After years of capitulating to the allure of property tax income from short-term rentals (STRs) and lax enforcement against unpermitted and unregistered STRs, the consequences have caught up with Maui County. With 3,700 structures, mostly homes, wiped out in Lahaina by the wildfires of Aug. 8, Maui is now desperate for housing. That’s forced the county to confront the fact that while fire survivors seeking longterm shelter on island remain desperately adrift, adding to an already-present housing crisis, a thriving short-term rental sector chugs merrily along.

On Tuesday, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen proposed that Maui offer tax incentives to STR owners who open units up to fire evacuees for at least 18 months, and said he was submitting bills to the Maui County Council to do so. The Council must now act, working with the mayor to get hundreds of families who have lost homes in the West Maui fires out of hotel rooms and into more suitable longterm shelter.

Bill 131, up for public hearing by the Maui Council on Tuesday, would completely exempt owners of STRs, timeshares and other “non-owner-­occupied” homes not currently rented out longterm from paying property taxes, on the condition that the units are rented for at minimum 18 months to the fire-displaced. On average, that amounts to a $10,000 tax savings — a generous incentive to help, in addition to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s guarantee of generous rent payments that also sweeten the pot.

The second part of Bissen’s proposal has yet to be introduced: imposing higher property tax rates on the same types of owners with properties assessed above $1 million, who do not offer long-term rentals (LTRs) to Maui’s displaced. “I believe that a shared sacrifice is necessary at this time,” the mayor said, and he’s right.

Both the carrot (tax breaks) and stick (tax hikes) included in Bissen’s proposal are legitimate, under the circumstances. They also represent a drastic — but necessary — turnaround from past approaches on Maui, which have bowed, over the years, to the arguments of the real estate and short-term rental lobbies.

Gov. Josh Green called Maui’s proposed tax changes “eye-popping” — and that they are, since for every 1,000 STRs converted to housing for the displaced, approximately $10 million in county tax revenue will be zapped.

It’s not yet clear how the Maui Council will react. But the need is urgent, and time is short: Green targets Feb. 1 as a date when tax changes would take effect. FEMA’s initial contract to fund housing for the displaced expires in February, as does the Red Cross contract to manage housing placement. Both can be renewed, but should create a sense of urgency, along with recognition that federal aid won’t last indefinitely.

So far, few Maui STR owners have come forward, Green said, even with FEMA rental payments of $5,000 to $7,000 per month for a one- to three-bedroom unit. The money’s part of it — a studio or one-bedroom condo can easily fetch $6,000 to $9,000 a month — but STR owners also have the flexibility to use units themselves when desired.

However, in this post-disaster emergency situation Maui finds itself in, neither profit nor convenience for STR owners or heightened tax income for the county can be top priorities. The Lahaina fire wiped out housing for about 2,400 families, including more than 1,800 renter households, who are most likely to be sheltered in hotel rooms now.

Green, who estimates that Maui has more than 8,000 legal vacation rentals and another 7,000 illegal units, said he is in talks with Maui County on more steps the county and state can take together to encourage conversions of STRs to long-term rentals. He hopes to see at least 2,000 landlords convert to LTRs by early next year.

Should Bissen’s proposals not open the needed number of long-term rentals, there are more levers that can be pulled. Meeting with Star-Advertiser journalists Tuesday, Green noted that postfire emergency powers give the Maui mayor authority to take more drastic steps. For example, Bissen could impose a countywide moratorium on short-term rentals — a choice the governor called “the nuclear option,” and which would likely lead to legal challenges — but not necessarily fail.

“Under emergency rules, the mayor has a need to house his people,” Green said.

Bissen’s proposed Bill 131 will be heard at a special Council meeting, 9 a.m. Tuesday. The council’s agenda is accessible at mauicounty.us/agendas. Under the postfire emergency proclamation, the tax change proposal requires only two hearings, with the second likely Dec. 12.

“We need to move people into really stable housing,” Green said, adding, “We just need to have an honest discussion about short-term rentals in our state. A fire may be what sets that off. … The truth is that has to happen, something has to happen.”

The Maui Council now must lead the way to convert many vacation rentals into residential homes, and the rest of Hawaii must heed the need to follow.