To the Chair and Members of the Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee, Council of the County of Maui:

The undersigned hereby formally protests the closure of public testimony at today's reconvened session.

I. LEGAL BASIS

HRS § 92-3 requires all meetings of a board be open to the public. HRS § 92-3.7 contains no provision permitting the blanket closure of testimony at a reconvened session. The Public Meeting Notice for today's session lists eComment and written testimony as available means of participation, creating a reasonable expectation among the public that testimony would be received.

HRS § 92-2.5 provides that the right of the public to participate in the deliberations of boards is a fundamental right. This session reconvened three (3) calendar days after the original meeting. Members of the public unable to attend on April 10, 2026 have been effectively denied that statutory right.

II. PREJUDICE TO THE PUBLIC

The matter before the Committee (the proposed FY 2027 Budget, including Bills 55–64 (2026) and Resolution 26-63) is among the most consequential legislative action the County undertakes annually. Foreclosing public comment without consistent notice is prejudicial to the public interest and contrary to the transparency the Sunshine Law is designed to protect.

III. REQUEST FOR RELIEF

The undersigned respectfully requests that the Committee:

1. Reopen public testimony for the duration of today's session; and

2. Preserve this protest in the official record of the proceedings.

Failure to address this objection may subject any action taken at today's session to legal challenge.

Respectfully submitted,

Travis Liggett, M.S.
+1 (808) 291-9934
April 13, 2026
9:33 a.m. HT

As a Maui resident, I ask the Committee to slow down and look at what this budget actually means in the real lives of the people paying for it.

Maui County is now operating at roughly a billion-dollar annual budget, yet residents continue to experience the same daily problems: slow permitting, infrastructure failures, flooding in known areas, and basic services that move at a government pace while the cost of living continues to rise.

This agenda includes authorization of nearly $196 million in new general obligation bonds (Bill 57). Borrowing that level of money may look routine in government, but to residents it means something very simple: future taxes. Every bond the County issues becomes a long-term obligation that must be repaid by the public. Before approving that amount of debt, residents deserve a clear list of which projects are truly essential and which are simply additions to an already expanding government footprint.

The Capital Improvement Program through 2032 (Bill 56) also deserves scrutiny. Maui residents have watched capital projects appear on county lists year after year while little actually gets built on the ground. Listing projects is easy. Delivering them is the real test of government competence. The public should see realistic timelines and accountability for projects that have been sitting in planning stages for years.

The operating budget (Bill 55) is equally concerning. With spending at this scale, residents should see clear improvements in basic county functions. Instead, people still struggle with permitting delays that slow housing construction, infrastructure problems that worsen flooding and road conditions, and departments that regularly claim staffing shortages while the overall budget continues to grow.

Fuel tax decisions (Resolution 26-63) also affect residents immediately. On an island where driving is not optional, higher transportation costs ripple through the entire economy. They increase the cost of groceries, services, and everyday life. Any change in fuel tax rates should be clearly tied to road maintenance and transportation improvements that residents can actually see.

Finally, the proposed fiscal reserve fund (Bill 61) could be a responsible step if it is designed with strict rules and transparency. However, without clear guardrails, reserve funds risk becoming another place where public money is stored without clear accountability.

Residents are paying more every year to live on this island. At the same time, many people feel that government results are not improving. Before moving this budget forward, the Council should demonstrate that every major spending decision is tied to real improvements in infrastructure, housing capacity, and the daily lives of Maui residents.

Mahalo for the opportunity to provide testimony.
Edward Codelia