Maui Mayor Signs $1.7B County Budget Into Law
The spending plan for next fiscal year focuses largely on housing and the ongoing recovery from the Aug. 8 fires.
Mayor Richard Bissen signed the overall county budget bill into law Wednesday, ending any question about whether he would veto any parts of the final version the Maui County Council approved last week.
The $1.7 billion budget includes more than $300 million in grant revenue and revolving funds for the fiscal year starting July 1.
鈥淐ollectively, we have begun a daunting journey, navigating through very challenging times for our entire community,鈥 Bissen said in a release Thursday. 鈥淲e will continue working together to address housing for survivors of the most complex natural disaster in Hawaii鈥檚 history and other recovery efforts 鈥 all while providing core county services to our residents.
鈥淭he impact of the Maui wildfires has placed an inordinate amount of demand on the county for both human and financial resources, including rescue operations, recovery, housing, provisioning, debris removal and infrastructure replacement and repair,鈥 he added. 鈥淭hese efforts continue into FY 2025, as we continue the process of healing our community, while continuing everyday county operations on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.鈥
Council Chair Alice Lee said in the release that the council is committed to helping residents affected by the Aug. 8 fires.
鈥淐ouncil attempted to address everyone鈥檚 needs in the budget but we made certain to help the displaced residents from the fire however we could,鈥 she said.
The final budget is roughly $8.2 million over the draft put forward by Bissen in March. See highlights .
Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.
