Kamaʻāina Credit program poised for approval as part of Council’s budget package

With first reading of the Maui County Council’s $1.56 billion budget set for this week Friday, one of the line items up for approval in the fiscal 2026 budget is $12 million for Maui United Way’s Countywide ALICE Initiative: Kamaʻāina Credit program.

The initiative aims to help residents who’ve been referred to as ALICE households. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. It means households where breadwinners are working, often in more than one job, but still don’t make enough to afford rent, utilities, groceries and other essentials in Hawaiʻi.

ALICE families live above the poverty line, but they don’t qualify for many government assistance programs. If the ALICE Initiative: Kamaʻāina Credit program — proposed by Lānaʻi Council Member Gabe Johnson — is approved and signed into law, the Department of Human Concerns would be tasked with overseeing it, and Maui United Way would carry it out.

The full Council will take up first reading of the budget May 16, with second reading on June 3.

“The cost of living in Maui County is simply too high for our residents,” Johnson said. “We hear this over and over again from our constituents, and it was a constant theme during budget committee public hearings . . . Residents are cutting back on groceries because of food costs, kamaʻāina are moving away to cheaper locations, rents are unaffordable, and housing is unattainable.”

Johnson also referred to an Aloha United Way report that 53% of Maui County households are below the ALICE threshold. “That is considered the amount needed to afford basic necessities for survival,” he said.

He emphasized that the percentage of Maui residents unable to afford the cost of living represents a worsening condition from two years earlier, and in 2024 Maui County’s percentage of households at the ALICE threshold and below was the highest in the state, he said.

The $12 million in county funding proposed for the program would help pay for rent, utilities, groceries, medical, dental, gas, school supplies, childcare, vehicle registration, and basic needs, Johnson said.

Jason Economou, president and chief executive officer of Maui United Way, said the initiative originated from discussions with Johnson’s office regarding community financial needs following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Maui wildfires in August 2023.

“Recognizing this need, they began to envision a program similar to the Maui Economic Opportunity HELP program,” Economou said. “They reached out to Maui United Way to discuss our Emergency Financial Assistance program that provided direct financial assistance to fire-impacted families shortly after the fires, and to get a sense of community needs.”

Economou said those discussions led to the concept of the Kamaʻāina Credit as a Maui United Way ALICE Initiative. Maui United Way recommended at least $10 million in funding for an “impactful program.” Johnson initially proposed $15 million for the program as his top priority, but the Council settled on $12 million.

“We are honored for the opportunity to steward $12 million in funding to assist the ALICE population in Maui County,” he said. Economou added that specific program details are still being formulated but, “Maui County has the highest share of ALICE households in the state, and we aim to provide meaningful assistance to as many of those households as possible.”

More specific details will be available after the program is fully worked out, he said.

Johnson said: the “Maui United Way is a proven partner that has distributed financial assistance quickly and efficiently after the fire, utilizing their vast network of community connections and expertise. I trust them to do the same with the Kamaʻāina Credit to maximize impact where it will help residents the most, while ensuring minimal redundancy with existing support programs.”

With uncertainty about federal cuts to social programs, increased costs from tariffs, slow economic recovery after the wildfires and a looming global recession, “I am confident that bold County initiatives like this one are needed to take care of our hardworking families and keep out community more resilient.”

Johnson said he has talked to Maui United Way about “prioritizing partnerships with local vendors, shops, and farmers, in order to encourage high local spending which will strengthen and stimulate our local circular economy.”

Separately, the Budget Committee also recommended approval for an additional $200,000 for the Department of ʻŌiwi Resources for Malama Kakanilua. The funds are for Hui o ʻAinakukoʻa for cultural and environmental work at Waiohuli Kai in the Waipuilani area of South Maui.

The bills coming before Council members for first reading include Bill 41 for the County operating budget and Bill 42 for its capital program and other accompanying bills. A 103-page Budget Committee spreadsheet (Fiscal Year 2026 Exhibit “1”) contains hundreds of details and tracks the committee’s budget decision-making process.

The Council’s May 16 meeting agenda is here. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the eighth-floor Council chambers of the Kalana O Maui Building in Wailuku.

How to participate:

• Friday’s Council meeting will be televised live beginning at 9 a.m. on Akakū Maui Community Media, cable Channel 53. It also can be viewed online via Teams at http://tinyuri.com/2p9zhjr2
• To call in testimony, dial 1-808-977-4067, code 234 794 559#
• In-person testimony also is taken at the beginning of meetings in the eighth floor Council Chamber at the Kalana O Maui Building, 200 South High St., Wailuku.
• Written testimony should be submitted at least 24 hours prior to a Council meeting via email to county.clerk@mauicounty.us, by fax to 808-270-7171, or to the Office of the County Clerk, 200 South High St., Suite 708, Wailuku.