Molokai Breakdown for 2026 County Budget

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

By Jack Kiyonaga, Editor

The mayor’s proposed budget for Maui County in fiscal year 2026 clocks in at over $1.512 billion, up from $1.3 billion last year. For Molokai, millions of dollars have been designated for proposed projects.

The Maui County Council gathered with Molokai residents on April 11 to hear testimony and petitions regarding the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. The annual meeting is one of the only times the county council comes in force to Molokai, so many residents took the opportunity to hear overviews of county projects on island and voice their opinions.

“The purpose of having the community hearing is to hear directly from the community what the priorities are,” explained Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Molokai’s representative to the Maui County Council. “Oftentimes, this is the only time you’ll see the council [on Molokai.] That’s why it’s so important for many of us to be here.”

For agriculture proposals in the budget, Molokai projects include $140,000 for the Maui Humane Society for Molokai, $100,000 for Molokai agriculture, $20,000 for the Molokai Livestock Cooperative and $3,000,000 for the Agriculture Micro Grants Program countywide.

Molokai will also receive county funding for social programing. These include proposals for $99,000 for Molokai Child Abuse Prevention Pathways, $15,000 for Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans, $330,000 for the Molokai Community Health Center, $570,000 for the Molokai Rural Health Association, $50,000 for suicide prevention on Molokai, $280,000 for the Molokai Boys and Girls Club, and $473,000 for the MEO Head Start programs countywide.

The Office of the Mayor has also tapped certain Molokai programs for proposed funding, including $285,000 for feral animal control, $360,000 for Molokai and Lanai student travel and $47,000 for Ka Ipu Kukui fellows.

For water supply projects, the East Molokai Watershed Protection is proposed to receive $250,000; the Kualapu’u, ‘Ualapue and Kawela wells are slated to receive $5,000,000; and $1,200,000 has been proposed for wastewater cesspool conversion on Molokai.

One big ticket item on the budget proposal for Molokai is a $1,000,000 shade structure for One Ali’i park playground. The high cost on the structure was perplexing to even Rawlins-Fernandez.

“I thought the shade structure was going to cost $100,000,” she said.

Further budget proposals for fire and public safety focused on structural improvements for department facilities.

One major project proposal that was raised at the budget meeting itself came from the Molokai police department, asking for $18,000,000 to be used to relocate their headquarters to the old National Guard barracks up the road.

“This would be a critical investment in our community’s safety,” explained Molokai Police Captain Jamie Winfrey at the budget hearing.

Winfrey cited issues with the current station, which the Molokai police have inhabited since 1979, such as flooding.

The limitations of the current station “hampers our ability to respond quickly and effectively,” said Winfrey. “This is creating the space we desperately need.”

Rawlins-Fernandez updated her budget priorities after the Molokai meeting to reflect some of the concerns, especially the police station relocation. Rawlins-Fernandez proposed $5,000,000 to the relocation efforts.

Maui County Council members submitted their final priorities on April 17 following community meetings across Maui County. The budget will be adopted by June 10, with fiscal year 2026 beginning on July 1, 2025.