Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee plans to look into complaints she’s received about “exceedingly high” tax assessments in Maui County upcoming during budget hearings. Courtesy photo

Maui County Council chair Alice Lee said she is worried about the rise in residential property tax assessments in Maui County and will be looking at its impact on Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen’s $1.51 billion fiscal year 2026 budget.

The proposed budget is about 25% larger than the $1.2 billion budget passed by the council for fiscal year 2025.

“I’ve already received a lot of complaints from property owners who say the assessments are exceedingly high,” Lee told The Maui News.

The council plans a series of hearings and Council Committee discussions on the proposed budget. The first, the Council’s Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday in the council chambers in Wailuku.

Lee said that while Mayor Bissen has proposed decreases in tax rates for owner-occupied properties, overall property tax payments have apparently gone up for some owners because of rising assessments.

She also said she has questions about the growing budget while there are hundreds of employee vacancies in the Maui County government.

“Do we need that tax revenue considering we have 600 vacancies in the county?” she asked. “We have a lot of questions.”

Lee said that as county council members go through the budget, they’ll look at the proposed increases and see if any of it can be deferred or reduced.

“I want to assure the public we will not gloss over the budget,” Lee said. “We’re at the beginning of this journey.”

Bissen’s proposed budget would keep the minimum owner-occupied property tax rate at $300 and decrease owner-occupied rates from $1.80 to $1.70 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value for properties valued at less than $1.3 million, from $2.00 to $1.90 for homes valued between $1.3 million to $3 million, and from $3.25 to $3.10 for properties greater than $3 million. The tax rate for long-term rentals would remain the same.

The mayor’s budget plan also proposes a 9% increase in wastewater sewer rates and presents a tiered increase in water rates based upon usage. For solid waste services, the Bissen administration proposes a $4 increase in landfill tipping fees.

For refuse collection, the proposed budget recommends a $2 increase on Maui and Molokai and a $1 increase on Lāna’i.

Bissen has proposed a capital improvement program budget of $461.4 million for fiscal 2026 through various sources, including the county, grants revolving and special funds.

He said $128.6 million, or 27.9%, will be funded through grant revenue, and $124.4 million, or 27% of projects, will be funded through bond funding.

The 2026 budget also funds projects to support Maui’s wildfire recovery, as well services for other areas of Maui, such as countywide roadway resurfacing; pavement preservation; traffic and safety; a Ha’ikū Fire Station; Waiʻale road extension; Upper Kula transmission improvements; West Maui recycled water system expansion; rockfall and embankment repairs; water upgrades, replacements, and improvements; and Nāpili Wastewater Pump Station No. 2 modifications and force main replacement.

In his address to the county, Bissen said the county’s financial bond health remains strong with an excellent bond rating.

The county’s debt service is projected at $76.5 million — only 6.2% of operating expenditures and well below the county’s self-imposed 10% cap.

The mayor proposed an emergency preparedness reserve fund of $25 million to strengthen readiness and response capabilities and invest in police radio coverage, hire new staff positions in the Maui Emergency Management Administration to improve coordination and promote community outreach.

For kama’āina housing, the budget includes more than $40 million in general excise tax funding for water and wastewater infrastructure to support housing. Bissen said the county plans to support the development of 12 housing projects totaling 843 units.