WAILUKU - The state Department of Agriculture is tapping alternative funds to restore 22 agriculture inspection positions statewide, including three on Maui.
After layoff notices were sent out in August, six inspector positions on Maui were expected to be cut in November. But, with three positions restored, produce will continue to be shipped directly to Maui for inspection, instead of needing to be diverted to Honolulu, said department spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi.
Inspections of food for human consumption and animal feed are among the core functions being left in place because of the restored positions, she said.
Even with the 22 positions restored statewide, "inspection capacity will still be significantly decreased from the current levels," the department's announcement said.
The layoffs are part of widespread efforts by the state to reduce spending to close a nearly $900 million budget shortfall. In August, 50 agricultural inspectors, including six on Maui, received notices they would be laid off.
To restore the positions, $1.8 million will be transferred from other sources of funding to the state General Fund, the Agriculture Department said. One of the transfers will be $1.2 million from fees collected in the Pest Inspection, Quarantine and Eradication Special Fund. Those fees come from maritime and airline companies that bring in cargo to Hawaii and are required to pay 50 cents per 1,000 pounds of cargo into the special fund.
The other transfer will be $600,000 that had been earmarked for invasive-species prevention. Last month, the Hawaii Invasive Species Council approved the use of the funds to restore the agricultural inspection positions.
"The department continues to look for alternative sources of funding," said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairwoman of the state Board of Agriculture. "In addition, we are working on increasing coordination of inspection services to make the most efficient use of our work force and minimize the disruption to our important agricultural, food and shipping industries."
The department said that with reduced staffing, priorities for inspectors will be on all incoming cargo from Guam to prevent the introduction of the brown tree snake and to inspect cargo for human consumption and animal feed.
Teya Penniman of the Maui Invasive Species Committee said she was pleased the state restored some of the inspector positions.
But she said one of the funds tapped to restore the positions helps pay for invasive species committees statewide.
"There's a hit on the back end," she said.
Penniman said the Maui Invasive Species Committee expects to be "OK because of the strong support of our county and federal partners."
And she said that aside from the agricultural inspectors, who've received much of the public attention after layoffs were announced, the department's staff on Maui also is losing its only entomologist, who had been successful in making early identifications of invasive insects, such as the gall wasp that attacked wiliwili trees.
"We're not safe," Penniman said. "We're still not where we need to be in terms of invasive-species protection."
Overall, the department now is facing the loss of 96 employees in November, Saneishi said.
* Brian Perry can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.
