As Congress weighs a $300 billion cut to SNAP funding, local officials are trying to figure out how they might be able to secure funding for the program in their own communities.
That was a topic for Hawaiʻi County Council lawmakers during a budget meeting last week.
County officials noted increases in revenue over last year, namely through an additional $12.7 million from real property taxes and $7.3 million primarily from mass transit grants.
The increase in real property tax revenue is roughly 7% over last year. The county wants to use some of that funding to cover part of the budget that had been previously covered in the county’s “fund balance,” which is used during budget shortfalls.
Council member Jennifer Kagiwada asked officials if some of that can be set aside to prepare for the federal government’s potentially massive cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.
She said that 40,000 residents on Hawaiʻi Island rely on SNAP benefits.
“This is food for our keiki, food for our kūpuna, food for our veterans, our disabled,” she said. “And (for us not to) say that, when our revenues went up 7%, that we're not going to put some of that extra aside … really concerns me.”
Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda’s administration submitted a $953 million county budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which the council just passed through its first reading.
County Managing Director William Brilhante said the state’s four mayors recently discussed the possibility of lost SNAP funding with Gov. Josh Green, and that it was a top priority. He said there is a state-level plan in place that the county will follow.
