Council to focus on budget adjustments, discounted water rates and Honuaʻula this week

The Maui County Council will meet Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. to consider the mayor’s requests to amend the fiscal year 2026 budget for the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and Department of Water Supply a bill to establish discounted water rates for preservation and restoration of native species habitats.

Council Chair Alice L. Lee said the council’s usual schedule includes Friday meetings twice per month. But over the next two months, council meetings will be held on different days to accommodate the Admission Day holiday and councilmembers’ attendance at professional conferences in other Hawaiʻi counties. Tuesday’s agenda also includes bills to designate Mapulehu Cultural Preserve on Molokaʻi and Hāmākualoa Cultural Preserve on Maui.

She said back-to-back special council meetings are scheduled for Wednesday in the Council Chamber. At 8:45 a.m., the council will consider Robert Pahia’s appointment to the East Maui Regional Community Board. At 9 a.m., the council will hold a concurrent public hearing and council meeting for final reading on bills amending land-use entitlements for Honuaʻula, the former Wailea 670, a Kīhei-Mākena development project.

“It’s a busy summer for the council, and the upcoming council meetings in August will not follow the typical schedule,” said Lee, who holds the seat for the Wailuku-Waiheʻe-Waikapū residency area. “We appreciate Maui County residents continuing to read our agendas at mauicounty.us and testifying on items of interest.”

After this week, the next council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 26. Next month, council meetings are planned for Sept. 8, 23 and 26.

Lee said she expects the Sept. 23 agenda to include the Housing and Land Use Committee’s report on amended version of Bill 9 (2025), the administration’s proposal to phase out transient vacation rentals in apartment districts.

Council committees will also meet at various times, with agendas posted to the council website at least six days in advance. An ordinance that takes effect Sept. 1 requires bilingual meeting agendas, written in the state’s two official languages, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and English.

Visit MauiCounty.us for an updated 2025 council calendar and official meeting agendas. For more information, call the Office of Council Services at 808-270-7664.