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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FC 2026/09/15 (2024-2026) DRAFT Committee on Finance 44th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 September 15, 2026 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Finance was called to order at ORDER: 3:33 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr.Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Vice Chair(viA videoconference from Kona) Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz,Member (came in later) Ms. Heather Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member(came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair— Michelle Manalo: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. Les Estrella: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Going Home Hawaii) ?r. Hannah Preston-Pita: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Corey Causey: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Lokahi Treatment Centers) Alice Snedeker: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. FC-44 September 15,2026 Lane Miyake-Kamahele: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Zinah M. Loeb: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Project Vision Hawaii) Natalie Chaves: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Project Vision Hawaii) Allie Vanetti: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Going Home Hawaii) Brandee Menino: Bill 192,(Comm. 1059), in support. (representing HOPE Services Hawaii) Trillium Simington: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. Peter Tui Silva: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Kumukahi Health and Wellness) 1ohn'Mercado: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Ka`aumoana Ahina: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Is'land Substance Abuse Council) Melanie Kainoa: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Anthony Poai: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Bis Island Substance Abuse Council) Ayzlynne-Kalia Fishman-Devera: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Page 2 FC-44 September 15,2026 Perliza Perez: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in support. (representing Big Island Substance Abuse Council) Kapono Kekela: Bill 192 (Comm. 1059), in opposition. Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Committee Members, the of Business: following items were taken out of order: Bill 192: AMENDS CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 11, SECTION 19-90 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY TAX Extends the requirement to appropriate residential tier-two and tier-three property tax revenue to the housing and homelessness fund until 2029;requires that monies from the fund be used to award grants that address housing and'homelessness. Reference: Comm. 109 . Intr. by: Council Member Inaba (Note: Comm. 1059.1, from Holeka Goro Inaba, dated September 14, 2026, transmitting a report and Comm. 1059.2, from Holeka Goro Inaba, dated September 15, 2026, transmitting proposed'amendments to Bill 192, were circulated.) Motion to Approve: Mr. Inaba moved to recommend passage of Bill 192. Seconded by Ms. Kagiwada. CHR.,.KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA Thank you. We know that this fund was created to help primarily with homelessness andI didspeak with former Chair Chung about this bill and his time on Council recently. And kind of unpacking it and just over the last few years we even changed the funding here, so it wasn't a set percentage. But a minimum, $9 million dollars of the revenue from the tier two and three property taxes. There's a few bills, I think, that this Council is working on right now through the end of this Council term that we wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to discuss this, being one of them, even though it doesn't sets it until next year. I did have some conversations with some of the providers and did want to introduce this. First and foremost, you know, Council Member Kimball and I worked on that audit of this program and that is something that we have not yet been provided and it's something that, I'm not sure we will be provided prior to the end of this Council term. So I do want to acknowledge that and base on the stories that were shared today, and just all of us being in community, we know that there is a lot of good things that came out of this allocation of funding. I can't say that everything Page 3 FC-44 September 15,2026 was perfect and that there isn't room for improvement, but I did want to bring it up for this body. So, what this bill does is articulate seven uses rather than just saying homelessness in general, we were saying homelessness prevention, outreach, diversion, navigation, coordinated entry, emergency, transitional, supportive, recovery, and permanent housing, behavioral health support, housing development, preservation, rehabilitation, services for families, youth, and vulnerable or underserved populations, facilities, equipment, technology, and other partnerships and activities that leverage either,public or private funding for the uses in this section. So as we know, the bill would extend the sunset period out two years, and we didn't even get to the discussion of this body to see where we end up. But I did want to bring it forward. But before we do that, I do have an amendment. Motion to Amend: Mr. Inaba moved to amend Bill 192 with the contents of Comm. 1059.2. Seconded by Ms_ Galimba.` CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Inaba, go ahead. MR. INABA: Thank you. This'amendment for those'of us in chambers and watching online seeks to clarify the language in the bill as proposed talked about a fund and we don't want to confuse this`with a special fund. In the Charter, special funds require recommendatiott,by the mayor, they have their own set up parameters that they need to work under, that's not what this source of funding has been and in,consultation with our Finance Director, I wanted to make sure that'there was no confusion that we were trying to create a new special fund. So, this am�endment'say' s that the $9 million dollars shall be appropriated each fiscal year to fund'homeless and housing programs, rather than to a fund known as the Homeless and housing fund. And in its last section the requirement to appropriate funds to housing and homeless programs rather than to the housing and homeless funds. So purpose is to remain the same, amount remains the same, it's just to clarify that this is not a special fund per the County Charter. So ask for your support in,clarifying this language. I yield for now on the amendment. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Members. Okay. Hearing and seeing none. Motion is on the floor to amend Bill 192 with the contents of Communication 1059.2, all in favor? Any noes? Page 4 FC-44 September 15,2026 Vote on Motion The motion to amend Bill 192 with the contents of to Amend: Comm. 1059.2 was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Mr. Clerk,Mr. Inaba, back to the main motion, as amended. MR. INABA: Thank you. We do have the Office of County Auditor standing by again, because they're in the middle of the process, it's not like they'll be able to provide any specifics as to the ongoing work that they're doing. 'But they are tuned in. If anyone does have general questions. I'll yield at this time for discussion. Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you,Chair. And thank you to the introducer of this bill. I think it's really important that'we get this out here for discussion. I really want to thank all the testifiers from all the organizations and especially the courage of these who have utilized the services and were able to come up and testify today. I think that was very brave and very helpful for us to hear. Couple thing, one, I agree with the last testifier, in that, you know, we do need to bring state and federal into this discussion more. I think we're; we've kind of been leading the way and other counties have been looking at us and saying, "Yeah. We want to emulate what they're doing." But I do believe that we have not brought in as much state and federal partnerships on this issue that we can do. So I'mlooking forward to trying to do that more, going forward. My other,I have a question and I guess this might be for OHCD (Office of Housing and Community Development). The language that we have, which I know, is similar to what we've had already. But I just want to make sure that we, because the language specifically says, "that all the money will be going out as grants to non-profits,"that there aren't any programs that, for instance, a smaller program or things we might actually be doing in-house that need funding. So I want to make sure that we're including those if we have those on the table. (Note: At this time, Office of Housing and Community Development Administrator Kehaulani M. Costa came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 5 FC-44 September 15,2026 MS. COSTA: Kehau Costa, Housing Administrator. Hi. Thanks for bringing that up. I just was speaking with Corp. Counsel in the back. That, I think we can clean that up but that terminology grants, as opposed to County sponsored programs, does restrict us a little bit. We've been doing procurement, RFP (Request for Proposal) direct contracts for our shelter operations that allows us to have more control over specific scope of services that we need for some of our operations. So I think that's pretty minor that we can work on that. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you. And thank you to the author for being flexible there. Because I'm thinking of things like,potentially for Kauhale, programming for Kauhale and things like that as well. Potentially,yqu know, funding that, you know, overnight cost service, all those things might not be done in the same way non-profit grants normally are. So thank you for being flexible on that. Appreciate that. And the last thing I just want to say on thisI'm obviously very supportive—is I really appreciate the two-year extension. But,I just want to say to the community and to members who are staying on the Council that I think we should be thinking about this and looking at this in about one year, to really be thinking about,you know, what is it going forward after that, if there is something. And,you know, after we've had the audit, after the new members get onboard and gotten up to speed on what's going on heres I,think it's great to Have the two-years because we need that. But I think we really should be thinking about addressing this for the long term in one year because we don't want to be in this position we are in this year where we're, one, it's an election year, two, we're kind of like making sure that,programs are going to continue and being worried about shutting down and all this other stuff. So I just wantto put that expectation out there, at least from me and my office, I hope to make sure that we have this discussion probably in a year and not two dears. So, thank you so much for bringing this forward. I yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: No thanks, Chair. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Back to Hilo. Council Member Kierkiewicz. NfS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. No, please stay. No it's great. Thank you for bringing this forward Chair Inaba. I'm in strong support of this piece of legislation and I do want to mahalo all of the providers that are here today and for all of the hard work that you have done over the years and I think just the opportunity for the County to support your work because it's a gap that we can't fill. And so, you're a very strong partner in community. Page 6 FC-44 September 15,2026 Couple points that were raised and I do want to just speak on is very recently, I think it was maybe two weeks ago, the Fire Department had come forward with the, I think it was the Rural Transformation Grant,related to community paramedicine. I'm seeing some nods in the audience. I would like for us to consider, I mentioned it then and I'll mention again, now, because that is a program where money will run out and it decreases year over year for that infrastructure within the Fire Department to be supported with this fund. Because the Fire Department is looking at something permanent and they seem to be essential coordinating agencies for many of the partners in this room that are boots on the ground and part of kind of like that triage system. So I would hope that we would be open to providing support for the Fire Department so they can continue to do that incredible work in partnership with community. The other thing is I just want to urge,you know, this Council and the Administration to convene a conversation with our state and federal partners. I was really hoping that over the Last few years, we would be able to use this county money as leverage to do more and to invest in the critical infrastructure that we need, like the beds, and the specialist, who really meet the needs that we're seeing on the ground. We should say, "Hey. We've;got a few more years so we're willing to finance this but there needs to be a coordinated strategy,"where we're building that capital stack dnd that every level of government is making that financial commitment. T don't want this to be seen as, "Oh, Hawaii County is going to pay for it now." So then the state feels like they don't have a responsibility to do their part. So I just want to make sure that someone's convening the conversation and that everybody at every level is paying their fair share. And that it shouldn't just be on the backs of our County because we don't have a department of health and human services and,as we've seen, the state really does need to step up. Yeah. o in full support and hope those considerations can be taken into account for a friendly,amendment. Thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. So, somebody mentioned about their bill is, I ,guess the report done last year. But Council Members backed then, had a lot of questions about it because we've felt that the report wasn't clear enough and it didn't have enough details of what the metrics was about how successful the programs were. And so, then, the Council Members, I guess asked, the auditors to come in to audit this funding. So, for me, I would really want to see what the report, you know, that the auditors did so that we can make, to me, a better decision on if this funding is successful or it should be, I guess, targeted in certain areas. Because then, if there's areas where, like for example, we need more, some funding towards government, like Page 7 FC-44 September 15,2026 for example, the Fire Department, or like to Mass Transit, for their security at their bus shelters. Which now, it's coming out of general fund or funding from other resources. Helping the Police Department with some of that funding. I've been working with a working group on the mental health side, where there needs to be more providing beds, but which I hear is HOPE Services seems to have now a total of 40 beds. So what was happening was they were getting these, I guess, people would get picked up, they would get assessed, they would go through the program at the hospital, but then there was no place for them to go and get further help. So they ended up back on the street. So now with this, well, hopefully with HOPE.Services,they can provide that gap with adding more beds and more treatments for them, right. But for me, it's like, we need to see, like, I guess a whole nine yards of how this funds is being used and utilized. I mean, it's all taxpayers money. And I knowit's on the higher end of these residents but we still yet, it's an overall because we have other expenses that we are looking at, right, and for example,we just heard aboutthe wastewater. Some of these funds maybe could be directed towards helping our residential that was mentioned about who is suffering right now, right, with the economy. So, you know, right now I really cannot support this moving forward, but we postpone it and then, ohy and,the last thing is, I feel extending it for two more years, we should have, maybe a new Council coming in, because we going have four new members, or three more new members, and, you know, they could at least give their comments or their thoughts of if we should proceed with this funding to extend to the 2029,thank you. I yield. CR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBAL;L- Yeah. Thank you. You know first to just acknowledge,you know, it would've been desirable to have the audit in hands as we were considering this. But timing is of the essence, you know having talked to some of the providers over the last few months. Without extension by just two years at this stage,this next application cycle, which starts in November, the applications would likely include sunsetting of the programs. Like we can't just stop them. So if the fund is not going to be, or the programs are not going to be renewed, they need to know now so that they can write those grants to sunset those programs.' Whereas if we just give this a little bit more time, they can apply for sustaining their programs this next go round. We'll get the audit in hand and then we can do that second review as Council Member Kagiwada mentioned. Once we have that date in hand. I hundred percent think that this program needs accountability and very detailed observation. It is a lot of money. Also, hundred percent agree with the fact that state needs to step up and be more involved in this. No questions asked. Page 8 FC-44 September 15,2026 So I'm very supportive. Appreciate you Chair Inaba for bringing this forward now. I think it's something, this program as a whole, I've always supported, and I do think we need the data to continue to refinance but understand that we're kind of in a place now, where we need to extend it, in order to make sure we don't leave anybody in a really dire situation. Which I think could happen if we sunset it immediately. Thank you. I yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Ms. Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Yeah. You know I can totally hear your concerns Vice Chair Onishi, about wanting to wait for the audit to come forward before we proceed but, this particular Council, saw the birth of this program, and has a lot of institutional knowledge and I think it's our responsibility and opportunity to kind of shape this. The list of items that could be funded that Council Member Inaba has put forward in this bill, are very appropriate. There are things,that we are seeing are absolutely needed, on'the ground. And so this list for me is sufficient guardrails to ensure that money is spent very transparently and appropriately and that the community, as well as our non-profit'partners, they know what the priorities are. So I would want to proceed,with this, as-is. And I'm curious, I don't know if this is a question for you, Administrator, or Auditor, but I want to get to this 30,000- foot level and just understand how all the different players are working to contribute to the whole ecosystem. Right, so that we're not duplicating efforts, that things are complimentary, and at the same time we're understanding where the gaps are and,that there is some kind of process where we can identify, the opportunity for anew partner to come in and fulfill that need because it's not presently„being met by someone on the ground. So I just don't know if that's, a you question,,Ms.,Costa, or if that's something that is going to be revealed through the audit process. MS. COSTA: Kehau Costa, Housing Administrator. Absolutely. You know, this is only our, this will be my second year of doing the grant process. I see the evolution and how we're really starting to finesse and fine tune, specifically like, you know, when this started, it was just one big grant process. And you get what you get. And then, I think the part that has been really critical in this program is the community of practice that we've convened every quarter since this grant has started. And through the community of practice where all of the partners behind us,„come together, we meet for a full day, we're able to see how that `upena, how that net is connected. Where it's tied together, where the pukas are, and things are falling through and it really has allowed us, in the office, to see how we're going to write the next RFP, the next grant. Where we're saying we specifically need this program, like our shelters, or Kukui Ola and where we can open it up for what are the programs that are in the community are needing to be funded. So, I really see that happening and evolving and will continue to evolve because that is already what's occurring. Page 9 FC-44 September 15,2026 MS. KIERKIEWICZ: That's great to hear and I'm curious if there are any members of the Council or state delegation that are invited to these conversations. Just to observe. Not to be critical but to observe so that we can do something useful with that information. Is there a policy change or an investment that needs to happen at the county or state level? So I do think there's opportunity to kind of just have more folks at the table who can actually do something to continue to support the good work. MS. COSTA: Absolutely. Always invited. Yes. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Alright. Thank you. I Yield'; CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. One more time. Checking in with Kona. MR. HUSTACE: I'm okay, Chair: Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Yeah. Just wanted to get the bodies pulse overall and hearing specific to the fire infrastructure, follow up with you Council Member Kierkiewicz, making sure I understand exactly, also making sure that we're not limiting our own ability to use some of the funds for direct servicing. And then I was going to be having a meeting with the Finance Director and Administrator regarding,perhaps an annual external audit, specific to this fund to ensure that we're not waiting, you know, two years and to Council Member Kagiwada's pointy I think that exactly on the money. But we might just need more regular auditing for evidence and proof that the public funds going towards these purposes are actually effective. But anything else that I didn't jot down? CHR, KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KA{�..irIWADA: Thanks. Just a very quick thing. I know it's not a large number of people, but I did have a program, I think, the first round, maybe, that was helping people who were newly to the island, who wanted to return home and that could be something. I know that some of the courts and the judges will like to use that for people who desire to return home. The current language, have you checked, does that, do you feel like it could be inclusive of a program like that, if that's something that ends up being possible? I just want to check in with you that that's, or I guess to the maker,just to double check it, if you could. I think that would be helpful. I don't know for sure that that's going to occur, but I think it has been discussed several times. Thank you. I yield. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Council Member Onishi. Page 10 FC-44 September 15,2026 MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. We have Maxinne here from the Auditor's Office. Can you please come up. (Note: At this time, County Legislative Auditor Maxinne Pacheco came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. PACHECO: Good afternoon, Maxinne Pacheco with Office of the County Auditor. MR. ONISHL Thank you for coming by. Would yqu be able to help provide the Council some update of what's going on? MS. PACHECO: Sure. Happy too. We engage with the,lbepartment of Housing, and we told them our objectives. We've met with them, we started our interviews and they have been uploading some documents for our review through the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site. So we're in the process of reviewing,their documents. MR. ONISHL I know this is going to be a hard question for you to answer. But, what would be your suggestion on this bill right now, like, should we pass it, or should we hold on, and;T mean,because, you know why, the thing is, right, what if we pass it right, and it passes through the three meetings, and then the audit comes up with something negative. Then the Council after that, going have to, maybe, amend it, right. MS. PACHECO: That's fair. MR. ONISHL Yeah. And then for some of these non-profits, these agencies that might be depnding,on'those funding, could get kind of, like,you know, things could happen. So,you knew like, like Ms. Kimball mentioned, like they need to plan,right. They,need to plan if they going phase out or they going continue right: So, I mean"it's kind of like a stuck, right? MS. PACHECO: Yes. MR. ONISHL Because we requested that audit because we wanted to find out how the money was being spent and if it was being spent properly, right. And so that's why for me, I have a hard time. Because then we asking for help, but now we not going wait for the help and we going just do what we want to do. MS. PACHECO: So, our office follows government auditing standards and there's two things that we cannot do. And that is to make management decisions. And so, in my role, I'm not able to advise you today on that. I apologize on that. Page 11 FC-44 September 15,2026 MR. ONISHL Yep. Okay. And that's why I said, it was a hard question for you to answer. I just wanted to kind of get that out. But yeah. Thank you. And I'll yield. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. MR. INABA: Thank you. Chair just wanted to point out, Communication 1059.1 is a short summary of some of the work that was done over the last few years. So I just wanted to point that out and that was something that was worked on with some of the providers, I think Dr. Hannah, from BI'SAC (Big Island Substance Abuse Council), alternately kind of compiled and based on the reporting that has been on going to the Office of Housing andGommunity Development, I ask for it to just be paired down. So that's what you have there and for the public, I know there are some folks wanting to know what we have gotten out of the funds, so there's that. But again, we're at a place, Maxinne could you give us an estimated date of anticipated completion? MS. PACHECO: We're hoping definitely by the end of the calendar year. MR. INABA: Okay. Thank you. Which is the last we heard as well. Okay. I'm going to yield for now. I will take the feedback that was given and about to be given and work on an amendment for our next hearing. Thank you. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELEiER: Okay. Thank you Mr. Inaba for bringing this forward., I understand the timeliness of the bill. My grumble with this one has been kind of ongoing even Office of Housing,you know, where I stand on this,even Director Nakagawa. I look at this holistically. I look at this in terms of, like Mir.-Onishi, ultimately, we're responsible to the taxpayers. At this point, this is three years in we spend a minimum 27, but I think it's more like 33 just from this fund itself, the homeless and housing fund. This fund and others are funding nonprofits to do the services that the County cannot. And I appreciate that, but I am very cognizant of some of the places where we started and watching the grants come in and go out' And seeing admin fees and 401K plans and pension plans. Even getting emails from past directors of some of the organizations reminding me of how many voters work within their organizations that are in my district. When I hear comments like that it begins to raise some questions for me as far as the NGOs (Non-Governmental Organization) becoming voting blocks. The scrutiny that we look at these organizations with, as far as administrative fees. And then on the back end I watch our communities carefully, especially in our urban areas like Pahoa, Hilo, Kona, where a lot of business owners spend their mornings scraping whatever off their front doorstep and cleaning their doorstep just before they can begin to open their doors to the public. These are county maintained sidewalks that they're maintaining themselves because of the homeless folks that we have in our community. I was here for the original bill, Aaron Chung brought it forward, and originally it was just homelessness. And Page 12 FC-44 September 15,2026 when I heard that bill, my understanding was, Aaron Chung is trying to take care of his district. Take care of the businesses in the town, the concerns we're having in Parks and Recreation, Mass Transit, and a lot of those centered around some certain characters, who are just causing trouble. There is just almost zero accountability for the individuals at the Police Department, Fire Department services. They don't track the calls for service when it comes to homeless folks. The impact of homelessness on our county and our community, including businesses and even nonprofits, is huge. And this underlying need to fund it and subsidize it at the taxpayer level, I understand. But it has an impact. We look at the Coconut Island bridge, and we bark at the price for how much it's going to cost but I look back in the last three years, we spent$33 million addressing homelessness. We want the projects, we warn new roads, we want all these things, but we have a hard time coming up with the funds. It's hard to balance. So I look at things like this, that overall, we give two more years, we see how it goes. Five years was supposed to be, we see how it goes, and here we are. And when I look at the numbers and the reporting,on'the OHCD site from the different nonprofits, I see data reported to us by the same nonprofits who we are paying to take care of the problem. That raises some questions for me that the Auditor's Office should be reviewing, if it's third-party,audit of the information, okay. Otherwise it's self-reported data by the organizations that are paid to provide this service. I look around the room today, I love a lot of you folks, and I know you well. But you also get paid by the County, of course you want this to continue. If it stops, it's not in your best interest and iri'some ways, it's not in the community's best interest. But there's got to be a balance. y biggest headache right now,is the way this was originally written, was $9 million:dollars minimum per year, So I asked Director Nakagawa to come today, just to help,me understand, holistically, in our budget, right now, and she's going to hate me for this, because she always does when I ask the same question every time. If you could, Finance Director. She's got the big book today. So the big book she reserves for me, when I act up so she can throw it at me if she needs to. Or it might have information that I need. Okay, so here's my question and we kind of go back and forth a lot. How many different funds do we have that are going towards some of the services that we heard from our testifiers today or programs that are now included in the bill, if it was to be passed? (Note: At this time, Finance Director Diane Nakagawa came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. NAKAGAWA: Good afternoon, Council Members. Diane Nakagawa, Finance Department. Thank you, Chair, for your question. It is one that we have talked about before. It isn't a press of button report, when it comes to looking at all of these different organizations and the funding. There are, as we talked about, the homeless and housing funding, we have the affordable housing production funds, we have, there are various other grants that could be related to Page 13 FC-44 September 15,2026 homelessness and housing, if, I think that's what you're asking specifically for. So, such as, our CRF (Contingency Relief Funds) for our Waiwai grants. There are also, could be our impact grants, but that could be minimal with our Research and Development Department. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Let's start with those. I think that sums up the big ones. So HHF, Homelessness and Housing Fund, is a minimum, by ordinance, minimum $9 million a year, correct? MS. NAKAGAWA: It is now. That is correct. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then the AHP,, Affordable Housing Productions Fund. MS. NAKAGAWA: We have $5 million; it's in our budget. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That's a minimum of, correct? Set? MS. NAKAGAWA: Yes. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So no less than: MS. NAKAGAWA: I'd have to go, I don't have the language with me but, it is but we have budgeted higher than five in the past. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: But these are minimum, yeah? And then e have other grants, which is just random numbers. Not an account, like we have or a fund like we've had in the past, but these are grants. MS. NAKAGAWA: These are various grants out of these programs that could be associated with homelessness and housing. CHR. KANEALI`I- LEINFELDER: Like CRF, like Waiwai? MS. NAKAGAWA: Yeah. So for your question. I was able—go ahead. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So Waiwai is now minimum $2.5? M :'NAKAGAWA: Yes. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And CRFs, $900,000? MS. NAKAGAWA: So in anticipation of this question,just related to these two, just quickly glanced at the fiscal year '26. In the CRF, as we see roughly, those related to these programs it's about 73,000 and Waiwai about 50,000. Page 14 FC-44 September 15,2026 CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: 50,000? MS. NAKAGAWA: Correct. That's just looking at one year in programs and grants that were related to homelessness and housing. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. So my headache begins when we start setting a minimum amount. When we say no more than, okay. But when we say no less than, that puts you in a bind, ultimately. It puts the County in a bind, when we start setting our budget every year that"x"amount will be set aside for the following. And we've done this in the past year-,we've passed two bills that have done that. Just recently, I think a month ago we passed another bill that there was a minimum of, shall be deposited'or set aside for, and that begins to be an area of concern for me. We start doing that in the budget,for the County, you're locking funds every year that now require an ordinance to amend. Otherwise you have to set that much in the budget every single year. This one today, this is no different. The minimum of$9 million will be set aside for. There's no flexibility in that. On a bade year, for the County, when taxes go down, then that puts the County in a hard spot, When I hear my Finance Director come and'say,we have $500 million dollars in debt, we're looking at for wastewater and we're figuring out how to make that work for our budget, amongst everything else that we need, and the $40 million dollars Coconut Island bridge. Then,these kinds of, set asides for a minimum amount, become an issue. If it's not for the other Council Members, then it is for me. Set, for comments, Mr. Inaba, that's where I stand, that's where I've stood. My one asks for you, as the maker of the bill, would be to look at bringing down that,amount as we expand the program to the things. But just to the fiscal responsibility. Let's take this a little bit further. If the Council coming in is faced with a rough year for property taxes, interest rates go up, inflation goes up, that drives down"a lot of things that make revenue for the County. When that happens, we have to make it up in other ways. So ultimately what happens when we start setting aside too many funds for special projects and special funds, and special ideas, we end up raising taxes for the public when it comes down to how we make ends meet. Because revenue for the government is tax based and expenditures equal needing more taxes to make it work. So just being realistic for the Council and being that one member who always says, you know, the crazy stuff, but the reality is,we have to be responsible in how approach funding. Back to the basics, as a business owner in Hilo, the first hour of my day, used to be cleaning up the back from everything that was left on it from the night before. Trying to find my umbrellas that would disappear into the park. Cleaning up whatever was on my porch in the back before we could even open the restaurant in the morning. Nighttime is scary. On the weekends people would come by and smash plants and whatever else they could find just because they wanted to and I Page 15 FC-44 September 15,2026 watched them do it. And I know who they are, I watch them walk around Hilo. I haven't seen the problem here better. And that's what I expected these funds to do and that's where I start asking questions and that's where I get fussy. And I'm not the only one. We had one testifier in opposition today and again, I respect everyone for being here, but that one testifier in opposition, man he speaking on behalf of a lot of business owners that I know who are frustrated and haven't seen resolved. So, that's my comments and hope for you Mr. Inaba. I'm going to oppose today and if you can take any of that to heart, I'd appreciate it. MR. INABA: Thank you. Can I respond real quick please? Just wanting to point out, I believe it was Council Member Kagiwada and I who introduced because this fund, as originally not fund, this amount of money that was originally set aside by Chair, former Chair Chung,was 75 percent of the tier two, and that's all we had at the time. But it was becoming a runaway amount where we're trying to stand up a program, but every year, with rising assessed values, the collection and the amount, I think we were in access of$12 million dollars, which is why the $9 million floor came andthat, good portion of the$9 million is accounted for by the need to run our homeless shelters. So, I just want to state that for the record and also to clarify regarding the housing production fund Ordinance 22-77 sets atleast:$5 million for affordable housing production." So both are minimums but again,the $9 million, when it comes to the homeless and'housing fund, is there as that floor so that we didn't keep seeing it grow while we're trying to stand up a new program. But I am noting the concern, thank you. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINIHELDER: Thank you, Mr. Inaba. Ms. Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWAI)A, Thank you. I just have a quick thing. I know our Laserfiche has been,a,little wonky and so you might not have been able to get into all the testimony, I wasn't able to get into everything. But I just wanted to point out that the Hawai`i,Island Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and the Hilo DIA (Downtown Improvement Association) all submitted supportive testimony. So I understand that as a business owner, that you're still seeing a lot of issues but I also think there's a lot of business owners, these are groups that represent business interest on our island and they are saying that they really want to see this continue. So I just wanted to point that out. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay. One more note for everybody. When we did our CRFs, there was this constant question that came up, even the Waiwai's was, how does a nonprofit become sustainable? That was the number one question I heard again and again. How do the nonprofit seem to be sustainable and eliminate the need for subsidized funding into their programs. Page 16 FC-44 September 15,2026 I'm not hearing that question anymore, which I find interesting. It becomes a, despite not having an audit, not having very clear data, that's third parry provided, we're willing to put another $18 million dollars minimum into the same program that we don't have solid results for. Food for thought. Thank you Ms. Nakagawa, thank you Administrator Costa. Okay Mr. Inaba, good. Okay. All in favor of forwarding Bill 192, as amended, to Council with a favorable recommendation. Any opposed? Vote on Bill 192: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 192, as amended Draft 2 to Draft 2, on first reading was carried by the following roll (Approved) call vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, and Villegas —7. Noes: Committee Members Onishi and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,.—2. Absent: None. Excused: None. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Okay. Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications'. Comm. 23.42: REPORT OF FUND TRANSFERS AUTHORIZED: JUNE 16—30 AND JULY 16 -31, 2026 From Controlter Jon Arbles, dated August 19, 2026. Vote on Comm. 23.42: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to close file on Comm. 23.42. Filed Seconded by Mr. Hustace and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba and Kagiwada—2. Excused: None. Page 17 FC-44 September 15,2026 Comm. 1056: COUNTY OF HAWAI`I INVENTORY AS OF JUNE 30, 2026 From Finance Director Diane Nakagawa, dated August 19, 2026, submitting the above inventory report pursuant to Section 103D-1208 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. Motion to Approve: Ms. Galimba moved to close file on Comm. 1056. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. Vote on Comm. 1056: Ms. Galimba moved to close file on Comm. 1056. ' Filed Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace,' Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—6. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba, Kagiwada, and Villegas —3. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (Note: Items in this category were taken'up previously, out of order.) Res. 670-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR,LEASE AGREEMENT FOR TWO DUMP TRUCKS TO BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate total annual cost of$110,000, to be used for hauling material,paving, and,removing,debris. Reference: Comm. 1064 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Motion to Approve:,, Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of Res. 670-26. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Council Member Kierkiewicz? Council Member Onishi? MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. Public Works. Thank you. (Note: At this time, Public Works Business Manager Kelsey Kalua-Lewis came forward to address the members of the Committee.) Page 18 FC-44 September 15,2026 MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Good afternoon, Kelsey Kalua-Lewis, Public Works. MR. ONISHL Thank you. So these vehicles, is it like new vehicles that we leasing or is it like renewing the lease that we had before? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: These are new leases to kind of replace aging fleet. MR. ONISHL Oh. Okay. So the other ones was leased,before that got returned back? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: No. We usually lease to'own, and I believe the dump trucks we have now, they're constantly in for repairs. I don't know the exact year, but they are older. So these two would justt be leased to own, eventually, to replace an aging fleet. MR. ONISHL Okay. And then what's going to happen to those'older vehicles? MS. KALUA-LEWIS: Depending on, you know, the repair costs, I don't know if highways will choose to leave them in the fleet for, you know, emergency situations, like leave it'a base yard, where it doesn't have to transfer far to another district or if you're going to dispose or auction it off. MR. ONISHL Because I know auctions, and correct me if I'm wrong Director Nakagawa,but auction wise, we haven't had'vehicle auctions, in a while. MS. KALUA-LEWIS: I believe we just had one I remember working on. (Note: At this time, Finance Director Diane Nakagawa came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS:NAKAGAWA: Diane Nakagawa, Finance Department. Happy to come up and say, no. Actuary we have had, and our Property Manager just walked out, and I would,have the dates for you,you can follow up. But we actually did have a couple auctions and we're planning on the next one, as well. MR. ONISHL Oh, okay. MS. NAKAGAWA: So we are slowly getting back on track with our auctions. MR. ONISHL So a lot of the fire trucks that was, I guess, stored away, those got auctioned off too? MS. NAKAGAWA: You know, I don't remember off the top of my head which ones were in the last one and on the next one. But happy to follow up with our Property Management team and look at what was included in the last auction we recently did and also work with Fire on what might be included in the next one. Page 19 FC-44 September 15,2026 MR. ONISHL No. I'm just happy that you folks are moving it. MS. NAKAGAWA: We are. MR. ONISHL I remember like when I first got in,you folks didn't have an auction for a while. MS. NAKAGAWA: Yes. We are happy we are back on track, and we've had a couple and we also have another one planned, and I'll get the date out as well. MR. ONISHL Okay. Right on. Thank you. MS. NAKAGAWA: You're Welcome. MR. ONISHL I yield, Chair. CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: ,Thank you. Any further discussion? Thank you for being here, Ms. Kalua-Lewis. Thank you. Motion is on the floor to forward Resolution 670-26 to the Council.With a favorable recommendation. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 670-26: The motion to recommend adoption of Res: 670-26 was (Approved) carried by the following voice 'vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absenf Committee Members Inaba and Villegas —2. Excused: Norte: Res. 671-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER,INTO A MULTI-YEAR LEASE AGREEMENT FOR THREE GRAPPLE TRUCKS TO BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Authorizes'the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate total annual cost of$225,000, to be used for emergency response for downed"trees, clearing drains, removing dead animals, and regular road maintenance work. Reference: Comm. 1065 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion on the measure? Hearing and seeing none. All in favor? Any opposed? Page 20 FC-44 September 15,2026 Vote on Res. 671-26: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 671-26. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Villegas—2. Excused: None. Res. 672-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR LEASE AGREEMENT OR AN EXCAVATOR WITH A MULCHING UNIT TO BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate total annual cost of$80,000, to be'used for roadside repair, debris removal, clearing flood channels, and digging trenches. Reference: Comm. 1066 Intr'. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: , Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none. Motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 672-26: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 672-26. Seconded by Ms. Kimball and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes:,, Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Villegas —2. Excused: None. Res. 673-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR LEASE AGREEMENT FOR A CREW CAB PICKUP TRUCK TO BE USED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year lease agreement with an approximate total annual cost of$19,000, to be utilized by the department's Highway Maintenance Division. Reference: Comm. 1067 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) Page 21 FC-44 September 15,2026 CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion on Resolution 673-26? Hearing and seeing none. Motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 673-26: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 673-26. Seconded by Ms. Galimba and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder—7" Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Villega5 —2. Excused: None. Res. 674-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT'OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT FOR PROPRIETARY LEGAL RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIVE SOFTWARE TO BE USED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$697,for the CLEAR online investigative and research subscription. Reference: Comm. 1068 Intr.by: Council Member Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none. Motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 674-26: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. ,674-26 Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following,voice voter Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder—7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Villegas —2. Excused: None. Page 22 FC-44 September 15,2026 Res. 675-26: AUTHORIZES THE PAYMENT OF FUNDS OF LATER FISCAL YEARS TO ENTER INTO A MULTI-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT FOR PROPRIETARY ONLINE LEGAL RESEARCH SERVICES TO BE USED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Authorizes the Mayor to enter into a five-year agreement with an approximate monthly cost of$4,835, for continued use of the Westlaw for trial preparation and online legal research service. Reference: Comm. 1069 Intr. by: Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder (B/R) CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none. Motion is on the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Res. 675-26: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend adoption of (Approved) Res. 675-26. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galirnba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kierkiewicz,, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas and Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Inaba 1. Excused: None. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed'to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. Bill 171: AMENDS CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 4, SECTION 2-12.7, OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENTS Requires that a fiscal impact statement prepared by the finance director be submitted with Council wbills that have fiscal implications. Reference: Comm. 956 Intr. by: Council Member Onishi Postponed: July 22, 2026 (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Onishi, seconded by Council Member Galimba, to recommend passage of Bill 171 on first reading.) MR. ONISHL Mr. Chair. For discussion with the Finance Director, can I make a motion to postpone Bill 171 to the November 5t' committee meeting? CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay we have a motion by Council Member Onishi. Page 23 FC-44 September 15,2026 MR. ONISHI: Oh. The sixth? CHR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: October. MR. ONISHL November 6tn? November. November 5tn CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: November 5. Okay. Motion to Postpone: Mr. Onishi moved to postpone Bill 171 to November 5, 2026. Seconded by Ms. Kimball. CHR KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none. All in favor? Any opposed? Vote on Motion The motion to postpone Bill 171 to November 5, 2026, to Postpone: was carried by the following voice vote: (Approved) Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwada, Kimball, Onish , Villegas, and Chair Kdneali`i-Kleinfelder-7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Iierkiewicz—2. Excused: None. CHR,IANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That does bring us to the end of our agenda. You all set Mr. Clerk., Okay. Thank you. That brings us to the end of our agenda. Seeing no further business, in the Finance Committee, we are adjourned. It is 5:09 p.m. Our next committee will start shortly. Thank you. Bye. ADJOURN- There being no further business on our agenda today, Chair Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder MENT: adjourned the meeting at 5:09 p.m. Approved: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Chair (Date) Finance Committee MK/mp Page 24