Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami delivered his seventh state of the county address Thursday, unveiling a $488 million spending plan that prioritizes the nuts and bolts of government services over flashy new investments.

Kawakami’s fiscal year 2026 budget for Kaua‘i County gives $348 million to the county’s operating budget and $140 million for capital improvement projects, including new affordable housing construction; improvements to roads, bridges and aging facilities; and wastewater system upgrades.

The mayor’s budget proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1 also sets out to expand Kauaʻi’s only municipal landfill, speed up the building permit process and overhaul the county’s archaic accounting system.

Kawakami’s proposal marks a more than 8% spending increase from fiscal year 2025’s $449 million budget, which included a $345 million operating budget and $104 million for capital improvements. 

The mayor laid out his priorities for the coming year this way: Investing in county workers, stewarding the island and funding programs for residents. Roughly 75% of the general fund budget goes toward employee salaries and benefits, he said.

There’s no infrastructure project more important to Kauaʻi than expanding the life of the Kekaha Landfill, Kawakami said, and the county is working hard to buy more time as it approaches maximum capacity in 2027. Meanwhile, county officials are still sleuthing to find the island’s 90,000 tons of annual waste a new final resting place — a search that’s still at square one after nearly two decades.

Kawakami announced a $16 million investment in a new twin-engine helicopter for fire suppression and rescues. Last year’s wildfire that threatened West Kauaʻi’s Kaumakani Camp, but ultimately left homes in the former plantation village unscathed, displayed a need for improved firefighting capability, the mayor said. The county currently has a single-engine helicopter purchased in 2011.

Other projects on tap: A new plan to guide East Kauaʻi land use and housing development, a public-private partnership to create a transportation hub with an airport shuttle and vehicle shares and designing a sports and recreation area at the Waimea 400 housing project site. The county is also looking to redesign Kauaʻi’s only emergency shelter with more beds and new transitional apartments.

The county workforce is expanding with three additional road crew positions and a new early childhood coordinator to help the county reach its goal of providing on-site childcare for employees amid a shortage of daycare providers preventing parents of young children from working. Developing on-site childcare for county employees is another big-ticket budget priority that Kawakami said his administration continues to strive to achieve.

Recruitment remains a problem for county positions and the mayor urged federal workers who’ve lost jobs to Trump administration cuts to apply for openings.

Recapping progress made by the county during the first two years of his four-year term, Kawakami pointed to the Agency on Elderly Affairs’ budget, which he said has tripled to expand in-home services, meals and transportation for kūpuna.

With affordable housing planning and construction underway for developments in Waimea, ‘Ele‘ele, Puhi and Kīlauea, the county is now the island’s affordable housing developer, Kawakami said.

The mayor also highlighted improvements underway at refuse transfer stations and the recent opening of a new Kapaʻa satellite DMV.