At the Upcountry residency hearing, multiple residents and tenant advocates asked the Maui County Council to avoid budget cuts to social services and to bolster housing‑related supports, including rental assistance, rent stabilization and higher property taxes on non‑owner‑occupied high‑value properties.

Elizabeth Ray and Alan Lloyd urged the council to increase property taxes on parcels assessed at $1,000,000 and above and to consider a higher tier for non‑owner‑occupied properties worth $10,000,000 or more. Ray said many owners of high‑value properties “don’t even live here full time and don’t pay Hawaii income tax,” and called for non‑owner‑occupied properties to pay higher rates.

Alan Lloyd, a representative of the Maui Tenant and Workers Association, asked the council to avoid cuts to programs such as Makawao Head Start and to add funds to rental and food assistance. He also urged the council to remove barriers to existing rental assistance programs; he cited income‑eligibility cutoffs that can exclude families who still face unaffordable rents.

Lloyd and other witnesses pressed for rent stabilization, citing steep rent increases after recent fires. Lloyd noted an example where a three‑bedroom unit briefly rented for $6,000 after the fires before falling to $3,500, which he said remained “way higher than before.” Witnesses argued the county should not reduce safety‑net services during a period of higher demand.

Speakers provided comparative figures. In testimony, Lloyd said Maui’s property tax on a $1,000,000 assessed home is about $5,870 annually and compared it to an Oregon example of $8,700 annually for similarly assessed property. The council did not take any immediate action at the residency meeting; witnesses asked the committee to consider these priorities in the FY2026 budget deliberations.