I am testifying today solely in my personal capacity as a constituent. I do not represent any business or other organization in this testimony.
In the context of today’s discussions affecting residents of South Maui and the entire County, please consider the attached proposed ordinance and work with the Mayor to obtain the written request required for a budget amendment/ transfer.
The legislation would advance the R-1 (municipal wastewater disinfection) compliance deadline established by Ordinance 5592 (2024) from January 1, 2039, to January 1, 2034, and appropriate $1.8 million in FY2027 for CBS-1169 design, engineering, permitting, and bid documents. This budget amendment request is limited to CBS-1169 design work. If there is some way to work this vision for improved community and ecosystem health outcomes into the S. Maui plan, please do that.
The reappropriation would be offset by an equal reduction in police operations and equipment with the rationale that this measure would comprise a form of self-policing on behalf of the County, to meet implicit or explicit legal requirements and public expectations surrounding sanitation, while reducing disease pathways that are linked to behaviors and choices that can lead to crime, reducing the need for enforcement in the first place. Instead of “defunding” the police, the idea is to “refund” our scarce resources to areas that prevent long term systemic processes that increase disease, harm and connected rates of individual instability.
The adopted FY2027 budget identifies $650,000 for investigative cameras and license-plate readers that are very unpopular in the constituency. The attached draft therefore prioritizes reappropriation of that available camera funding, including any Flock expenditures in that account, and takes the balance from other discretionary, nonpersonnel spending within the same police program. If the entire $650,000 is available, the remaining reduction to pay for the UV design work would be $1.15 million. Finance could verify the unencumbered funds and identify the affected accounts.
I give you my word: I will work my tail off to find donors to fund all construction and installation costs for both the Wailuku-Kahului WWRF R-1 UV disinfection upgrade, CBS-1169, and the Kihei WWRF ultraviolet disinfection project, CBS-5031. That is my personal commitment to pursue and secure donor support. I am not representing that those funds are already committed or personally guaranteeing payment. I will pursue that support in compliance with applicable charitable and nonprofit laws and any requirements governing the County's acceptance and use of donations. My pledge concerns these public projects and is independent of any campaign or election outcome.
The documentary record concerning the delay in funding design work for CBS-1169 deserves a direct response. Following Director Agawa's budget-season testimony explanation for scheduling CBS-1169 design investment no earlier than FY2028, I requested the factual inputs, calculations, analyses, and scheduling information supporting that decision. On July 30, 2026, he wrote:
"In response to your April 7, 2026 records request, the Department of Environmental Management has no responsive records to your request."
That statement conclusively establishes DEM's reported response to my request: no responsive records. It does not establish that no operational reasons existed, while casting doubt on the idea that delay is not something that can be worked through with strategy.
I consider this a generational, lifesaving public-health issue. My public-safety priorities include preventing infections, reducing mental-health distress and instability, and keeping more people out of crisis and incarceration. Investing in wastewater disinfection belongs in that discussion. These are the outcomes I wish public spending to advance.
You have an opportunity to help create a legacy that can heal and protect generations. Advancing these projects could also strengthen your case with voters in November, or lay the groundwork for a successor. Whatever the election outcome, the community would benefit from earlier design work and a clear path toward better treatment. That is the win-win I am asking you to help make possible.
Please move this proposal into Council and Corporation Counsel review, secure the Mayor's participation, and identify the funds needed to start CBS-1169 design in FY2027.
If you can find a way to work this system-level vision for advancing public and ecosystem health into the S. Maui Community Plan, please consider that.
Mahalo,
Travis A. Liggett, MS
Personal constituent capacity
+1(808) 291-9934
I am testifying today solely in my personal capacity as a constituent. I do not represent any business or other organization in this testimony.
In the context of today’s discussions affecting residents of South Maui and the entire County, please consider the attached proposed ordinance and work with the Mayor to obtain the written request required for a budget amendment/ transfer.
The legislation would advance the R-1 (municipal wastewater disinfection) compliance deadline established by Ordinance 5592 (2024) from January 1, 2039, to January 1, 2034, and appropriate $1.8 million in FY2027 for CBS-1169 design, engineering, permitting, and bid documents. This budget amendment request is limited to CBS-1169 design work. If there is some way to work this vision for improved community and ecosystem health outcomes into the S. Maui plan, please do that.
The reappropriation would be offset by an equal reduction in police operations and equipment with the rationale that this measure would comprise a form of self-policing on behalf of the County, to meet implicit or explicit legal requirements and public expectations surrounding sanitation, while reducing disease pathways that are linked to behaviors and choices that can lead to crime, reducing the need for enforcement in the first place. Instead of “defunding” the police, the idea is to “refund” our scarce resources to areas that prevent long term systemic processes that increase disease, harm and connected rates of individual instability.
The adopted FY2027 budget identifies $650,000 for investigative cameras and license-plate readers that are very unpopular in the constituency. The attached draft therefore prioritizes reappropriation of that available camera funding, including any Flock expenditures in that account, and takes the balance from other discretionary, nonpersonnel spending within the same police program. If the entire $650,000 is available, the remaining reduction to pay for the UV design work would be $1.15 million. Finance could verify the unencumbered funds and identify the affected accounts.
I give you my word: I will work my tail off to find donors to fund all construction and installation costs for both the Wailuku-Kahului WWRF R-1 UV disinfection upgrade, CBS-1169, and the Kihei WWRF ultraviolet disinfection project, CBS-5031. That is my personal commitment to pursue and secure donor support. I am not representing that those funds are already committed or personally guaranteeing payment. I will pursue that support in compliance with applicable charitable and nonprofit laws and any requirements governing the County's acceptance and use of donations. My pledge concerns these public projects and is independent of any campaign or election outcome.
The documentary record concerning the delay in funding design work for CBS-1169 deserves a direct response. Following Director Agawa's budget-season testimony explanation for scheduling CBS-1169 design investment no earlier than FY2028, I requested the factual inputs, calculations, analyses, and scheduling information supporting that decision. On July 30, 2026, he wrote:
"In response to your April 7, 2026 records request, the Department of Environmental Management has no responsive records to your request."
That statement conclusively establishes DEM's reported response to my request: no responsive records. It does not establish that no operational reasons existed, while casting doubt on the idea that delay is not something that can be worked through with strategy.
I consider this a generational, lifesaving public-health issue. My public-safety priorities include preventing infections, reducing mental-health distress and instability, and keeping more people out of crisis and incarceration. Investing in wastewater disinfection belongs in that discussion. These are the outcomes I wish public spending to advance.
You have an opportunity to help create a legacy that can heal and protect generations. Advancing these projects could also strengthen your case with voters in November, or lay the groundwork for a successor. Whatever the election outcome, the community would benefit from earlier design work and a clear path toward better treatment. That is the win-win I am asking you to help make possible.
Please move this proposal into Council and Corporation Counsel review, secure the Mayor's participation, and identify the funds needed to start CBS-1169 design in FY2027.
If you can find a way to work this system-level vision for advancing public and ecosystem health into the S. Maui Community Plan, please consider that.
Mahalo,
Travis A. Liggett, MS
Personal constituent capacity
+1(808) 291-9934
Aloha Esteemed Chair Paltin and Commitee Members,
I am testifying today solely in my personal capacity as a constituent. I do not represent any business or other organization in this testimony.
In the context of today’s discussions affecting residents of South Maui and the entire County, please consider the attached proposed ordinance and work with the Mayor to obtain the written request required for a budget amendment/ transfer.
The legislation would advance the R-1 (municipal wastewater disinfection) compliance deadline established by Ordinance 5592 (2024) from January 1, 2039, to January 1, 2034, and appropriate $1.8 million in FY2027 for CBS-1169 design, engineering, permitting, and bid documents. This budget amendment request is limited to CBS-1169 design work. If there is some way to work this vision for improved community and ecosystem health outcomes into the S. Maui plan, please do that.
The reappropriation would be offset by an equal reduction in police operations and equipment with the rationale that this measure would comprise a form of self-policing on behalf of the County, to meet implicit or explicit legal requirements and public expectations surrounding sanitation, while reducing disease pathways that are linked to behaviors and choices that can lead to crime, reducing the need for enforcement in the first place. Instead of “defunding” the police, the idea is to “refund” our scarce resources to areas that prevent long term systemic processes that increase disease, harm and connected rates of individual instability.
The adopted FY2027 budget identifies $650,000 for investigative cameras and license-plate readers that are very unpopular in the constituency. The attached draft therefore prioritizes reappropriation of that available camera funding, including any Flock expenditures in that account, and takes the balance from other discretionary, nonpersonnel spending within the same police program. If the entire $650,000 is available, the remaining reduction to pay for the UV design work would be $1.15 million. Finance could verify the unencumbered funds and identify the affected accounts.
I give you my word: I will work my tail off to find donors to fund all construction and installation costs for both the Wailuku-Kahului WWRF R-1 UV disinfection upgrade, CBS-1169, and the Kihei WWRF ultraviolet disinfection project, CBS-5031. That is my personal commitment to pursue and secure donor support. I am not representing that those funds are already committed or personally guaranteeing payment. I will pursue that support in compliance with applicable charitable and nonprofit laws and any requirements governing the County's acceptance and use of donations. My pledge concerns these public projects and is independent of any campaign or election outcome.
The documentary record concerning the delay in funding design work for CBS-1169 deserves a direct response. Following Director Agawa's budget-season testimony explanation for scheduling CBS-1169 design investment no earlier than FY2028, I requested the factual inputs, calculations, analyses, and scheduling information supporting that decision. On July 30, 2026, he wrote:
"In response to your April 7, 2026 records request, the Department of Environmental Management has no responsive records to your request."
That statement conclusively establishes DEM's reported response to my request: no responsive records. It does not establish that no operational reasons existed, while casting doubt on the idea that delay is not something that can be worked through with strategy.
I consider this a generational, lifesaving public-health issue. My public-safety priorities include preventing infections, reducing mental-health distress and instability, and keeping more people out of crisis and incarceration. Investing in wastewater disinfection belongs in that discussion. These are the outcomes I wish public spending to advance.
You have an opportunity to help create a legacy that can heal and protect generations. Advancing these projects could also strengthen your case with voters in November, or lay the groundwork for a successor. Whatever the election outcome, the community would benefit from earlier design work and a clear path toward better treatment. That is the win-win I am asking you to help make possible.
Please move this proposal into Council and Corporation Counsel review, secure the Mayor's participation, and identify the funds needed to start CBS-1169 design in FY2027.
If you can find a way to work this system-level vision for advancing public and ecosystem health into the S. Maui Community Plan, please consider that.
Mahalo,
Travis A. Liggett, MS
Personal constituent capacity
+1(808) 291-9934
REFERENCES
Proposed bill:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N5TINlL2F0oeI_0WW8QG5qmMKSYXIYi1
CBS-1169:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xwbgIAW_veMLCOSmte39MMxc53xQ8OQd
CBS-5031:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XNejEDNj7wylaJM9FRPw6WeS9-u6M2g1
FlushAware.com
kaiaction.org
Aloha Esteemed Chair Paltin and Commitee Members,
I am testifying today solely in my personal capacity as a constituent. I do not represent any business or other organization in this testimony.
In the context of today’s discussions affecting residents of South Maui and the entire County, please consider the attached proposed ordinance and work with the Mayor to obtain the written request required for a budget amendment/ transfer.
The legislation would advance the R-1 (municipal wastewater disinfection) compliance deadline established by Ordinance 5592 (2024) from January 1, 2039, to January 1, 2034, and appropriate $1.8 million in FY2027 for CBS-1169 design, engineering, permitting, and bid documents. This budget amendment request is limited to CBS-1169 design work. If there is some way to work this vision for improved community and ecosystem health outcomes into the S. Maui plan, please do that.
The reappropriation would be offset by an equal reduction in police operations and equipment with the rationale that this measure would comprise a form of self-policing on behalf of the County, to meet implicit or explicit legal requirements and public expectations surrounding sanitation, while reducing disease pathways that are linked to behaviors and choices that can lead to crime, reducing the need for enforcement in the first place. Instead of “defunding” the police, the idea is to “refund” our scarce resources to areas that prevent long term systemic processes that increase disease, harm and connected rates of individual instability.
The adopted FY2027 budget identifies $650,000 for investigative cameras and license-plate readers that are very unpopular in the constituency. The attached draft therefore prioritizes reappropriation of that available camera funding, including any Flock expenditures in that account, and takes the balance from other discretionary, nonpersonnel spending within the same police program. If the entire $650,000 is available, the remaining reduction to pay for the UV design work would be $1.15 million. Finance could verify the unencumbered funds and identify the affected accounts.
I give you my word: I will work my tail off to find donors to fund all construction and installation costs for both the Wailuku-Kahului WWRF R-1 UV disinfection upgrade, CBS-1169, and the Kihei WWRF ultraviolet disinfection project, CBS-5031. That is my personal commitment to pursue and secure donor support. I am not representing that those funds are already committed or personally guaranteeing payment. I will pursue that support in compliance with applicable charitable and nonprofit laws and any requirements governing the County's acceptance and use of donations. My pledge concerns these public projects and is independent of any campaign or election outcome.
The documentary record concerning the delay in funding design work for CBS-1169 deserves a direct response. Following Director Agawa's budget-season testimony explanation for scheduling CBS-1169 design investment no earlier than FY2028, I requested the factual inputs, calculations, analyses, and scheduling information supporting that decision. On July 30, 2026, he wrote:
"In response to your April 7, 2026 records request, the Department of Environmental Management has no responsive records to your request."
That statement conclusively establishes DEM's reported response to my request: no responsive records. It does not establish that no operational reasons existed, while casting doubt on the idea that delay is not something that can be worked through with strategy.
I consider this a generational, lifesaving public-health issue. My public-safety priorities include preventing infections, reducing mental-health distress and instability, and keeping more people out of crisis and incarceration. Investing in wastewater disinfection belongs in that discussion. These are the outcomes I wish public spending to advance.
You have an opportunity to help create a legacy that can heal and protect generations. Advancing these projects could also strengthen your case with voters in November, or lay the groundwork for a successor. Whatever the election outcome, the community would benefit from earlier design work and a clear path toward better treatment. That is the win-win I am asking you to help make possible.
Please move this proposal into Council and Corporation Counsel review, secure the Mayor's participation, and identify the funds needed to start CBS-1169 design in FY2027.
If you can find a way to work this system-level vision for advancing public and ecosystem health into the S. Maui Community Plan, please consider that.
Mahalo,
Travis A. Liggett, MS
Personal constituent capacity
+1(808) 291-9934
REFERENCES
Proposed bill:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N5TINlL2F0oeI_0WW8QG5qmMKSYXIYi1
CBS-1169:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xwbgIAW_veMLCOSmte39MMxc53xQ8OQd
CBS-5031:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XNejEDNj7wylaJM9FRPw6WeS9-u6M2g1
FlushAware.com
kaiaction.org