I am submitting testimony on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership, a countywide coalition that brings together health and human service providers, community organizations, and public agencies to prevent child abuse and build a stronger, more coordinated system of support for our ʻohana. We focus on strengthening protective factors so families can thrive and challenges do not escalate into crisis.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Last year, this Council unanimously recognized that in Resolution 25-92, affirming the County's shared kuleana to protect keiki and support our ʻohana and workforce. You also unanimously approved $175,000 for our work. That investment was meaningful, and our 2025 outcomes reflect it.
We applied for FY27-28 funding through the Department of Human Concerns RFP process. However, the Mayor's proposed FY 27 budget does not include Hoʻoikaika Partnership. I am writing on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership to respectfully request that the Council include a dedicated funding line of $199,200 in the FY27 budget, sustaining and modestly increasing support for something proven and essential. This is not an investment in one program. It is an investment in a stronger, more connected system of care for all of Maui County. When we invest in prevention, we reduce long-term costs, strengthen our workforce, and ensure that all our keiki and ʻohana are healthy, safe, and supported. A more detailed explanation is attached.
Mahalo nui for your time and consideration.
Deb Marois, Coordinator, on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership
The MPD is the County’s largest proposed departmental expense at $140M next year, a 10% increase. Yet, the budget is missing how to address MPD’s repeated and ongoing illegal signing of federal contracts behind the backs of this Council and the failure of the MPD to comply with the state statute UIPA on sunshine and transparency.
The MPD is demonstrating it cannot meet statutory requirements and deadlines on something as simple as bringing forward for your approval and publicly revealing contracts it wants to make or has already made with the federal government.. We’re talking ICE contracts and contracts with other already mobilized elements of Trump’s Police State that is the subject of much current debate before the Council. We hope the Council has seen the Corporation Counsel’s opinion this last week vindicating Maui Indivisible’s position that the MPD is not respecting the Council’s authority.
Not only is the MPD violating state laws and legal deadlines, it is doing so despite repeated and escalating interventions by the State Office of Information Practices. In addition to breaking the law repeatedly, this MPD practice is wasting our County and state tax-dollar resources by churning unnecessary administrative and litigious communications on all ends.
The N&K CPAs FY25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report on page 34 says that County had a “savings in the Police Department of $5.5 million” from what was budgeted. So this is not a matter of lack of resources provided to MPD. In fact, of the 5 new and 66 re-organized named positions in the Mayor’s 2027 MPD budget, none are in the Records Office which tracks and retrieves these federal contracts.
Regardless of whether these MPD decisions are intentional or just incompetence, the Council should tie tax-payer funding of the MPD to measurable compliance with state laws 46-7 and the UIPA, adopting an independent audit of compliance to state laws, and require ongoing quarterly reporting to the Council based on a corrective action plan with a goal of 100% compliance. The County has implemented both audits and corrective action plans when it comes to collecting the outstanding $4.4M in short-term rental tax compliance and violations. There is no reason why the County cannot implement a similar regime for MPD compliance and law violations.
Just because the County makes the police its highest departmental financial priority doesn’t put the MPD above the law. We, the taxpayers, deserve and have a right to know what the MPD is doing with our money. The Council is the County’s government body with the most sunshine. There is a reason why the state legislature forces by law the MPD to come to the Council to approve federal contracts and to make its records open to the public. The MPD is not a private club. We deserve and have rights to sunshine and transparency. We also deserve an MPD that obeys the law and sets a good example for our community. That, unfortunately is not happening yet. The Council has the power of the purse and thus the responsibility to ensure we are a County of laws and equal treatment.
My name is Raymond Watson, and I am the President of the Maui Mountain Bike Coalition (MMBC). I am writing to provide a formal clarification regarding our grant application to the Department of Human Concerns (DHC) for our "Cycle Strong" program. Specifically, I would like to address Item 12.b. on page 10 of the correspondence to Ms. Jessica Crouse, Acting Director Department of Human Concerns (which relates to the Department's inquiry about whether the Coalition has a dedicated site to provide rides and services)
While MMBC does privately lease, fund, and operate the West Maui Bike Park in Napili for free public use, it is important to emphasize that the Cycle Strong program is designed as a mobile initiative. The grant we have requested is specifically intended to fund a mobile bike clinic, including the purchase of a trailer and additional bikes.
The rationale for this mobile model is rooted in our commitment to equity and access: For many of Maui’s youth, the lack of reliable transportation is a significant hurdle to participating in healthy recreational activities. By utilizing a mobile trailer, we can travel directly to schools, youth sites, and underserved neighborhoods biking instruction to the students where they are.
We believe that this mobile outreach is the most effective way to reach our target goals of serving hundreds of students annually through school-based clinics.
Thank you for your time and for your consideration of this program, which we believe will foster stronger community connections and resilience for our youth.
Aloha Chair and Committee Members,
I am submitting testimony on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership, a countywide coalition that brings together health and human service providers, community organizations, and public agencies to prevent child abuse and build a stronger, more coordinated system of support for our ʻohana. We focus on strengthening protective factors so families can thrive and challenges do not escalate into crisis.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Last year, this Council unanimously recognized that in Resolution 25-92, affirming the County's shared kuleana to protect keiki and support our ʻohana and workforce. You also unanimously approved $175,000 for our work. That investment was meaningful, and our 2025 outcomes reflect it.
We applied for FY27-28 funding through the Department of Human Concerns RFP process. However, the Mayor's proposed FY 27 budget does not include Hoʻoikaika Partnership. I am writing on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership to respectfully request that the Council include a dedicated funding line of $199,200 in the FY27 budget, sustaining and modestly increasing support for something proven and essential. This is not an investment in one program. It is an investment in a stronger, more connected system of care for all of Maui County. When we invest in prevention, we reduce long-term costs, strengthen our workforce, and ensure that all our keiki and ʻohana are healthy, safe, and supported. A more detailed explanation is attached.
Mahalo nui for your time and consideration.
Deb Marois, Coordinator, on behalf of Hoʻoikaika Partnership
The MPD is the County’s largest proposed departmental expense at $140M next year, a 10% increase. Yet, the budget is missing how to address MPD’s repeated and ongoing illegal signing of federal contracts behind the backs of this Council and the failure of the MPD to comply with the state statute UIPA on sunshine and transparency.
The MPD is demonstrating it cannot meet statutory requirements and deadlines on something as simple as bringing forward for your approval and publicly revealing contracts it wants to make or has already made with the federal government.. We’re talking ICE contracts and contracts with other already mobilized elements of Trump’s Police State that is the subject of much current debate before the Council. We hope the Council has seen the Corporation Counsel’s opinion this last week vindicating Maui Indivisible’s position that the MPD is not respecting the Council’s authority.
Not only is the MPD violating state laws and legal deadlines, it is doing so despite repeated and escalating interventions by the State Office of Information Practices. In addition to breaking the law repeatedly, this MPD practice is wasting our County and state tax-dollar resources by churning unnecessary administrative and litigious communications on all ends.
The N&K CPAs FY25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report on page 34 says that County had a “savings in the Police Department of $5.5 million” from what was budgeted. So this is not a matter of lack of resources provided to MPD. In fact, of the 5 new and 66 re-organized named positions in the Mayor’s 2027 MPD budget, none are in the Records Office which tracks and retrieves these federal contracts.
Regardless of whether these MPD decisions are intentional or just incompetence, the Council should tie tax-payer funding of the MPD to measurable compliance with state laws 46-7 and the UIPA, adopting an independent audit of compliance to state laws, and require ongoing quarterly reporting to the Council based on a corrective action plan with a goal of 100% compliance. The County has implemented both audits and corrective action plans when it comes to collecting the outstanding $4.4M in short-term rental tax compliance and violations. There is no reason why the County cannot implement a similar regime for MPD compliance and law violations.
Just because the County makes the police its highest departmental financial priority doesn’t put the MPD above the law. We, the taxpayers, deserve and have a right to know what the MPD is doing with our money. The Council is the County’s government body with the most sunshine. There is a reason why the state legislature forces by law the MPD to come to the Council to approve federal contracts and to make its records open to the public. The MPD is not a private club. We deserve and have rights to sunshine and transparency. We also deserve an MPD that obeys the law and sets a good example for our community. That, unfortunately is not happening yet. The Council has the power of the purse and thus the responsibility to ensure we are a County of laws and equal treatment.
My name is Raymond Watson, and I am the President of the Maui Mountain Bike Coalition (MMBC). I am writing to provide a formal clarification regarding our grant application to the Department of Human Concerns (DHC) for our "Cycle Strong" program. Specifically, I would like to address Item 12.b. on page 10 of the correspondence to Ms. Jessica Crouse, Acting Director Department of Human Concerns (which relates to the Department's inquiry about whether the Coalition has a dedicated site to provide rides and services)
While MMBC does privately lease, fund, and operate the West Maui Bike Park in Napili for free public use, it is important to emphasize that the Cycle Strong program is designed as a mobile initiative. The grant we have requested is specifically intended to fund a mobile bike clinic, including the purchase of a trailer and additional bikes.
The rationale for this mobile model is rooted in our commitment to equity and access: For many of Maui’s youth, the lack of reliable transportation is a significant hurdle to participating in healthy recreational activities. By utilizing a mobile trailer, we can travel directly to schools, youth sites, and underserved neighborhoods biking instruction to the students where they are.
We believe that this mobile outreach is the most effective way to reach our target goals of serving hundreds of students annually through school-based clinics.
Thank you for your time and for your consideration of this program, which we believe will foster stronger community connections and resilience for our youth.