Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Optimistic
Maui mayor
boosts spending

Mayor Apana expects the county
to collect more property tax
revenue but will not raise tax rates

By Gary T. Kubota
Maui correspondent

WAILUKU -- Maui County Mayor James Apana plans to raise spending in the coming fiscal year by $1.6 million but is not increasing property tax rates.

His administration is also not increasing fees, except for the filing fees for shoreline development permits.

Apana sees property tax revenues increasing in fiscal 2000-2001 because of a larger tax base, with close to $300 million in residential and commercial construction occurring or scheduled.

"In short, Maui County is on the move again," Apana said in a budget speech to be delivered today. "I am proud to be able to report to you that the state of Maui County is strong, increasingly robust, and that our optimism for the future is unbridled."

Apana's $213.3 million budget includes $26.5 million in capital improvements, up from $21.2 million last year.

Apana wants to add several positions to the payroll, including six firefighters in rural Hana.

The mayor said the additional firefighters will eliminate the need for a firefighting crew to be dispatched from Central Maui -- a nearly two-hour drive -- and reduce the cost of fire insurance for Hana residents and businesses.

He proposes $2.9 million to develop a real property tax computer system.

Apana said in the past, the county has relied upon Honolulu for tax services.

But he said it will be necessary in the future for Maui to have its own system and add more efficiency in assessing properties and collecting payments.

To comply with a consent decree, the county is planning to spend $781,000 to improve wheelchair accessibility at county facilities.

County officials also propose spending $1 million to increase the reuse of treated sewage water to irrigate properties within the Kaanapali Resort.

The county also plans to spend $6 million to improve the capacity of the Wailuku-Kahului sewage treatment facility.

Apana has proposed establishing a trust fund, in which private contributions could be made to market and develop the high technology industry on Maui.

He said his administration has worked to attract high-technology firms to Maui, and he was pleased with a plan by Micro Gaia Inc. to invest $10 million to $20 million to develop a microalgae plant on Maui.