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GOEAC-139 Page 2 June 2, 2026 <br />Committee Member Holeka Goro Inaba agreed with the purpose of the bill and moving the <br />language. He stated that he was in support of the bill but wants to see the companion bill <br />addressing the code changes move forward concurrently. <br />Committee Member Heather L. Kimball said that this section of the Charter has always stood out <br />based on its level of detail. She asked the Finance Deputy Director Malia Kekai how much of the <br />funds have been rolled over in recent years. Ms. Kekai said that at the quarter percent rate there <br />is currently $1,396,750 budgeted for next fiscal year and that there is currently $3 million in the <br />fund balance. She said that the historical expenditure is about $500,000, but that their office does <br />forecast that number will increase in the future. Member Kimball asked if the Finance <br />Department was supportive of the increase and the removal of the cap. Ms. Kekai said that they <br />are generally supportive of the increase knowing that they are acquiring more properties. She <br />also suggested a proposal in which they could pull additional funds from the other fund or that <br />another way to have flexibility would be to take those funds not needed for mandatory <br />maintenance to address other shortfalls. Member Kimball agreed with additional considerations <br />for flexibility in funding allocation. <br />Member Kimball asked Mr. Schapiro to share his feedback on these proposed changes. <br />Mr. Schapiro echoed what Ms. Kekai shared and also asked for the Council to consider ways to <br />create a neutral budget and balance the spending across both the acquisition and maintenance <br />funding. Additionally, he stated that in regard to historical spending, what they really need is <br />more stewards and partners within the community. Member Kimball asked Member Kierkiewicz <br />what her thoughts are on the requests for flexibility within both accounts. <br />Committee Member Michelle M. Galimba expressed support for revenue neutrality and <br />expressed hesitation around advancing the proposal for the increase to a half percent for the <br />maintenance fund. She was in favor of the move of the language from the Charter to the Code <br />and recommended waiting on increasing the maintenance fund and instead suggested that <br />providing the flexibility and encouragement of increased stewardship before increasing the <br />funding. <br />Committee Member James E. Hustace said that he isn't as familiar with the maintenance side of <br />the PONC program. He said that at some point there won't be as many properties to acquire and <br />that could help create a flip in the scale over time to balance the funding between the acquisition <br />and maintenance fund. <br />Member Kierkiewicz said that she would be working on the feedback she received as well as the <br />concurrent code changes. <br />Committee Chair Jenn Kagiwada asked for clarification from Ms. Kekai regarding the way the <br />currently proposed amendment reads it appears that these funds could be used for County <br />expenses at the discretion of the Finance Director and not be allocated for nonprofits to use. Ms. <br />Kekai said that Corporation Counsel would have to clarify that. She said that for the properties <br />that don't have stewards, yes, the County will be using those funds to provide maintenance. She <br />said that the historical spending of $500,000 has mainly been grants to nonprofits, but the <br />increase in funding will allow the County to do more maintenance of the twenty parcels that do <br />not have stewards. <br />GOEAC Report No. 139 <br />