Alongside Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee and Council Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura, Mayor Richard Bissen this morning signed into law an approximately $1.56 billion Fiscal Year 2026 budget that address our core priorities — housing for kamaʻāina, recovery and well-being, and the protection of our cultural and natural resources.

The budget was signed into law four days after it was unanimously passed by Maui County Council on June 6, 2025. The Fiscal Year 2026 Council-adopted budget goes into effect July 1, 2025. Budget documents will be available online by July 1, 2025, at https://www.mauicounty.gov/Budget.

Mayor Bissen thanked residents and acknowledged the dedicated commitment of the Maui County Council and County of Maui staff who contributed to this year’s budget.

“With the Council’s approval of this year’s budget, built on the theme of kahua, or foundation, we are reminded of our shared responsibility to care for our people, protect our ʻāina, and honor our culture and history,” said Mayor Richard Bissen. “This past year brought immense challenges, but through strong partnerships with the Council and our community, we have stood together in service to Maui County. I am grateful for the unity, resilience, and aloha that continue to move us forward.”

Council’s budget for the County’s operating budget, which covers operations and capital improvement projects, is about $46 million more than the budget proposed by Mayor Bissen on March 25. The $1.56 billion budget for the County’s operating and capital programs does not include grant revenue and revolving funds totaling an additional $802.4 million.

The Fiscal Year 2026 Council-adopted budget includes the following highlights:

Housing for Kamaʻāina: Appropriates approximately $47 million in funding to the Affordable Housing Fund for projects including a $7.2 million loan for the Kaiaulu O Lānaʻi affordable housing project and $25 million for the Lipoa Apartments affordable housing project in Kīhei. In addition, $10 million in funding is included for infrastructure supporting affordable housing on Lānaʻi and other infrastructure projects to support housing such as the Waiʻale Road Extension. In addition, the Department of Housing will continue to support the First Time Homebuyers Program and the ʻOhana Assistance Program to help Maui County residents remain in Maui County as well as reinvigorating the Experimental and Demonstration Housing Program to assist in developing innovative new housing options.

Recovery and well-being: $12 million for the Maui United Way’s ALICE Initiative for Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed residents, including a Kamaʻāina Credit program, which will help households pay for rent, gas, health care, groceries and other essentials; a safe parking program to provide a secure environment for residents living in their vehicles; and continued funding for nonprofit organizations that support our community through services in health, human services, education, youth programs, senior support, food security, safety, culture and the arts.

• Protection of cultural and natural resources: Continuing support of watershed management through grants to nonprofits and exploring potential well sites across the County to ensure equitable and sustainable water management; collaboration with the Māʻalaea Village Association to begin work on a state-of-the-art regional wastewater system to reduce reliance on injection wells, address failing wastewater infrastructure in Māʻalaea Bay, and mitigate the impacts of climate change; continued funding for grants for agriculture, animal management, ʻŌiwi Resources, and recycling and green initiatives.

For more information on the County budget process, visit https://www.mauicounty.gov/Budget.