Hawaii County Council advances bill to keep its homeless and housing fund running through June 2029
The council voted 7 to 2 on Oct. 7 to pass Bill 192 on first reading. It extends a rule that sets aside at least $9 million a year in property tax revenue for housing and homelessness programs, and now lets the money go to county programs as well as nonprofit grants.
Hilo. Hawaii County would keep setting aside at least $9 million a year in property tax revenue for housing and homelessness programs until June 30, 2029, two years longer than the law now allows, under a bill the County Council passed on first reading on Oct. 7. The vote was 7 to 2.
Bill 192, introduced by Council Chair Holeka Inaba, amends the county's real property tax code. The money comes from the higher tax rates the county charges on residential property with a net taxable value of $2 million or more and no home exemption. Under the current code, the requirement to spend it on housing and homelessness ends June 30, 2027. Council Members Matt Kaneali'i-Kleinfelder and Dennis Onishi, the vice chair, voted no, the council's record of the meeting shows.
What changes for nonprofits
The programs are run by the county's housing administrator, Kehaulani Costa. A summary report Mr. Inaba sent the council in September says about $11 million was awarded across 19 projects in the fund's third year, from Feb. 1, 2025, through Jan. 31, 2026. The fund has awarded more than $33.5 million since it began as a pilot in 2022, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and Big Island Now reported.
The version that reached the floor said the money "shall be awarded through grants to qualified nonprofit organizations." The council amended it on Oct. 7. The bill as passed says funds "may be used for County programs and initiatives or awarded to qualified nonprofit organizations through grants or other authorized procurement methods." The amendment also removed housing development, preservation and rehabilitation from the list of uses and added relocation services. Money left at the end of a fiscal year would carry forward instead of lapsing.
An audit still pending
At the Finance Committee's Sept. 15 meeting, Mr. Onishi said he could not support the bill until he could review the audit report on the fund, the committee's report says. Maxine Pacheco, an audit analyst with the county auditor, told the committee the audit would be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Most people who testified on Oct. 7 supported the extension, among them grant recipients Big Island Substance Abuse Council, Going Home Hawaii and Project Vision Hawaii, the Tribune-Herald reported. Les Estrella, president and chief executive of Going Home Hawaii, which helps formerly incarcerated people return home, said it received 260 referrals in Hilo and Kona in the first six months of the year and housed 91 people, according to the paper.
The bill still needs a second and final reading, which Big Island Now reported was expected in two weeks. It would take effect upon its approval, the bill says.
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