#tamara paltin

The Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee completed its review of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget this week, unanimously adopting a revised spending plan of approximately $1.608 billion.

Department of Environmental Management officials now forecast the planned Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Waikapū will cost from $298 million to $420 million, or two- to three-times higher than the $130.6 million project estimate published in the project’s final environmental impact statement in February.

Maui County Council Member Kauanoe Batangan has proposed an across-the-board 1.25% budget cut for non-first-responder departments that would yield somewhat more than $5 million in savings from Mayor Richard Bissen’s fiscal 2027 $1.61 billion budget proposal.

The Maui Bicycling League successfully hosted its 2026 E-Bike Giveaway Event for Maui Fire Survivors on April 11 at Maui Sunriders in Kapalua, bringing together community leaders, partners, and recipients in a meaningful step forward in Maui’s ongoing recovery.

The Hyatt Regency Maui says it needs to shore up the beach after last month’s Kona storm swept away much of the sand, but community members say it will lead to more beach loss.

The Maui Police Department is requesting a $12.2 million budget increase next fiscal year, or 11.6% more than this year, to address staffing shortages and modernize public safety technology across Maui County.

The Maui Emergency Management Agency is seeking more robust resources to address a climate-change-fueled surge in emergency activations caused by frequent wildfires and severe kona low storms.

Maui County Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura called for a “disciplined” fiscal year 2027 budget Monday, citing the strain high gas and grocery prices have placed on local residents. Sugimura, who chairs the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee, said the move is necessary as inflation continues to squeeze household pocketbooks across the islands. “Our […]

The Maui County Council celebrated local high school wrestling champions Thursday before grappling with a contentious request for an affordable housing project refund.

University of Hawaiʻi economist Carl Bonham warned Maui County Council members Wednesday that a stagnant job market and a precarious reliance on wealthy tourists leave the county vulnerable as it begins annual budget deliberations.

The Maui County Council voted 8-0 Friday to confirm Jacky Takakura as planning director and 6-2 to appoint Margaret Willis as director of the Department of Human Concerns.

Maui County planners are managing a “relentless” amount of work, including permit applications for Lahaina rebuilding, while operating with 15 staff vacancies, acting Planning Director Jacky Takakura told Maui County Council members Wednesday.

The eight-bedroom, 12.5-bathroom home, which for years spurred community criticism over its size and potential use as a vacation rental, is offering 25% shares for $3.55 million apiece.

The Maui County Council passed a bill on second and final reading Friday to enact a temporary ban on new private swimming pools in West Maui, a measure intended to conserve water for housing and wildfire recovery efforts.

The Maui County Council passed a bill on first reading Friday that would allow for factory-built housing in the Lahaina burn zone, a measure intended to accelerate housing recovery for survivors of the August 2023 wildfires.

A proposal to provide expedited property tax relief to local homebuyers stalled Tuesday after Maui County finance officials cautioned that the county’s tax system is designed to be “retroactive” and cannot easily handle mid-year adjustments for now. #propertytax #Maui

The Maui County Council’s Special Committee on Real Property Tax Reform will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers to consider legislation aimed at easing the tax burden for residents and streamlining exemption deadlines.

The Maui County Council advanced a bill aimed at water conservation in arid West Maui by imposing an interim ban on new private swimming pools.

Maui County Council members voted 8-1 Wednesday to move forward with a proposal to create new hotel zoning districts for thousands of vacation rentals, a measure designed to soften the economic blow of the county’s controversial short-term rental phase-out. The approval of Resolution 25-230 refers a proposed bill to the Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi planning […]

The Maui County Council’s Housing and Land Use Committee on Monday deferred action on the creation of new hotel zoning districts following an executive session that lasted over an hour.