Government & Community Affairs

Munekiyo Hiraga is known for its depth of experience in the area of governmental processes. Every day, we engage in issues regarding legislative and policy initiatives, and community collaboration.

Our approach to work in government and community affairs is founded on our mission statement, “Excellence in Process Management”. Strategic programming, forthright dialogue, and transparency in process form the philosophical underpinning for undertaking each assignment. We honor civil discourse as it defines the path to common ground.

Legislative Analysis and Strategy

In order to ensure that our clients fully understand the legislative and policy proposals that impact them, our team carefully reviews and analyzes each piece of relevant documentation, as well as attends associated legislative, rule-making and community input proceedings.

We then work with clients to develop appropriate responses for process engagement, which may include preparing testimony, meeting with appropriate governmental officials, and collaborating with other clients sharing similar interests.

The Maui County General Plan Update program is an example of Munekiyo Hiraga’s role in process engagement.  The General Plan is an outstanding tool for guiding the long term vision of Maui County; however, the process of updating the plan involved complex planning issues and concepts. We worked with individuals, small businesses, and landowners to facilitate understanding of these issues and concepts to support the public participation objectives of the General Plan Update process.

Community Collaboration

The second and equally important part of government and community affairs services is our work with community action initiatives that involve planning issues and concerns. Our long-standing familiarity with community participation principles and local issues, in addition to our solid relationships with special key organizations and individuals, help facilitate open discussions and bring about positive outcomes.

Specific tasks in this area include arranging meetings with individuals and groups to solicit input and address concerns about planning and land use matters. Where specialized work in community/media and/or mediation is needed, we will offer recommendations to ensure that the dialogue continues without interruption.

Recent projects involving community coordination include the Ka’anapali 2020 master plan process and Wainee Affordable Housing community input process.