Hawaii County has agreed to pay $135,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by two former employees who said former county officials besmirched their reputations by telling a newspaper they’d been fired.

Of the nine County Council seats up for election this year, all but two incumbents have drawn challengers, with just two weeks remaining before the June 7 filing deadline.

Two council members are looking to fine-tune the structure of administrative offices to better respond to constituent concerns.

Hawaii County Council members seem to prefer a cautious approach to county spending, despite a budget windfall that has Mayor Mitch Roth proposing a $779.7 million spending plan, a 27.8% increase over the current year.

A bill adding eligible programs for county housing funds was passed on final reading Wednesday by the County Council, but a companion measure proposing a charter amendment to lock in funding was shot down by a council majority.

A bill capping property assessments could lead to an unfair balance between East Hawaii and West Hawaii, administration officials warned the County Council Finance Committee as a bill aiming to put a 15% ceiling on most commercial classes of property was postponed for the second time.

It’s more difficult to get a construction project rolling in Hawaii County than anywhere else in the nation, according to a report released last month.

Property values are up dramatically, there’s a record high $779.7 million budget in the works and the County Council, for the first time in decades, is considering lowering the tax rates.

The county Board of Ethics on Wednesday dismissed a complaint against Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen by a group opposing vaccines, masks and other pandemic protocols who said Waltjen ignored their petitions and compilations of documents they assert prove their case.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the nonprofit environmental law organization that successfully sued Maui County are watching how Hawaii County plans to handle similar wastewater discharge issues.

Hawaii Supreme Court justices have released their opinions on why they voted as they did in a divided ruling that dismissed a challenge to how the state Reapportionment Commission determined boundary lines for state legislative districts.

The County Council’s commitment to subsidize affordable housing was expanded last week to include moderate-income families making up to 120% of the average median income, meaning a family of three earning up to $92,520 annually could qualify for a two-bedroom home costing up to $539,000.

Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration is recommending a rollback in property tax rates for almost all property classes, following updated assessments showing an additional $23 million on top of the $45.4 million increase estimated in March.

A deadlocked County Council on Wednesday put the brakes on any relief from the county gas tax this year, even after the measure’s sponsor tried to make the plan more palatable by adding a deadline limiting the 10-cent per gallon discount to eight months.

There will be no property tax credit for homeowners this year, and in fact, there’s very little chance property owners in any tax category will see their tax bills go down, following advice Tuesday from the county Corporation Counsel and Finance Department director.

A former building inspector trainee is suing the county Department of Public Works, saying she was discriminated against and unlawfully terminated in retaliation after she reported what she saw as wrongdoing in the department.

Hawaii County’s fuel tax revenues have been coming in higher than expected, and in some cases, faster than the county can spend them.

The county was in error 23 years ago when it started charging owners of a historic home on Alii Drive two sewer fees instead of one, the county Environmental Management Commission said Wednesday.

Water rate increases are on tap for Big Island customers, with consecutive 9.5% increases in standby and usage charges this year and next.

A pair of bills moving through the County Council will carve out 1% of property tax revenues each year and dedicate the money to an expanded range of programs to increase affordable housing.