A Hawaii County Council committee reviewed Mayor Kimo Alameda’s proposed operating budget this week, which includes significant funding increases for public safety, waste processing and debt servicing for the next year.
The Special Committee on Finance has been hosting all-day meetings since Tuesday, questioning department heads about revenues and expenditures, at times asking pointed questions regarding their current financial positions and future needs.
The proposed budget covers fiscal year 2026-2027, and its 1.4% increase in estimated expenditures versus the previous fiscal year is balanced by an equivalent increase in estimated revenue. Significant changes in projected revenue include a 1.6% increase in real property tax, amounting to $8.6 million and coming from greater taxable land values and new construction. Added to this is a 2.6% or $5 million increase in general excise tax, and a 6.8% or $2 million increase in transient accommodations tax.
In total, the FY2026-2027 budget stands at an estimated $966,891,661, with the vast majority going to the catch-all General Fund while 13 smaller special funds will receive the remainder.
At the top of the list of expenditure increases is debt servicing, which is expected to grow by almost $12 million or 16% compared to the previous fiscal year. This is in order to “address funding obligations for critical infrastructure repairs and enhancements, primarily focused on wastewater improvements,” as stated in the budget document’s preamble provided by Alameda.
The sector with the second largest increase in expenditure is public safety, with a nearly 10% rise in costs translating to an additional $21 million in funding compared to the previous fiscal year. This surge will support appendages like the Civil Defense Agency, Hawaii Fire Department, Hawaii Police Department and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Civil Defense will receive an additional $2.5 million to support operations of the county’s Land Mobile Radio system — a continuously operated communications backbone for first responders and emergency managers.
Hawaii Fire Department will get $1 million to replace portable radios, while HPD will get $385,000 to replace mobile data terminals used by field officers to communicate securely with dispatch and fellow officers, and to access critical information during service calls.
There is also extra funding in the proposed budget to purchase an audio/video recording system for the East Hawaii Detention Facility.
An additional $426,000 will go to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to upgrade and maintain its computer servers, enabling it to keep data secure and prevent data losses. There are also funds for a new phone system for the office, allowing for secure communications with the courts and police department.
During Wednesday’s Finance Committee meeting, council members questioned department heads of HPD, HFD and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder voiced concern that HPD’s budget estimates for officers earning overtime were significantly lower than in past years, especially considering the department has seen a string of retirements and down-trending recruitment levels, leaving a smaller workforce to take on the same workload.
“These are substantial drops,” Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said. “Do you think those numbers are accurate and are going to be able to float you given the number of recruits and police officers we have in the field?”
Chief Reed Mahuna agreed that the proposed budget provision for police overtime might not be enough.
“I think historically our overtime numbers, we’ve always exceeded our overtime estimates,” Mahuna said. “I don’t think that I would be in a position to say it would be any different. There’s simply things that we cannot account for. So, I would not anticipate a substantial reduction in our overtime costs in the upcoming fiscal year.”
Considering this, Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder advised the chief to adjust the line item so the department doesn’t end up at a loss.
“You may want to review your budget and make sure that those numbers adequately meet what you’re going to spend,” he said. “Otherwise, you’re going to be pulling it from somewhere else later, and I’d rather see it up front, built into your budget — then you can move it around after the fact.”
During Thursday’s meeting, while officials from the Department of Environmental Management sat before the council, Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas asked Acting Wastewater Division Chief Chris Laude about budget funds for the Kahaluu Sewer Project. The proposed project aims to install a 1-mile sewer line along Ali‘i Drive in Kailua-Kona to protect Kahaluu Bay from sewage infiltration from dozens of cesspools and septic tanks.
“The Kahaluu project is in the current budget to develop a conceptual plan which will help us establish what a budget is for fully implementing the project,” Laude responded. “After that’s complete, we can have the discussion on is this a project that we should move forward on and how much it might cost.”
Villegas responded by arguing that spending the money now will pay off in the long-term.
“The investments we’re making, while expensive, are part of us paying the price right now for future generations to have clean drinking water and an ocean that’s safe to swim in, and an ecosystem that’s possible to thrive in,” she said. “We’re going to make some sacrifices and future generations are going to benefit from it, and that is at the deepest core part of our kuleana.”
Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
