Waikapu (left) and Wailuku are shown in this aerial photo taken in 2020. The Maui Tropical Plantation is on the left. On Tuesday, the Maui County Council approved the fiscal year 2024 budget on first reading. In the budget is $6 million for a land buffer between Waikapu and Wailuku. Second and final reading of the budget is scheduled for June 6. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Waikapu residents may be closer to getting a land buffer between them and Wailuku and a small new medical clinic on Molokai may quickly get some needed funding as Maui County Council members unanimously approved the county’s fiscal year 2024 budget on first reading Tuesday.

The council gave its nod to its $1.07 billion budget, which is shy of Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed $1.08 billion budget. The council’s second and final reading of the budget is scheduled for June 6, said Council Chairwoman Alice Lee after the meeting.

The council has until June 10 to pass its version of the budget or the Mayor’s submitted budget will be deemed approved.

The fiscal year 2024 budget begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2024.

On Tuesday, prior to the vote was taken on the budget, council members proposed various amendments.

This included Lee’s proposal for $6 million for the possible acquisition of parcels parallel to Kuikahi Drive in Wailuku to establish a buffer long sought by Waikapu residents to separate them from Wailuku. The funds, which were approved, will come from the Open Space, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources and Scenic Views Preservation Fund.

Member Keani Rawlins-Fernandez also asked for support which she received for $300,000 for Molokai Family and Urgent Care Clinic, which opened up recently to address the doctor shortage on the Friendly Isle.

An amendment also passed was one by Presiding Officer Pro Tempore Tasha Kama to add a new condition to the Affordable Housing Fund to require up to $5.5 million to be used to re-purpose the Haggai Institute facility in Kihei for affordable housing.

Overall, Lee said after the meeting that there are “a lot of good programs” in the budget this year.

She referenced the new Ohana Assistance Program where homeowners will be granted funds if they build an ohana on their property and rent it out for the long-term at affordable prices.

“I think you are going to find that there was a strong emphasis of lowering the cost of housing with subsidies,” she added.

Lee said the council really prioritized economic diversification and were also “strongly supportive of cultural programs.”

Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee Chairwoman Yuki Lei Sugimura said after the meeting that the council achieved its goal of passing a budget less than what the administration proposed.

She added that the council also took action to keep debt down such as not having too many capital improvement projects that rely on bonds as well as paying down long-term debt to the Post-Employment Obligations with a $10 million dollar pay down.

The money earns 7 percent interest, Sugimura said.

She also noted the return of the in-person countywide meetings held this past budget session to hear from residents. The meetings were paused the last several years due to the pandemic.

Overall, Sugimura said that although the council is on its way to approve funding for various programs and projects, it is the mayor and his administration that will need to implement them.

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