Council committee reviews budgets for Departments of Water Supply, Management

With another storm system bearing down on the Hawaiian Islands, the Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee focused its fiscal year 2027 review Wednesday on addressing emergency resilience and the future of the island’s water infrastructure.

The committee, chaired by Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura, reviewed proposed budgets for the Department of Water Supply and the Department of Management. While the session focused on multimillion-dollar capital projects, the immediate threat of flooding in East Maui and the imminent activation of the Emergency Operations Center were undercurrents of concern in the morning meeting.

Water Supply: Seeking growth while recovering from wildfire damage

Director John Stufflebean presented a budget for the Department of Water Supply that balances “status quo” operations with recovery needs. The department is seeking a 4.2% increase in staffing, growing from 236 to 246 positions, to bolster field operations.

The expansion focuses on the Water Operations Program, slated to grow from 159 to 169 employees to maintain the county’s system of water treatment facilities. The department’s vacancy rate is about 7%, which Stufflebean described as “really good.”

“So people want to come to work for the Water Department,” he said.

Water Supply fiscal challenges

Department officials reported mounting financial pressure from increased water quality testing costs and revenue losses following the Lahaina and Upcountry wildfires in August 2023. Restoring services has led to increased labor and analysis costs.

“Due to the wildfire events in Upper Kula and Lahaina, the department has experienced increased loss in revenue, increased costs for the required water quality testing and analysis, and increased labor cost to assist in the restoration of water services to these areas,” the department’s budget says.

Budget highlights include:

• Grants for infrastructure: To protect the capital improvement program budget, the department is pursuing federal and state grants from the Federal Emergency Management and the Environmental Protection agencies.
• Infrastructure goals: The department’s budget proposal targets a 100% success rate for capital improvement projects, aiming to open all design project bids on or before deadlines to ensure aging pipes are replaced on schedule.
• Upcountry water meter waitlist: A key performance measure includes the goal of approving 100 meters from the Upcountry water meter waitlist in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
• Watershed protection: The department plans to allocate up to 4% of its operations budget to watershed management. (See details below.)

Management: Land management and recovery oversight

Managing Director Josiah Nishita detailed a $93.7 million budget proposal for the Department of Management. While this reflects a 15.4% decrease from the previous year, the department is requesting an increase of nine positions to 111 overall. Salaries and wages are proposed to rise by 24.6% ($2.25 million) to support expanded staffing in Management and the Board of Ethics. The request for the Office of Recovery has been reduced by four positions.

Department of Management highlights:

• Land management program: Expanding to include Land Stewardship and Development, this program will manage unassigned County properties to determine their “highest and best use.”
• Office of Recovery: This office coordinates the Long Term Recovery Plan and administers approximately $1.64 billion in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief funding following the August 2023 wildfires.
• Information Technology Services: Major projects include Phase II of Microsoft 365 adoption, modernizing enterprise phone services, and launching a rebranded County website.
• Board of Ethics: Following a 2024 Charter amendment, the board has expanded to include its own executive director and legal staff for independent investigations.

Ongoing projects being overseen by the department include:

• Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art planning and project management.
• 60 S. Church St. (former Hawaiian Telcom) building renovations.
• Kalana O Maui campus parking expansion.

Council members raised concerns about a proposed security screening station with a metal detector in the Kalana O Maui building lobby.

“It just really brings up ‘bad vibes’ for me,” Council Member Gabe Johnson said.

Community budget sessions

Here’s the schedule for future community budget meetings, all of which begin at 6 p.m.

• April 13, Mitchell Pauʻole Community Center, 90 Ainoa St., Kaunakakai.
• April 14, Kīhei Community Center, Main Hall, 303 E. Līpoa St.
• April 15, Lānaʻi High & Elementary School Cafeteria, 555 Fraser Ave., Lānaʻi City.
• April 16, April 16, Kalana o Maui, Council Chamber, 8th Floor, 200 S. High St., Wailuku.
• April 17, Lahaina Civic Center, Social Hall, 1840 Honoapiʻilani Hwy.