WAILUKU — In his first budget proposal, Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. has put forward a $1.08 billion county budget for fiscal year 2024, which is a notch above the $1.07 billion county budget approved last year.

Bissen, who was elected in November and assumed office in January, said on Friday that the total includes an operating budget of $931.4 million and a capital improvement budget of $148.6 million. Currently the budget for fiscal 2023, which ends June 30, includes an operating budget of $805.9 million and a CIP budget of $263.8 million. That puts Bissen’s proposed operating and CIP budget at just over $10 million more than the current one.

During a presentation Friday morning, Bissen described his approach to the spending plan as “conservative,” noting when departments came to him asking for more money, he reminded them of the 1994 used Bronco that he drove for years.

Bissen sent his proposal to the Maui County Council, who gathered along with his staff and department heads in the mayor’s ninth-floor conference room on Friday. The council has until June 10 to work out a budget, otherwise the mayor’s version takes effect.

Overall, factoring in other income that includes anticipated grant revenue and revenue sources outside Maui County, Bissen’s proposal amounts to nearly $1.23 billion, which is a 1.3 percent increase, or $15.6 million more, as compared to the fiscal year 2023 budget of $1.21 billion that included the same outside source funds.

(The Maui News generally reports county budget totals based on county funding and not outside sources of funding that may be added to the budget.)

Bissen said he believes the budget “will offer our citizens services that meet their needs, that support their well-being, to help to resolve the long-standing challenges and make use of our innovative opportunities for a healthy and prosperous future for generations.

“The services we provide, the initiatives we put in place and the budget are tools that support our most important outcome, the state of our people,” Bissen said.

In his budget, the Department of Public Works has the largest percentage of the total projects proposed, Bissen said. The department has projects valued at $51.9 million in the fiscal 2024 CIP budget, including $13.1 million for countywide road resurfacing and pavement preservation and $5 million for a countywide drain line replacement program. Another $3.9 million is also set aside for East Maui rockfall and embankment repairs and $1 million for a Maui Lani Parkway extension.

Bissen also noted that $5.4 million will go toward rehabilitation of the Lahaina Civic Center and $4 million to War Memorial Gym building improvements.

Other higher-price and notable projects include the Wailuku Civic Hub for $14.5 million. The county did not immediately respond to a request for details on the project Friday afternoon.

He also announced that there will be more pickleball courts, alluding to the rise in popularity in the sport. The budget assigns $1 million to Central Maui pickleball courts.

Bissen is also seeking to reduce the county’s unfunded liabilities related to post-employment benefit payments to the state’s employer union health benefits trust fund by increasing the county’s annual contribution from $3 million to $10 million next year. He said by doing this, the county is expected to pay off its debt by 2029.

In his State of the County address Tuesday, Bissen said that by paying it down faster than initially planned, the county will save on interest paid and improve its standing with bond rating agencies. With reduced debt and a strong credit rating, the county “can do more for its people,” Bissen said.

The mayor also said on Friday that he is lowering the bond funding borrowed by the county to $65.9 million for fiscal 2024, which means less debt service costs for the county. In fiscal 2023, the county borrowed $152.2 million.

He will also increase the county’s Emergency Fund by $40 million, up from last year’s $3 million contribution.

Bissen’s budget also proposes setting aside 8 percent of real property tax revenue — an estimated $43 million — to the Affordable Housing Fund.

The majority of his proposed property tax rates remain flat from the current fiscal year.

The only proposed increase comes in the highest tier in the owner-occupied classification, as those with property valued at more than $3 million could see their rate increase from $2.71 per $1,000 of net taxable assessed valuation to $2.75.

To help residents, Bissen said he is proposing a 10-cent decrease in the first two tiers in the owner-occupied classification. Those with property valued at less than $1 million could see their rates go from $2 to $1.90, while those with property valued at more than $1 million to $3 million could see their rates drop from $2.10 to $2 per $1,000 of net taxable assessed valuation.

He is also proposing a decrease in the minimum tax, dropping it down to $300 from $350.

Bissen is also proposing changes in other rates and fees, including a 2 percent increase for wastewater user fees and a 15 percent increase in monthly water service fees.

He is also seeking to increase resident playing fees for the Waiehu Golf Course from $15 to $16 during the weekdays and from $20 to $21 on weekends.

Maui County Council Vice Chairwoman Yuki Lei Sugimura, who will be leading the council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee for the first time through the budget process, said after the presentation, “I’m really excited to see the details of what the departments want and what our future is for CIP. It creates jobs for the future.”

She is also looking forward to seeing how the council and departments can work together, but noted it will be a “grueling” next month and a half as they go through the vetting process.

“What I like is for us to not add on a lot to the budget, because you know it’s a billion-dollar budget,” she said, noting she wants the members to “look at it and dissect it and be responsible.”

“For me, it is to be responsible because were are obligated to our taxpayers to spend wisely,” she said.

For the current fiscal 2023 budget, council members increased former Mayor Michael Victorino’s proposed budget by around $25 million.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.