please raise your hand by clicking on the raise your hand button. And if calling in, please follow the prompts via phone, star five to raise and lower your hand, and star six to mute and unmute. Staff will add names to the testifier list in the order testifiers sign up or raise their hands for those in teams. Staff will lower your hand, um, read uh once your name is added, staff will then call the name you're logged in under or the last four digits of your cell number cell number when your time is called. At this time, staff will also enable your microphone and video. Please ensure your name appears in Microsoft Teams as a name you prefer to be referred to or as anonymous if you wish to testify anonymously. If you're in person, please notify staff that you would like to testify anonymously. Otherwise, please state your name for the record at the beginning of your testimony. Oral testimony is limited to three minutes per item. And if you're still testifying, I'll give you another 30 seconds to complete your testimony. Once you're done testifying, or if you if you do not wish to testify, you can also view this meeting on a Kaku Channel 53, Facebook Live or Maui County.us backslash agendas. We will do our best to take each person up in an orderly fashion. Could you please call up the first testifier, please? Chair, the first testifier is Kiana Kawe, to be followed by Alika Monikea. Aloha council members. My name is Kiana Kawe, and I live in Kahului. My toddler has been a part of the TutuMe program for almost two years now, since she was just seven months old, and she's now two and a half. As a parent and also an early childhood educator, I support funding to two and me, a high quality program, and urge the county to step in after the loss of the federal funding. I did reload at their website, and it stated that Tutu and Me, their teaching teams, it costs about 600,000, and each teaching team supports two sites. And we're losing all four sites here on Maui, so so sad. Um, Tutu and Me has just been an amazing program. Through this program, we've built lasting friendships with other children and their parents. We've played an intentionally designed open-ended centers that support young children to grow and learn. And we've gone on Huakai to places all over the island that we would never have visited otherwise. But what I cherish most is how this program has strengthened the relationship between my toddler and her grandma. They build block towers together, match puzzles, paddle and cardboard, canoes, paint kitballs, and so much more. All of these moments support and strengthen their relationship. And research shows that relationships are everything in the early years. Positive interactions are the foundation for children's future learning and success. Without tutoring me, grandma and my toddler would be at home every day while I work. With limited stimulation, my toddler can become fussy, and then grandma has a hard time managing her challenging behaviors. I really don't know what our family is gonna do come this fall when the roughly other 200 Maui Keiki just like us, you know, won't have tutuamia as an option. There are very few options for children under three in our community. The only other program I found that accepts two and a half year olds, it starts at about 1400 a month and also has very limited space. My child isn't quite ready for a full day preschool, but she definitely needs more than staying at home.
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