Maui County Council chair Alice Lee said she hopes to roll back the council’s proposed property tax rate hikes for the visitor industry because there’s sufficient funding for future projects and a likelihood of a recession.

“The economy is so uncertain with the rash of federal policies people wilI likely not travel much,” Lee said. “It will affect our visitor industry.”

The Maui County Council will hold a public hearing Friday to review the 2025-26 fiscal budget. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the Kalana O Maui Building.

Lee said she’s proposing rolling back the rates for visitor-related properties to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen’s proposed budget because she feels there’s more than enough money with the county facing more than 600 job vacancies.

The proposed reduction would reduce the estimated real property tax revenues for the visitor industry by $14.5 million.

“What we need is to fill our 600 vacancies to implement projects,” Lee said.

She said because of a staffing shortage, the county has been unable to implement already approved projects, including her Ohana grant assistance program to encourage homeowners to build accessory dwellings.

The program began in July, and of the 114 applications for the grant, 53 were complete, including 18 with building permits. But no funds have been released to qualified recipients, and the project is being reviewed by the Department of the Corporation Counsel.

Lee said the visitor industry generates some $377 million of the more than $650 million in property taxes, not including its contribution of transient accommodation taxes and general excise taxes.

She said assessments of properties have gone up and the county will be receiving more property tax revenue as a result of higher property values.

Lee said she’s not planning to change the proposed decreases in property tax rate for homeowners.

Under the proposal, the tax rate for owner-occupied homes valued up to $1.3 million would drop by 15 cents to $1.65 per $1,000 of assessed value. The proposed rate would be $1.80 for properties with an assessed valuation from over $1.3 million to $4.5 million, and $5.75 for properties valued at more than $4.5 million.

Last year, the rate for owner-occupied dwellings was $1.80 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for properties valued up to $1 million, $2 for properties valued at more than $1 million to $3 million and $3.25 for properties assessed at more than $3 million.

Homes that are not owner-occupied would be taxed at $5.87 per $1,000 of assessed value up to $1 million, $8.60 for properties valued at over $1 million up to $3 million, and $17 for properties above $3 million.

The rate for apartments is $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Under Lee’s proposal, the rate for hotels and resorts would reflect Bissen’s proposal of $11.75 per $1,000 of assessed valuation instead of the council’s currently proposed $12; timeshare would be $14.60, instead of $16.60; and transient vacation rentals and short-term rentals valued at more than $3 million would be $15, instead of $16.50.

The county budgeted $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2024-25, and Bissen has proposed a $1.5 billion budget for 2025-26.