Councilmember Tasha Kama

Today I join my fellow Councilmembers in beginning the annual County Budget deliberations by reviewing the Mayor's proposal. The primary revenue source for the County of Maui remains real property taxes, which support the General Fund. In turn, the General Fund includes the operating funds for the majority of county departments including Fire & Public Safety, Housing & Human Concerns, Police, Parks & Recreation and a portion of Public Works. The Budget document, once finalize...d, is a policy document, operations guide, financial plan and communication device. It is designed to guide the day-to-day operations of the County in providing facilities, services, programs and infrastructure including fresh water, wastewater treatment and roads. If you would like to provide testimony on the Budget discussions, you can submit your comments online by visiting https://mauicounty.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and selecting the BFED committee's "eComment" link. And if you would like to personally share with me some of your priorities for the County's budget, please leave a voicemail at my office at 270-5501 or send me an email at [email protected]. To view past and current Budget documents, including the Mayor's FY22 $828.9 million Budget Proposal that was presented to the Council last week, visit https://mauicounty.gov/1896/Budget-Documents-Ordinances #workingtogether #mauinuistrong County of Maui Maui County Council Maui Chamber

NEW FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL & MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE: An additional $900K has been released from the County's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) fund to assist moderate-income individuals and families that have not received rental or mortgage assistance through any other federally funded program in the last year. The program offers rental assistance of up to $1,000 per month and mortgage assistance of up to $1,500 per month over a three-month period.... For more information or to apply, visit: https://www.meoinc.org//community-servi/rental-assistance/ The CDBG COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program is administered by Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO). The latest funding increases the program's total funding to nearly $1.8 million. MEO, a private non-profit community action agency established in 1965, has been working tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of our community members most impacted by the pandemic. I am honored to serve on the MEO Board of Directors, and am grateful for the exceptional contributions of the agency's leadership, staff and volunteers. #MAHALO #mauinuistrong #workingtogether Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. County of Maui Maui County Council

Today, March 26th, we celebrate the birthday of Prince Jonah Khi Kalanianaole. He was born in Kukui‘ula, Kloa on the island of Kauai, and attended school on O'ahu. He traveled and was further educated on the Mainland and in the United Kingdom, where he graduated from a business school and later demonstrated surfing on the beaches of Bridlington in northern England. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, Prince Khi served a one-year jail term for treason ...after joining the Wilcox rebellion against the Republic of Hawai'i. He was active in the Home Rule Party of Hawai'i, which represented native Hawaiians fighting for Hawaiian independence. Prince Khi became a representative in the Territory of Hawai'i as a delegate to the U.S. Congress- the only member of Congress born into royalty. He won a total of ten elections, during which time he helped create the county system still in place in Hawai'i. Khi lobbied strongly for Hawai'i's ability to vote on women's suffrage on the local level, and founded the first Hawaiian Civic Club in 1918. Much more could be said about the legacy of this Hawaiian leader; I encourage you to take a moment to learn about his accomplishments and contributions. #princecupid #Hawaiianyouthsabroad 'Iolani School Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Kahekili Chapter IV

OHA GRANT FUNDS ANNOUNCED; DEADLINE IS 4/16 The Office of Hawaiian Affairs announced today the release of two grant solicitations totaling $750,000 to provide needed support and assistance to the Native Hawaiian community. OHA has committed $250,000 to a Native Hawaiian Teacher Education and Professional Development grant designed to increase teacher recruitment and retention in Hawaiian immersion and Hawaiian-focused public charter schools. OHA has also committed $500,000 t...o OHA’s Klia grant program, designed to improve the lives of Native Hawaiian individuals, families and communities in alignment with OHA’s strategic plan framework. Applications are being solicited from nonprofit organizations that administer community-based projects designed to strengthen Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, families, and communities. Grant awards will run from $50,000 to $175,000 for the Native Hawaiian Teacher Education and Professional Development grant while Klia grant awards will range from $25,000 to $100,000. The grant application deadline for both solicitations is April 16, 2021. For more information and to view/download the online application, visit https://www.oha.org/grants.

TWO IMPORTANT EVENTS HAPPENING NOW: 4:30 P.M. Virtual Town Hall Mtg - Ka'ahumanu Corridor https://www.kaahumanucommunitycorridor.org/get-involved - Explore opportunities to make traveling Ka'ahumanu Avenue and Main Street more comfortable and safer, whether you walk, roll, bike, take the bus or drive.... 6:00 P.M. Public Hearing on "Bill 10" - a proposal that seeks to require 201H housing projects to increase the percentage of dwelling units at very low, low, below-moderate, moderate and above-moderate income households from 50% to 75%. You are welcome to provide testimony online via the BlueJeans app (https://maui.bluejeans.com/295235670) or just listen in on Akaku Ch. 53.