Mayor Richard Bissen announced his $1.227 billion budget proposal for next fiscal year before Maui County Council members last week. The amount is slated to prioritize working class kamaʻāina families and larger environmental repai projects.
Compared to last year's budget of $1.211 billion, Bissen is proposing a 1.3% increase, which he submitted to the council on Friday for approval.
The proposed budget allocates about $931.4 million to the county's operating budget and $148.6 million toward capital improvement projects.
The administration's budget focuses on five areas: water, environmental protection, housing, infrastructure, economic resilience and diversity.
"We gave sought solutions to improve the lives of our residents, value our islands' precious resources and demonstrate respect for our culture," said Bissen. "The services we provide, the initiatives we put in place and the budget are critical tools to our most important outcome: the state of our people."
About $81 million of the proposed operating budget will go toward the county's Department of Water supply. According to the administration, funds could help with identifying new water catchment storage units and establishing water-efficient conservation.
For housing, Bissen aims to raise the county's property tax rate from 3% to 8%. The revenue will go to the county's affordable housing fund — totaling roughly $42 million instead of $8 million. The administration estimates it would provide an additional 452 affordable housing units for residents.
Bissen said a majority of the capital improvement budget will go to the county's Department of Public Works. The money would go to the county's bridge and drainage program, the East Maui Rockfall and Embankment Repair project, and improvements to Lāhainā Civic Center and War Memorial Gym.
The proposal also increases the county's emergency fund by $40 million, which is up from last year's contribution of $3 million.
Bissen's proposal will now move forward for review by the Maui County Council for approval.
