Maui County BFED Committee Advances FY27 Budget on April 23, 2026
Maui County BFED Committee Advances FY27 Budget on April 23, 2026
The Maui County Budget, Finance, and Economic Development (BFED) Committee (Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura) continued its Fiscal Year 2027 budget deliberations on April 23, 2026. The committee faced a current general fund imbalance of approximately $17 million. The day-long session featured extensive public testimony on wastewater management, cultural programs, and workforce housing, followed by significant committee actions on department budgets, grants, and policy matters.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Wastewater and Ecosystem Restoration: Multiple testifiers spoke in support of the Maʻalaea Regional Wastewater Reclamation System (MRWRS). Peter Cannon detailed historical environmental degradation. Tapani Bori and David Whitney provided technical project details. Robin Knox, a water quality specialist with 40 years of experience, advocated for the project as a crucial demonstration of advanced treatment.
- Hōʻōnani Village: Jeff Uyoka requested funding for a water system to support the workforce housing project, stating the system would ultimately be deeded to the county's Department of Water Supply.
- Makahiki Season: Deputy Director of OEV Resources Kekai Robinson testified in strong support of the administration's $1M request for a countywide program, describing it as a comprehensive cultural system encompassing governance and resource management.
- Algae Technology: Researchers (Travis Liggett, Dr. Peter May, Dr. David Blersch, Mark Subinovich) advocated for the use of algal turf scrubbing technology for advanced nutrient removal from wastewater.
- Other Topics: Testimony was also given on tourism management, engineering contract fraud concerns, and support for specific community projects.
Discussion Items
- Office of the Mayor Priorities: The committee approved several grants and contracts, including $1.5 million for Kahoma Church restoration, $280,000 for countywide film production (with specific allocations for Molokai and Lanai), a $250,000 conservation plan, and funding for cultural institutions.
- Office of the Mayor Cuts: A motion to cut the Makahiki season marketing budget by $300,000 was heavily amended. It ultimately reduced the appropriation by $150,000, leaving $300,000 conditioned for education, disaster preparedness, and cultural practices. The tourism management grant fund was cut from $450,000 to $150,000.
- Department of Police: The committee cut over $160,000 from expansion positions across three bureaus. It also added a condition of $100,000 for a dedicated 4x4 vehicle for the CORE (Community Outreach and Response through Education) program.
- Department of Public Works: A new highway utility worker position for Lānaʻi (six months funding) and $1 million for the countywide drainage and flood mitigation plan were added. The committee also approved over $1 million in cuts to various departmental programs and CIPs.
- Countywide Costs: Chair Sugimura successfully moved to increase fringe benefits by $750,000 for a Fire Department (BU 11) supplemental agreement. The committee also formally reduced the emergency fund balance by $32 million to reflect authorized storm damage spending.
- General Budget Provisions: A debate occurred over a provision to auto-transfer excess General Excise Tax (GET) revenues to the GET fund. A motion to delete the provision, argued as necessary for council transparency, was withdrawn for further discussion.
- Bills: Bill 63 was amended to correct the name of the Lahaina Royal Complex area. Bills 66 and 67, allocating 20% of TAT revenues for climate action, were discussed but not voted upon.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Status: The committee enacted roughly $30 million in cuts and $40 million in additions, resulting in a $17 million general fund imbalance to be resolved.
- Next Steps: The committee recessed at approximately 9:00 PM and will reconvene on April 24, 2026, to develop Real Property Tax proposals using an Excel template from staff to balance the budget.
- Major Votes: The reduced Makahiki cut passed 8-1. The EV charger idle fee motion passed 6-3. The fringe benefits increase for firefighters passed.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the budget finance economic development committee. Um, it is now nine oh six a.m. and uh we're on April 23rd, Thursday, getting down to the cr crunch and countdown for this uh BFED committee. I'd like to welcome everybody. My name is Yuki Lee Sukimura. I'm the chair of this committee, and when I um this meeting is being conducted in accordance with the sunshine law, and if there if you are not in the chambers, looks like everybody is here. Um if you do leave this and join our meeting again, please identify if there are any minors with you in your workspace and um or people in in your workspace, but minors do not need to be identified. Good morning, um, Vice Chair Batangan. Aloha, Chair members. Good morning. Good morning. Aloha, good morning, Chair. Good morning, Mr. Johnson. Morning, Chair, Council members, committee members. There's no testifiers at the Language District Office, and I'm here and ready to work. Thank you. Okay. Chair Lee, good morning. Bonjour. I'm learning how to speak French. Good morning. Member Palton. Aloha Kakayaka and Bonjour Kakho. Uh Loha Po Aha. Uh, day four of decisions week. No testifyers at the Mulkan district office. Good morning, Member Silency. Good morning, Member U Hutchins. Hello, our chair. Bonjour, everyone. Good morning. Assisting us uh with today's meeting at the is the BFET committee staff. Thank you very much. I'm not too sure what time you all slept last night, but after we um ended our meeting at about nine o'clock, they continued on working to get ready for it today. Um, we have also invited resource uh persons from the administration, including budget director and deputy corp counsel Wigglesworth. Thank you for being with us. Thank you, members for attending today's BFED committee meeting. And we have one item on the agenda. It is BFED one proposed fiscal year 27 budget for the county of Maui. Once we finish all departments, I would like to take out revisits, followed by countywide costs, general budget provisions, provisions, and additional legislation. Um staff. So um by staff's current um calculations, uh you know, and this is just just to be uh transparent. It's the these totals account for all cuts and all ads, so even those related to like the water fund that the committee did yesterday and bond fund, things like that. Um so right now the committee stands at um just about 30 million dollars in cuts and just over 40 million dollars in ads, so about um an 11 11 million dollar difference right there. Um, but uh again, just just so the committee's aware, it's the that accounts for all funds. So um, you know, there's uh still an imbalance uh in the general fund that the committee will will need to address once uh well depending on what the committee does today, and the committee may need to address that. Thank you, Chair. Um, thank you. And members, as you know, all your ads that you recommended.
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