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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1092.000 2020-2022 Mitchell D.Roth ''''' oth •"Jp?�...,h� Michael Konowicz,Chair of `` • Neal Herbert,Vice Chair Mayor •` Matthias Kusch • •: 1 d. • • Chantee Shiroma -` R Madeline Greene •'i; ti M. ;v` Shannon Matson >• t.. • Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie III Karie Wakat County of Hawai`i Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603,Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 (808)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg C, Kailua-Kona,Hawai`i 96740 (808)323-4444 p � October 24, 2022 Sent via E-mail and Hand Delivery -v Honorable Maile David, Chairwoman - and Members of the Hawai`i County Council _ 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Re: Final Report of the 2021-2022 Cost of Government Commission Dear Chairwoman David and Hawai`i County Council Members: The purpose of the Hawai'i County Cost of Government Commission is to study and investigate the organizations and methods of operations of all departments, commissions,boards, offices, and other instrumentalities of all branches of the County government and determine what changes, if any,may be desirable to accomplish the policy of the County. At the end of eleven months of service,the Commission is to submit its report of findings and recommendations to the Mayor, the Managing Director, and the County Council as per Hawai'i County Charter, Article V, Chapter 2. The Commission has timely completed its review and hereby submits its report pursuant to Article V, Chapter 2, of the Hawai`i County Charter. The Cost of Government Commission respectfully requests that the above-entitled matter be placed on the Finance Committee's November 15, 2022 agenda for discussion. Thank you for your assistance and consideration. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at(808) 961-8653. Sincerely, Jean M. Miskovich Com i ssion Secretary 1 Comm. No. 102 Ref. To: �C1 Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and ProviderRef. Date OCT 2 5 2022 .••t,;o f M Michael Konowicz,Chair �p°�' +,' Neal Herbert,Vice Chair ' yl'.s, Matthias Kusch Mitchell D.Roth •i ..a';�'lt• ChanteeShiroma Mayor z_ RMadeline Greene \• •;fir..1-...e..,. ..� Shannon Matson `.o`."' Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie III Karie Wakat County of Hawai `i Cost of Government Commission . 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603,Hilo,Hawaii 96720 (808)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohok8lole Hwy.,Bldg C, Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 (808)323-4444 October 24,2022 Honorable Mitch Roth,Mayor Honorable Lee Lord,Managing Director Honorable Maile Medeiros David,Chair County of Hawaii County of Hawaii Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 215 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 215 West Hawai'i Civic Center,Building A Hilo,HI 96720 Hilo,HI 96720 Kailua-Kona,HI 96740 Dear Mayor Roth,Mr.Lord,and Chair David: The Hawai`i County Cost of Government Commission has completed its review of various County departments,boards,and commissions and hereby submits its report pursuant to Article V,Chapter 2,of the Hawaii County Charter. Throughout this calendar year,we held at least two meetings a month with a quorum to conduct Commission business.Along the way,we invited different leaders within the County to come before us,share their insights,and answer our questions.We also received community input,with written,virtual,and in-person testimony provided by others across the County throughout the year.To become more efficient in our process,and to be compliant with state Sunshine Law,we also broke into Permitted Interaction Groups to do a deeper dive into areas deemed to be priority areas by the Commission. In addition to preparing this report for you,we are also setting the stage for success for future Cost of Government Commissions.Beyond our commission-specific recommendations provided in this report,we conducted a Special Public Hearing to update and modernize our Rules,the first time they've been updated since 2003. Following thorough consideration of the responses we received from County employees,members of the public,surveys we deployed,and meetings we had,the Commission has outlined its recommendations in the enclosed report. We want to thank the County of Hawaii for allowing us to take part in our government.The County of Hawaii does an amazing job in spite of external constraints,such as isolation and state and federal mandates.The County of Hawai`i has a small town(200,629 population)budget with state size(4,028 square miles)responsibility and a continent size variety of conditions.The Commission respectfully requests your consideration of the recommendations in this report. Sin•ce el 9Ly.)._ • Michael 1 onowicz,Chair Cost of Government Commission County ofHawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. #j.... . •k44 4V444 tObg,•-47 1w �✓vvtii vS��qNA MO ', 70F1P Report of the COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI'I October 2022 Table of Contents PAGE INTRODUCTION and COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION MEMBERS AND STAFF 3 RECOMMENDATIONS BY PRIORITY AREA I. PERMITTING/CONSTRUCTION .. 5 II. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT/SOLID WASTE/ WASTEWATER 11 III. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/AUTOMATION/ ELECTRONIC RECORDS /DIGITAL PAYMENTS 14 IV. CAR&VEHICLE COSTS/VEHICLE TYPES/ • VEHICLE MAINTENANCE 17 V. PUBLIC ACCESS/OPEN SPACE/NATURAL RESOURCES (PONC)... 20 VI. OPTIMIZING BOARDS & COMMISSIONS ... 23 VII. REVENUE GENERATION IDEAS 25 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS I. ADDING PUBLIC INFORMATION RESOURCES TO THE COUNTY 26 II. COUNTY MANAGING DIRECTOR/DEPARTMENT HEAD HIRING ... 28 III. PERSONNEL REQUESTS 30 III. VOLUNTEERS 31 IV. VEHICLE REGISTRATION&LICENSING 32 APPENDIX 34 2 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Report of the COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI'I October 2022 INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Hawai'i County Cost of Government Commission(COGC or "Commission") is to study and investigate the organizations and methods of operations of all depaitments, commissions,boards, offices, and other instrumentalities of all branches of the county government and determine what changes, if any, may be desirable to accomplish the policy of the County. At the end of eleven months of service, the COGC is to report its fmdings and recommendations to the Mayor, the Managing Director, and the County Council(Council) as per Hawai'i County Charter, Article V, Chapter 2. The current Hawai'i County COGC was appointed and confirmed at the end of 2021 pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Hawai'i County Charter(2020). The Charter authorizes nine members to represent each of the nine council districts in Hawai'i County.After each of the nine members took their Oath of Office, COGC held its first meeting on January 27, 2022. At that organizational meeting,Michael J. Konowicz, from District 9, and Neal Herbert, from District 1, were elected to lead as Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Commission, respectively. In March, the Commissioner from District 3 resigned due to unforeseen personal issues that took up his free time. Soon after that resignation, the Mayor nominated a new Commissioner that the Council subsequently confirmed. On April 22,the new Commissioner took her oath of office and joined the Commission. The Commissioners were supported by resources from the County. Jeannie Miskovich, from the Office of the Mayor, served as Secretary. Malia Kekai was the original attorney assigned to COG from Corporation Counsel; J Yoshimoto, Dakota Frenz, and Keyra Wong also assisted COG throughout the year. Deputy Managing Director Bobby Command attended most meetings and served as a liaison with County departments and leaders. Through the end of September, COGC regularly met at least twice a month, always achieving quorum. Current Members: Name Council District Neal Herbert, Vice-Chairperson 1 Matthias Kusch 2 Chantee Shiroma 3 Madeline(Madie) Greene 4 Shannon Matson 5 Kenneth Obenski 6 Daniel Malakie III 7 Karie Wakat 8 Michael J. Konowicz, Chairperson 9 3 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report To kick off the 2022 Commission, the COGC extended an invite to Mayor Roth and Councilperson Kierkiewicz to speak at the first meeting after organization.The Mayor provided advice and well-wishes while Councilperson Kierkiewicz shared experiences,best practices, and recommendations for COGC to pursue based on her experience serving in the last assembled COGC. Soon after, the Commissioners defined priority areas to focus their attention. With limited resources and time, it was felt that narrowing the scope into high-impact areas would be the best approach for the COGC to pursue. It was determined that the primary focus areas would be 1)permitting/construction/licensing; 2) environmental management/solid waste/ wastewater; and 3) information technology/automation/electronic records/digital payments. A secondary focus area of car and vehicle costs/vehicle types/vehicle maintenance was also created. Lastly,within a tertiary focus area, 1) water system efficiency/well and pipe maintenance; 2)public access, open space, and natural resources (PONC) expenditures; 3) roads/transportation/public works; and 4) optimizing number of commissions/boards. As a courtesy to the Council, a communication was sent in April outlining these focus areas. The Finance Committee invited Chairperson Michael J. Konowicz to speak to these focus areas and return to COGC with their additional input and direction on May 3. Throughout the year, COGC invited the directors of each department to share an overview of their department, cost savings and efficiency opportunities within those departments, and answer questions from each commissioner. COGC also invited other county resources, such as the newly appointed County Auditor,to participate in meetings. In April, Vice Chair Neal Herbert attended County budget meetings and reported a summary to COGC. The County Finance department also provided copies of budgets and answered questions of COGC throughout the year. The community also participated with the COGC throughout the year. At several meetings, community members participated in-person,provided written testimony, or appeared before the Commission via the Zoom meeting platform. To streamline the process of getting specific recommendations, the COGC established Permitted Interaction Groups(PIGs) during the summer and used those insights and findings in the Fall to come to conclusions captured within this report. There was insufficient time and resources to evaluate both"water system efficiency and well and pipe maintenance" and "roads,transportation and public works."Thus, those items were dropped from the list of areas of interest to pursue in October 2022. In tandem with the regular business of COGC, the COGC also noticed and held a Special Hearing to update its Rules of Practice and Procedure. The previous rules were adopted on May 30, 2002 and referenced many outdated or irrelevant items. To modernize these rules, the COGC went through the multi-month process to update and gain the necessary approvals to adopt new rules. The new rules became adopted in August of this year and have been used since. 4 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report PERMITTING / CONSTRUCTION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Review interpretation/modification of building codes to potentially allow provisional permitting for pre-approved, licensed A/E, electrical, and plumbing firms and contractors. 2. Continue permit reviews without pause or delay while waiting for discrepancies to be corrected by applicants. 3. Consider separating out permits into different scopes to expedite approvals. 4. Update non-residential checklist to reflect the requirements for intake. 5. Develop permitting fees appropriate to the scale of building or permitting requested. 6. Consider developing a fee structure for low-income applicants. 7. Minimize unpermitted structures by reviewing/modifying current policies. 8. Develop measures for evaluation of the status of the permitting process that are reviewed weekly to ensure compliance with timelines. 9. Consider implementing the following alterations to the County's Electronic Processing and Information Center(EPIC) system: a. Install EPIC kiosks that are more accessible to the public b. Develop a queue for submissions c. Consider the ability for contractors to have oversight of the permit process d. Develop immediate notification to submitters when an error has been found e. Develop a submission system for complaints 10. Review county code of recurring deficiencies to see alterations to the code that should be made or if better training and review resources should be provided to the public The Building Division Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) was enacted to determine areas across departments that could streamline processes and procedures to provide effective and efficient service. More specifically, the Commissioners in this PIG wanted to determine current staffing issues, the efficiency of the current evaluation process, and the appropriateness and short comings of the EPIC system. The Commissioners in this PIG began by sending a letter (Appendix A)to the Department of Public Works (DPW) requesting feedback on identified 5 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report initial areas of concern. DPW responded(Appendix B),noting a separate consultant contract seeking a similar assessment of the permitting process. With the current assessment in place, the PIG's ability to provide a complete assessment was limited as we did not want to interfere with, or overlap,the consultant's tasks. Accordingly, we significantly pared down the extent of our work as reflected in the following information,'which may conflict with the eventual consultant review or already being pursued by DPW. The Commissioners appreciated the consideration of the depar Intents to participate in the gathering of information while determining areas for improvement. EVALUATIONS & CONCLUSIONS The Commissioners conducted an evaluation of the building permitting process to determine how to incorporate efficiency and alterations in the process. The focus was on several areas: the permitting process, the effectiveness of the EPIC system,public education, and oversight of the entirety of the program. Permitting Process 1. Evaluation: The permitting process was reviewed to determinefaster permitting response times for smaller scope projects and the consideration for potential provisional permits to further reduce construction delays and permitting backlogs. The only current code reference to temporary permits is for temporary structures in Section 5-1-5 of the Hawai`i County Code (2016 Edition, as amended). "Permit"means a formal authorization issued by the authority having jurisdiction that authorizes performance of specified work,pursuant to the construction code[.]"Must"formal authorization"only mean a final permit? Why can't formal authorization also allow for interim permitting under carefully stipulated rules?There are numerous architects, engineers, designers, contractors with professional credentials or licenses whose submittals are, with few exceptions, absent significant non-compliance with codes. Many are already on the County's pre-qualified consultant list.Yet they are subject to the same. over-restrictive, detailed reviews as all other applicants. A responsible system where, upon arrival of pre-qualified applicant submittals,the applications are reviewed for completeness and cleared by Planning, then issued a provisional permit. Conclusion: Having a conditional permitting process for qualified persons•would greatly expedite construction starts, save applicants money with faster completions, minimize 'labor and materials cost increases, and provide many related benefits.Applicants would assume all risks and penalties. They would still have to make adjustments/changes based on County reviews throughout and until reviews are completed, with construction/installation halted for significant health and safety issues. Such permits would still be subject to code compliance and completion of plans review. Additionally, consider time limitations and fee refunds when the permitting process is delayed. The scope of the permit should be taken into consideration during review. Smaller scope permits seem to be taking just as long, if not longer, than full new building permits. Consider separating out permits into the different scopes to expedite approvals. For example,have a foundation only permit so the contractor can start on the excavation and footings, etc. Or separate out wall permits since those are typically done first. The risk 6 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report would still be on the permittee to start the work without the rest of the permit being approved. EXAMPLE: Section 25-11-35 of the City of Austin Land Development Code - TEMPORARY BUILDING PERMIT: "The building official may issue a temporary building permit to authorize construction of a portion of a building, structure, or building service equipment before the plans and specifications for the entire project have been submitted or approved if the applicant files information and detailed statements describing the activity to be performed and the building official determines that the activity complies with this title. The permittee under a temporary building permit proceeds with construction at the permittee's risk.A temporary building permit does not guarantee that a permit for the entire building or structure will be approved. A permittee does not acquire vested rights under a permit issued under this section." 2. Evaluation: The current permitting process stops reviews until each deficiency,however minor or administrative, is corrected and resubmitted which causes longer delays. Applicants have said that the initial reviewer does not always continue reviews on same application, with corrected returns sometimes assigned to a different reviewer. Also, the new reviewer often does not accept the returned corrections, even though their revisions satisfy the initial reviewer's requirements. Conclusion: This situation might be resolved if the same reviewer stays with a given application. Exceptions would be vacation, illness,vacancies. If not already in place, reviews by all relevant departments should occur concurrently.A weekly meeting with the County leadership, including the Mayor, should be developed to brief the shortfalls of the department until it has reached an appropriate turnaround time. Provide a function on EPIC to notify the applicant of errors as soon as the approval depai l hent makes comments. Track drafting companies that consistently submit poorly prepared plans and enforce restrictions disallowing future submissions if noncompliance continues. 3. Evaluation: The current permitting fee structure appears to be rigid and could be revisited to consider the size of the project and special considerations for the project value range for plumbing and electric. Conclusion: Developing a fee structure similar to the process for plumbing and electric where a project value range that correlates with the costs of a permit might be applicable to other cases. Permitting delays are often due to staffing issues. Additional funding should go to payroll to hire more people and reduce turnaround times. 7 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report 4. Evaluation: Special considerations for low-income permitting fees should be discussed to increase applicants and potentially reduce non-permitted dwellings. Fees are based on valuation. Low-income type of permits are generally low in valuation. The current fee structure charges permit fees based on Chapter 5, Article 7, of the Hawai`i County Code. For a$100k value, the fee would be $101 for review and$505 for the permit. Conclusion: This would generate a growth in the housing development across the County and potentially reduce the number of non-permitted structures. DPW is currently evaluating a fee reduction;however, it is not in place. Effectiveness of the EPIC system 1. Evaluation: Permit applicants are limitedin their oversight of their permit. This creates frustrations and delays in the permit process. Applicants often approach each department with their frustrations taking time away from staff resources that could be working on permits.EPIC kiosks are limited and not easily accessible to the public. Conclusion: Consider installing EPIC kiosks across the County, including in or near the County permitting depaittnent for applicants to track approval processes and notifications of potential short comings in their permit. 2. Evaluation: The permitting process often experiences delays due to errors.When errors are found,they further delay the approval process. Often the public seeks resolution at the individual departments causing frustrations and interruptions in County workers' offices. An easy to use and singular complaint systems appears to not be established in the County. Conclusion: As part of the EPIC system, develop a complaint submission system. Designate a single source to handle complaints as to not burden the departments. Provide updates in EPIC for applicants to track their complaints and receive feedback. Provide services for the public to have questions answered. EPIC should be utilized for Q&A, email submission on the County site should be available, weekly classes should be available to speak with someone, and a phone hotline should be provided and answered by someone to support a 24-hour turnaround to the public. 3. Evaluation: Common errors in the permit process are not being communicated to submitters, further delaying the permit approval process. The County resources are limited in what they are able to provide to the public and contractors. Conclusion: Establish public training tools for the common errors found in the permitting delay process. Have applicants complete a checklist with hyperlinked training for common errors to ensure compliance and reduction in permitting delays.Establish a support training web page on the County site that is easy to use for the public. Consider providing a regular instructional class put on by a County employee for permit applicants to attend. The class could include a short review of the permit for common errors to expedite the process and build trust in the system. 8 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report 4. Evaluation: When permits are in the review process, the uncertainty of EPIC can create frustration by not providing the submitter a timeline for approval. Often, submitters are experiencing financial constraints and have contractors on standby awaiting the approval process. Currently,there is only one lender who will do local construction loans, ' specifically because of the timeline ambiguity with the permitting process. The EPIC system does not provide an anticipated approval date, an idea of where in the queue the permit is or any clear communication on the status of the permit. DPW response: Based on inquiries, "Where am I in the queue?" is a frequently asked question and therefore on our"to do"list. Since we are first working to get priority projects permitted, we do not want to frustrate applicants whose projects are not prioritized without having a solution for their delay. We simply need more staff and are actively recruiting Plan Reviewers. We are also working to minimize the backlog in Permit Intake, the process during which applications are reviewed for completeness or to seek temporary hires to draw down the backlog. Conclusion: Employ a tracking system on top of EPIC so applicants and DPW know the number of permit applications in the queue, being reviewed, and provide a project date to completion. Conduct a staffing assessment that includes appropriate experience requirements that is briefed weekly until staffing issues are resolved. 5. Evaluation: Contractors are unable to view the status of permits in process due to project naming, PROJECT/PROPERTY OWNER NAME, which hampers their ability for future building planning. Conclusion: Consider providing the ability for contractors to have visibility on permits so they can develop a timeline for the project. Develop an email response system in EPIC that immediately notifies contractors or`applicants of errors when applying for permits. A hyperlink option for a refund of fees should be provided in the response. Submitters should also be able to add users like the owner or contractor after the fact,rather than having to call the County to do it. Public Education 1. Evaluation: The County has many unpermitted structures or additions that often lead to fires and jeopardize public safety. Public permitting information on the website and in person is limited and confusing for the common citizen. Conclusion: Enforcement of unpermitted structures should be revisited to consider stricter rules and penalties to improve permit compliance. If not already established, develop a clearer road map that is easy to use. 9 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report 2. Evaluation: Known errors found during the permit review and during inspection are not easily known to permit submitters. This creates common errors to be repeated, delaying the permit approval process and backlogging the system. It has been mentioned the non-residential checklist does not accurately reflect what is required at intake(e.g., code data, type of construction). Educational tools provided to the public are limited and difficult to navigate. County Building Code requirements have common errors that may have avenues for relief Conclusion: Establish a permit"Most Wanted List"that provides education to the public on common errors and a formal submission checklist, or revamp of current checklists, should be considered to correct issues before submission. Consider reevaluating the County Code for common errors to make the requirement more inclusive without jeopardizing safety. Oversight of the Program 1. Evaluation: Potential concerns for the Building Division's ability to complete permits may be constrained or delayed by other departments. The County permitting process requires a single department to approve the permit before sending it to the follow-on depai tnients for approval. Permits often get stuck in a department due to errors hindering the ability for other departments to review. Conclusion: Considerations to develop an Internal Evaluation Program "IEP"that analyzes quarterly the known gaps or deficiencies within the process. Findings should be reported to department heads to implement remedial action plans to correct determined deficiencies. Potential areas for evaluation should be staffing,processes and procedures, and common errors restricting the approval process. 10 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT / SOLID WASTE / WASTEWATER RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. County Council, the Office of the Mayor, and the Corporation Counsel should thoroughly evaluate the County's contract with Hawai`i Earth Recycling which is clearly wasting taxpayer dollars, is not producing the compost the contract describes, and isn'tefficiently processing the Big Island's green waste matter. The parties involved with this contract should re-negotiate a deal that is a more fiscally responsible use of taxpayers' funds while also being beneficial for the environment. 2. The answer to address some of our wastewater treatment plant issues lies in following the wisdom, success, and example of Public/Private Partnerships(PPP) as 0`ahu has implemented; as such, County resources should study those PPPs done elsewhere in the state to mirror their success here. Careful consideration of how to work within the confines of the Konno Decision should be pursued with the County, Corporation Counsel, Union labor partners, and private entities. EVALUATION: We interviewed Division of Environment Management(DEM)Director Ramzi Mansour three times and deployed a survey to DEM employees. (A summary of survey results can be found in Appendix C.) Throughout that analysis, the most egregious example of inefficiency is with the County's handling of green waste matter through its contracted vendor, Hawai`i Earth Recycling. Through our review and interviews, we also learned that the County is not as innovative and efficient as it could be with its waste facilities(solid waste and wastewater) in light of the Konno Decision. FINDINGS: Hawai`i Earth Recycling Contract During a previous administration,the County entered into a contract with Hawaii Earth Recycling (HER) to transform Hawaii County's green waste and food waste into compost for its residents. _ • This is a two-phase contract, Phase 1 —mulch operation and Phase 2—compost operation. • The County has indefinitely deferred Phase 2, the compost operation, while it does an evaluation of Hawai`i Island's organic waste quantities. • Thus, HER is not under an obligation to create compost at this time. 11 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report The contract,which is valid through 2036, guarantees Hawai`i Earth Recycling a minimum annual payment of 40,000 tons at approximately$105/ton. Further, each year the per ton price will be increased by adding the Consumer Price Index(CPI)through 2036. In other words, even if the County provided only 5,000 tons to HER, the County would still be required to pay the 40,000 ton minimum. The certified funds amount for this year's contract is $4,751,900. According to DEM, the County provides 30,000-32,000 tons of green waste each year to HER. That would mean at the current price, Hawai`i County would be paying 8,000 tons over what was received and processed and paying approximately$840,000 more than should be paid for services rendered. While mulch is better than nothing, it is extremely wasteful to taxpayers to pay for volumes of mulch that is not being produced. Wastewater Processing/Konno Decision Challenges PPP,particularly in regard to wastewater processing, water-recycling, and water treatment are areas where there may be an opportunity for private partnerships as well as networking between our County/State/Federal delegations to troubleshoot and rapidly address our island's crumbling wastewater infrastructure. DEM Director Ramzi Mansour has discussed this with the Mayor but still expressed hesitancy due to concerns surrounding the Konno Decision.Various groups have met with the Mayor and DEM, even on the day of our Zoom with Director Ramzi,but according to the administration there may be obstacles in the path forward that could get resolved by legislative amendments and union and political support. Our DEM Permitted Interaction Group has briefly explored the successes the City& County of Honolulu was able to achieve in their leverage of private public partnerships to address wastewater infrastructure upgrades needed, and we believe this is an area warranting more review by the administration and County Council members. Award winning projects that were done in spite of the Hawai`i Supreme Court decision in Konno that keeps coming up as a roadblock. Our committee recommends that our County look to the examples elsewhere in our State as Konno has a loophole that allows leeway if the focus is not on customary and historic services. Honolulu did a 12 million gallons per day(MGD) water recycling facility in 'Ewa as water recycling was not a historic service. The facility built with no taxpayers' dollars stood apart from the nearby Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant(WWTP) and impacted no union jobs. At the Sand Island WWTP, they met consent decree requirements in partnership with Synagro Technologies Inc.,which put in a digester for solids management. A soil amendment product was produced for sale, which was not a customary or historic service. With Sand Island moving to full secondary under the consent decree, another digester is being installed to handle more volume. This resulted in no union lawsuit. Mayor Roth has been approached by a couple of wastewater companies with very large portfolios willing to invest in solutions for Hawai`i County. We should find a way to say yes while operating within the current confines and exemptions, if any exist, of the Konno decision. One option to explore is lease to purchase. Hilo needs a new treatment plant and modular design could eliminate the long procurement and design process while quickly bringing the plant into compliance. Average daily flows are only 2 MGD and modular can go up to 3 MGD. A private 12 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report company under this approach can take taxable depreciation on the assets and then the County buys it back at a greatly reduced price. Union employees continue to operate the old plant during construction and take classes and certifications to operate the new equipment. With further exploration, this is a handoff approach that may work within the Konno decision. For County facilities facing legal action because they use injection wells,water recycling may be the solution. At Kealakehe, for example,we could keep the existing R-2 facility in place under union employees but consider contracting out the service for the R-1 upgrade and pipeline distribution system. Revenue could then be generated from sales of recycled water where it displaces potable water. This idea is similar to what was done in 'Ewa on O`ahu. There are numerous examples and our permitted interaction group believes that the County needs to focus on"out of the box"solutions to address our crucial wastewater infrastructure needs and stop using Konno as an excuse for inaction. 13 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY / AUTOMATION / ELECTRONIC RECORDS / DIGITAL PAYMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Increase the overall Department of Information Technology(DIT) budget from 0.77%to 4% of County budget. 2. Open up more full time employee(FTE)positions to increase the help desk capacity. 3. To attract and retain talent, we recommend the County engage to bring the pay ranges up to competitive market rates. 4. Implement an equipment lifecycle management program to reduce costs through bulk buying, equipment recycling, and planning. 5. Adopt the virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI). This solution would allow security updates/software upgrades/patches to be pushed out to the hardware/computers remotely. Saving time and freeing up personnel to work on other priorities. EVALUATION: The DIT subgroup, or Permitted Interaction Group(PIG) as commonly referred, took a look at the DIT with an eye on waste reduction and revenue potential. To do this,we used brainstorming sessions, DIT Director Scott Uehara's April 2022 presentation, DIT question/answer correspondence, Survey Monkey, and Commissioner Wakat's personal experience of 20+years in the Information Technology industry. We looked at what it would take to create a standardized database across departments/divisions so all property and individual information can be shared across the County without the need to maintain separate databases and teams. We found that in order to achieve the desired end result, the DIT would need to hire more staff and potentially purchase both software and hardware. Currently,the department is at capacity,with inability to increase the number of FTE positions. The department has 21 positions (4 vacant), with 16 positions being technical. It was suggested that there was waste in the way the payroll was dispersed. We were told that an employee drove around to all the County offices to hand out paychecks/envelopes. The question became could this be automated?Automation could be through direct deposit and emailed paystubs. Hardcopy checks could be picked up or mailed. The thought was this could reduce FTEs by one.We did not pursue this suggestion because it does not fall under the DIT. Another suggestion was around ethics training. Can we eliminate the in-person facility intensive environment by electronically delivering the training in small interactive consumable models that span no more than 25 minutes each,which could allow folks to complete training during working hours over a period of time?We did not pursue this suggestion because it does not fall under DIT. However, DIT would host the module training files the employees access, if implemented. 14 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Several suggestions from the brainstorming activity were similar in nature. All four suggestions are,good ideas, except for the fact the DIT is already at capacity with the inability to increase headcount because of budget constraints. We did not pursue any of the following suggestions for that reason. • Initiate a paperless system for payments,registrations, reservations, and communication with the public consistently throughout all departments. • Accept credit cards countywide to complete transactions currently requiring "in person" cash or check payments. Examples are for licenses, taxes, and renewals. • Explore using technology to enhance resident access to info: transit tracking apps, affordable housing waitlists,campsite/beach permits. • Launch a dashboard to show down-time for databases or file systems missing or not available to the public. The hope would be to show a downward trend in public data outages. A fmal suggestion from the brainstorming activity was to implement a wireless,web-based,real- time,preventative maintenance program for all County equipment. This suggestion sounds like a virtual desktop (VDI) solution, where the County would push out the various updates/upgrades remotely to the computers.We decided to move forward with this suggestion. We sent out an electronic survey to the employees of DIT. Unfortunately, only one person responded, yielding the results unusable for this report. (16 filled positions, 1 response.) FINDINGS: During a presentation by DIT Directly Scott Uehara on April 14, 2022, it was stated that the County is having challenges recruiting qualified candidates and stated that the depaitment was at work capacity. We took a look at DIT staffing, salaries, and work capacity. The DIT budget for FY 2022-2023 is 0.77% ($4,611,078) of the total County operating budget of$597,324,945. This pays for the 19 FTE union employees, and 2 FTE exempt employees. Of the 19 union positions, 4 were vacant. This 0.77%differs from the industry recommendation that an IT department maintain an average of 4.5% of the operating budget; or$26,879,622 in this case. We looked at specific ways to attract new hires. One way was to explore internship programs with colleges. We found that the depaitment was already working with the University of Hawai`i, Hilo Campus to recruit, and has been approached by PACBLU. In the past, the department has worked with Hawai`i Community College. Because the DIT is already engaged with internship programs, we decided not to pursue this area further. Another way to attract candidates was through large sign-on bonuses. We found that the department is hesitant to offer sign-on bonuses. The logic is that the bonuses offered to the administration positions had a nominal effect, if any, on the number of applicants; therefore, it 15 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report would not affect application numbers for the DIT either. DIT management expressed hesitancy to enact sign-on bonuses because of its potential it has to negatively affect workplace moral. We did a salary comparison for the five DIT technical positions and found that in all cases, the salary range was below market rate. (Fig.!). 1ationvide Job Description Salary Comparison Job Tile I Min Max I Mean Information Systems Program Manager 73,644 135,6660 rua salary?com 104,727 156,118 130,900 Geographic Information System Manager 68,544 101,460 nxa salary mm 104 210 161,142 127,900 Information Systems Analyst V 63,384 93.804 n,a salary corn 118,895 166,909 142,826 Information Systems Analyst PJ 56,304 83,375 ria salary!oom 104,019 143,001 124,150 Information Systems Analyst III 52,044 77,100 ria salary COM 85,667 123.739 104,535 Fig 1 - Query on salary.aorr uses the lob posting educational requirements. along with the work experience requirement. For example.Information System Analyst V,5 yrs work experience end a bachelor's degree. Looking at the capacity of the DIT help desk alone, we found that there are a total of 4 help desk personnel who handle 8,000 tickets a year, and a 625 to 1 help desk ratio. For every one help desk employee, there are six hundred and twenty five county employees to support. The industry recommendation is 75 employees to 1 help desk personnel. When we add together the 625:1 ratio, 8,000 help desk tickets, and the additional duties of installation and configuration of new computers and hardware on demand, it is evident that the help desk is at capacity and needs additional staff. Looking to reduce waste within the County,we turned our focus to computers and the supporting hardware. We found that the County does not have an equipment lifecycle management process/program in place. There is no formal way to cycle around the computers/equipment. Instead, each department orders computers and equipment as needed. This causes the help desk personnel to react on demand to install/configure the new computers/equipment. We corresponded with Director Scott Uehara on this topic and he was aware of the need. He estimated with 8 additional staff,and an additional$1.5M for equipment to his budget, it would take 3 years to implement a full lifecycle. This would include changing the existing equipment ordering process. 16 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report • CAR & VEHICLE COSTS / VEHICLE TYPES / VEHICLE MAINTENANCE RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Improve efficiency and cost savings by developing a comprehensive, software-based system that tracks, consolidates, and optimizes inventory,use and maintenance of vehicles and equipment. 2. Consider a centralized, main maintenance facility in Hilo,perhaps using County-owned property adjacent to the Mass Transit Agency. 3. Consider developing a Countywide long-term fleet replacement projection and fleet maintenance support. Fleet replacement projections should include budget analysis to properly set aside financial resources and seek funding as appropriate. 4. Do more bulk buying of standard, common type vehicles and equipment to reduce spare parts, training and servicing variations and related savings. 5. Do more lease-buy evaluations, including electric vehicle acquisition and maintenance, for maximum economy. 6. Consider a full evaluation of the readiness of the County's first responders' vehicles with a long-term fmancial plan established for continued readiness. Two letters(Appendix D) were sent to all County departments having management, operation, maintenance or procurement responsibilities for vehicles and heavy equipment. Appendix E contains specific feedback from those who responded. Additionally, PIG members visited various facilities and conducted in-person and phone discussions, concentrating on four basic areas: • Evaluate commonality of vehicle and equipment inventories; • Compare maintenance staffing, equipment, and facilities; • Examine potential ways to standardize and to combine procurement; and • Review clean energy initiatives, EV charging and grants for experimentation and testing EVALUATION: A recent inventory lists 1,344 County-owned vehicles, including specialty and trailers, which the majority are assigned to DPW. Many cars, SUV's and small trucks are similar in type and function,purchased from a variety of suppliers such as Ford,Toyota,Nissan. Heavier vehicles and special equipment have less commonality across departments due to specific needs, such as Fire,Police,DPW divisions,Water Supply(DWS) and Environmental Management (DEM). However, some service trucks are basic models that are outfitted differently. Many vehicles appear to be underutilized, especially those parked at the Aupuni Center. While some informal sharing or transferring exists,most are located and used solely by departments 17 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report and divisions to which they are assigned,notably Highway Division. This physical separation makes it inconvenient to "carpool" for more efficient use and less idleness. There is no central maintenance facility or staffing. DPW-Automotive Division repairs and maintains most vehicles, but the Department of Environmental Management(DEM), Mass Transit Agency.(MTA),Water Supply(DWS) and the Fire Department(HFD)have separate places, mechanics, equipment, tools and spare parts. Most servicing and staffing are in Hilo,with outlying capabilities in Waimea, Kona, and Kau.Again,physical separation and differences in vehicles and equipment are barriers to consolidation. Police Department(HPD) vehicles are serviced by commercial vendors. Each DPW division and other departments prepare and submit separate procurement requests for their own needs.Items are generally put out for bids and purchased as requisitions come in throughout the year with minimal bulk procurement of common vehicles, equipment, etc. The West Hawai`i Police Department has nine vehicles with the newest being a 2018 Ford Explorer which already has over 100,000 miles. The remaining vehicles were 2008 or older that had high annual maintenance costs. During discussion with police officers,they felt the quality of the vehicles were a grave safety concern. The West Hawai`i Police Department uses over 60 personnel vehicles for daily operations. County wide, the number of used personnel vehicles is financially beginning to show an opportunity for consideration to introducing more fleet vehicles during shift work. A combination of personnel to fleet vehicles should be considered for future implementation. FINDINGS FROM DWS: Common routine servicing needs; common parts that can be sourced and stocked; County mechanics could become more familiar with a limited number of vehicle types versus a wide array of vehicles; regular procurement of common vehicles/equipment could provide an economy of scale and could possibly result in lower relative initial purchase costs. Combining procurement could possibly provide an economy of scale and could possibly result in lower purchase costs. However, it is too difficult to predict and ensure these results, since the County does not control or influence the supply inventory of vehicles and manufacturers'costs. In all likelihood,.DWS would continue to procure necessary vehicles based on our needs assessment, available budget, and when the vehicles will be needed. DWS could potentially participate in a Countywide vehicle bid if the timing works out. However, a memorandum of understanding between DWS and the lead County Purchasing agency would be needed to define the framework for the procurement. 18 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Although use of electric vehicles may become more prominent, initial procurement and utilization has presented some concerns: • Of five EV vehicles purchased in 2012; only one remains in use. • Lack of commonality makes pre-stocking spares impractical. Existing maintenance staff will need special training, equipment and job reclassifications. Planning for and stocking replacement batteries will be difficult and expensive. Replacement batteries,which differ by electronic vehicle(EV)model, cost about $8,000, shipping costs are roughly$4,000 once vehicle warranties (normally five years) expire and take six weeks to arrive once ordered.No State disposal system exists. • Purchasing extended warranties directly from manufacturers at time of purchase would be more cost-effective. • There are not enough charging stations, and many existing ones do not work. Overnight charging required. Heavy corrosion on island affects batteries, EV charging stations (more and widely dispersed stations needed). • HPD has doubts that EVs are not large enough, too expensive, and do not have enough range prior to needing to be charged. • County should avoid prototype testing and costs of EV,hydrogen, and other new technology, purchasing and evaluating only proven vehicles. • Leasing advantages -controllable costs, vendors would do maintenance,no stocking of expense parts,no disposal concerns, easier and more flexible/timely acquisition of replacements. The county automotive repair garage is in Captain Cook,but 60 to 70 of our street legal fleet is at the West Hawai`i Civic Center. Any time a car needs a safety check, someone needs to drive the vehicle from the Civic Center to Captain Cook and back.That is a trip of 40 minutes one way. It is even more time consuming if the car needs servicing since two people have to go (one to drive up there, and one to drive the other car back). Safety check trips could be eliminated by having one person come down from Captain Cook once a month to safety check all cars that are due. If a car needs some kind of minor repair such as a burned out bulb, then they can come down the next day to replace it and issue the safety check. Saves gas and time and lost productivity. 19 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES (PONC) EXPENDITURES RECOMMENDATIONS: After speaking with members of the Public access, Open space, Natural resource Commission(PONC) and related Maintenance Fund, Commissioners and long-time advocates gave our COGC permitted interaction group (PIG)the following recommendations to improve productivity and efficiency in the operations of this Commission, the acquisition of new lands, and the Maintenance Fund: 1. Hire additional PONC staff. 2. Allow for more flexibility in meetings,both remote and in-person options should be available. 3. Have twice per year submission dates for Maintenance Fund Grants and the 2%Land Fund. 4. Seeking matching funds should be part of the job of the commission and ideally in tandem with County of Hawai`i Research and Development. 5. Continued allowance for `unwilling seller' properties to be part of the listed PONC properties. 6. Update and increase transparency of the PONC website. EVALUATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. Hiring of dedicated PONC Staff: Hiring of two permanent and dedicated staff to assist the PONC Commissioners with their duties and the related administrative tasks associated with land or easement purchases, grant writing and maintenance of the PONC lands. One staff member, provided for in the County Code, is paid by the Department of Finance and the other position is paid for from the 2%Land Fund as voters approved in 2020. Currently, personnel from the Finance Department are used on an ad hoc basis,where a dedicated team would be significantly more effective in carrying out the goals and mission of PONC/PONC Maintenance Fund. 2. Allowing for more flexibility in meetings: As some expressed a desire for more frequent meetings and/or for a remote/virtual meeting option,we believe that hybrid meetings should be an option. However, we also see the value in having in-person meetings for truly allowing the Commissioners to be engaged with public testifiers and for public service groups to present their case in a way that has the most impact. We suggest that the option to meet more frequently via Zoom is 20 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report an option available to the Commission. This decision should be written in the new proposed rules as an option for the Commissioners to decide, as their membership evolves over time. 3. Twice per year submission dates: Twice per year submission dates for Maintenance Fund Grants and the 2%Land Fund may help with the backlog and allow the groups who need support in these funds an opportunity to apply for this support and allow lands to be acquired more quickly to satisfy landowners. 4. Matching Funds: Seeking matching funds should be part of the job of the Commission and ideally in tandem with County of Hawai`i Research and Development. Having PONC staff(2 personnel)would likely be very cost effective, and significantly increases the success of securing grants. 5. "Unwilling Sellers": Currently, the PONC rules allow properties with'unwilling sellers' to be listed. The goals of the PONC listings are to compile a list of properties that the public wants preserved. There is no mention of willing sellers in any of the legislation. Since the list remains over many years, and a property/easement is removed only if purchased, the current practice of listing properties with'unwilling sellers'property has the advantage of time. Landowners' situations, goals or priorities change over time, which has allowed a number of properties to finally move into escrow. Under the new proposed PONC rules, only "properties with willing sellers"may be listed. This will likely create a much shorter list and result in far fewer properties being listed. Being on the PONC list, does not have any legal bearing on the landowner, other than the knowledge it has met the criteria as an important parcel/easement for future purchase. Because the 2%Land Fund competes for properties that can be sold quickly on the open market, the County could lose properties that are important to the public, especially with the single application submission period each year. Furthermore, there is a significantly greater chance a property of interest would get listed for sale after the annual submission period and go into escrow to another private buyer before ever being able to be submitted the following year. • 6. Website updates: We were informed that the website used to have most of this information easily accessible, and our recommendation is that this would increase the public's ability to be engaged and informed on PONC history and current activities. For transparency, the following items should be readily available from the 'Home'page of the PONC website: a. Financial documents i. Current and all prior years simplified income/expenses for land easements and related information ii. A separate page for the Maintenance Fund 21 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report b. List of all proposed properties and easements for purchase and an indication if the property has a resolution passed by the Hawai`i County Council to purchase/in escrow process. c. List of completed purchases(land and easements that have been secured) d. Suggestion forms for land and easement acquisition. e. Maintenance Fund community steward grant forms. f. Process in which a parcel(s) or easement is nominated. 22 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report OPTIMIZING BOARDS / COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. The Cost of Government Commission should be restructured and redeployed for better results in the future or re-evaluated. Current timing of the deployment of the commission is not sufficient nor practical. 2. There needs to be access into a secretarial pool for better clerical assistance. Commissions responded that their secretarial support from the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the Planning Department, and the Mayor's Office were not sufficient. There also needs to be more stability with Corporation Counsel representatives with the commissions.Numerous commissions reported a revolving door with attorneys who worked for their group, and guidance was not always the same from attorney to attorney. It also took time to bring new attorneys up to speed on matters that they were not familiar with. It would be more efficient to have the same attorney per commission per full term. 3. Overwhelmingly, hybrid meetings were strongly preferred. However, some commissions meet in areas where they or community members have limited internet connectivity, creating IT issues/challenges. There should be better IT support to standardize access to the internet and streaming capability from everywhere. 4. Not all appointed commissioners actively participate in or contribute to commission business. Some commissions also said they do not have equal representation and/or participation from members across the island. Although quorums are generally being met, several members miss meetings due to other commitments, travel, etc.The Mayor's Boards and Commissions Application and nomination process should put more emphasis on background and experience for desired positions and more closely examine willingness and ability to prioritize attendance and constructive participation. 5. County Code should be changed to adjust for the Transportation Commission. EVALUATION AND FINDINGS: A letter (Appendix E) was sent to all County boards and commissions with specific questions. Responses are shown in Appendix F. Cost of Government Commission (COGC) This COGC has struggled to meet its goals and objectives: • COGC started a month late, leaving only 10 months to complete its mission. • It took five months to gain a basic understanding of County organization, procedures and to develop areas to evaluate. Letters requesting feedback from depar tiuents boards and commissions were not sent out until P � July. • While several responses were timely, most were delayed or not received. • New Sunshine Law and administrative rules created unnecessary bureaucracy and delays. Contrary to most other commissions, the Mayor's office directly managed and oversaw the COGC process. Too many County staff were involved 23 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report transmitting internal correspondence and being copied. More direct contact between COGC and responders would have been beneficial. • The new Permitted Interaction Group (PIG)process was cumbersome, confusing and complicated communications and progress. • Several different Corporation Counsel lawyers were involved with meetings and advice. • Required biweekly and special meetings were too frequent allowing little time to prepare meaningful agendas and meaningful reports. CONCLUSIONS: Change the timing of term/deliverable to coincide with a non-lame duck legislative body. Current report is delivered to County Council that leaves office within weeks unless they're re- elected. Allow 2 years for the Commission to run during the middle 2 years of the Mayor's 4- year term. This will allow acquisition of additional specific data and vastly improve report recommendations. If this recommendation is not adopted,we recommend that the County Council conduct a thorough examination of this Commission's efficacy and value. Given the limited adoption of past COGC recommendations, the significant workload and frequency of meetings compared to other commissions and difficulties mentioned above, we question the Commission's further need. Audits by contract or the County Auditor could be more useful and effective. Transportation Commission Prior to 2021, almost all taxi license applications, renewals and revocations as submitted by the Mass Transit Agency(MTA)to the Transportation Commission(TC)were approved with little or no discussion. The TC had practically no involvement or decision-making with County bus matters and did not set rates as delineated in the County Code(see below). The lack of purpose and usefulness of the TC was brought to the County Council's attention years ago;while there was some concern,nothing was done to evaluate the TC's viability. Although "rubber-stamping" of taxi license matters still prevails, in the past year or so, the TC Chair and TC has provided valuable assistance/advice to the MTA and is much more involved in bus matters than previous commissions. Given the current, extraordinary Mass Transit Agency progress, and as long as qualified, experienced and involved commissioners are appointed, the TC should remain in force. An existing MTA clerk provides assistance to the TC; there is no full-time employee needed for support. Special knowledge of MTA business is essential here. Suggested County Code change: Section 18-9 of the Hawai`i County Code(2016 Edition, as amended) states, in part, that rates are set by the Transportation Commission, and that the commission by order shall fix,prescribe, and establish rates. However, while the Commission may review and recommend revisions suggested by the Mass Transit Agency, the County Council actually authorizes/sets such changes. This and other Code modifications are being reviewed by MTA. 24 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report REVENUE GENERATION IDEAS RECOMMENDATION: 1. We propose that vehicles imported to Hawai`i be charged$6 per year of age at the time of importation. EVALUATION AND FINDINGS: The Cost of Government Commission created a Permitted Interaction Group (PIG)to look at opportunities for the County to generate revenue from its assets to improve the economic health of County government. This Revenue Generation PIG followed-up on a variety of proposals ranging from collecting fees from using community pools and parks,Zoo admission, and selling advertising on mass transit assets such as buses and bus shelters. To gain insights into what the County was doing and/or planning to do, it met with Parks&Recreation Director Maurice Messina and John Andoh, the Mass Transit Administrator. Through our due diligence, it appears that the County has plans in place to collect revenue from community park/pool facilities and the Zoo;plans also exist to sell advertising space on inventory Mass Transit holds.It appears these plans will come to fruition within the next year. One area that was not being met is covering all the expenses tied to abandoned vehicle disposal. Each abandoned vehicle(AV) that cannot be resold costs the county hundreds of dollars to dispose; most recently, this expense is approximately$600. The AV program collects $12 per year as part of existing registration fees. With the median life expectancy of a vehicle roughly 11 years, the average collection is less than$150 per vehicle. Because many older vehicles arrive in Hawai`i and may have only a few years of useful life before they must be disposed,the County lacks.sufficient revenue to offset any AV expense these imported cars may produce. We propose that vehicles imported to Hawai`i be charged$6 per year of age at the time of importation. This would help compensate for the high probability that an older vehicle is close to retirement age and could become an AV; even if it does not, such an additional fee will keep the AV fund solvent for a longer period. 25 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Adding Public Information Resources in Hawaii County RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. In addition to the existing Public Information Officer position with Hawai`i County Police Department, a Public Information Officer position should be added to both Civil Defense and Hawai`i County Fire department to facilitate communications in any incident, emergency, or disaster between each agency, between HI-EMA, between the military on-island,between members of the public, and members of the press. 2. If it is not possible to add Public Information Officer posts within the Civil Defense and Hawai`i County Fire Department, the County should consider creating an Office of Public Information that"owns" and elevates efficient communication between incident and emergency resources on the island as well as news,health, and safety information from the County to the press and public. Within the Office of Public Information, the Mayor's Office,the County Council, Hawai`i Police Department, Hawai`i Fire Department, and Civil Defense would each have a member to create dialog between each entity, members of the press, and members of the public through community meetings, special broadcasts, social media, and traditional media. These resources would also interface with state and federal resources in a state of emergency or disaster to streamline communication to meet the needs of the community. EVALUATION AND FINDINGS: In addition to interacting with members of the Mayor's Office, County Council, and members of. the public at large, one Commissioner attended a meeting with Civil Defense, Hawai`i County Police, Hawai`i County Fire, Depai anent of Land and Natural Resources, and the Public Information Officer(PIO)for the Pohakuloa Training Area(PTA). Through this interaction, it was clear the County was lacking appropriate resources to communicate to'the public effectively and efficiently about pressing safety issues. While Civil Defense appreciated having a PIO during a portion of the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption event in Puna, as did the press, there is no full-time communication-savvy resource there at this time nor budget to have such a resource. As such, communication is left to incident leaders that are busy tackling the incident on hand. In a review of the 2022 Leilani Fire that was generally contained to PTA land, Civil Defense was not even aware of the fire due to lack of inter-agency communication with PTA and HFD for many hours, even as residents in Waimea, Kohala, and Waikoloa reported the fire to other agencies. By not having communication resources and plans within the agencies, Civil Defense was unable to communicate to the public. As with Civil Defense, Hawai`i County Fire Department also lacks a PIO resource. Social media pages are not maintained in real-time and there's little to no communication with the press and 26 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report other agencies during an ongoing incident because resources are tasked dealing with the emergency at-hand. Hawai`i County Police Department does have a full-time PIO resource and of these agencies that deals with emergencies, are the most communicative, pushing community TXTs and emails to convey important information and alerts. HPD also interacts with members of the press regularly to get information out to the community. However,the communication out of HPD and out through to other agencies can be improved. During the September 2022 kidnapping incident in Waikoloa, while a MAILE AMBER alert was issued, details came out slow and cell-phone alerts lacked full details of who/what specifically to look out for and/or go to a website or social media page for more specifics. • In addition to getting information out, there appears to be difficulty getting information in. Firewise Committees and CERT members say they don't know how communication flows in/out around emergencies and don't have dedicated resources within county agencies, especially Civil Defense and Fire, to get information to/out from. r 27 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS County Managing Director/Department Head Hiring Recommendation: Consider modifying the current system of Mayoral appointments of the Managing Director and department heads to a more permanent employment arrangement hired by County Council members to improve leadership/management stability, corporate knowledge,morale, continuity and efficiency. Evaluation: While there are various reasons for frequent turnover within several key Hawai`i County positions, (most notably DPW; six times in the past six years) one solution that our Commission has discussed to address this County-wide inefficiency is to consider the hire of a long-term Managing Director. The National Association of Counties, of which Hawai`i County is a member,has recently • reported that 43 percent of some 1,322 U.S. counties have an appointed administrator, this is an increasing national trend. Most of these positions are county board/council appointed,with a small number appointed by elected county executives. The benefits include: 1. The County Council,having broader, island-wide scope and experience, is potentially better suited to hire a Managing Director to run the business of the County. 2. The Managing Director would hire department heads,potentially minimizing politically motivated appointments and maintaining consistency beyond four year Mayoral terms. Department heads would be employed for their expertise, education and experience and similarly could be terminated, if warranted,without initiating a recall process for the Mayor. 3. Longer tenures would bring consistency and a longer view of changes needed by the County and the time to accomplish big projects like public works,wastewater, roads, building hospitals etc. This could result in funds being more efficiently spent. This arrangement existed at one point in Hawai`i County's history and has been considered across Maui and Kaua`i County recently to address the similar struggles they have encountered of consistency and inefficiencies in their government structure. There has been disagreement as to which system best serves its constituents. Personnel stability, management efficiency and political influence remain major sticking points not heavily favoring either side. Establishing a major, admittedly controversial revision to an approach such as delineated in Appendix A may face significant political roadblocks, the most significant would be the need for a charter change and the time required to implement if/when it were to be approved. There may q p Pp be other more tenable approaches that could be tried. 28 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report For example, identifying those positions most suitable for conversion to longer-term appointments. Perhaps start by having the new Building Depailatent head selected/hired by the Council, one of three individuals proposed by the Mayor. This person would report and be responsible directly to the Mayor/Managing Director, but would not be subject to removal by an incoming County administration or changes in the County Council seats. State/County Civil Service job descriptions and standards would apply, with selectees subject to stipulated performance review, discipline and removal if appropriate. At the very least, if no changes are made to our current system, each incoming Mayor should strongly consider retaining existing quality personnel before appointing new ones. • 29 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Personnel Requests RECOMMENDATIONS: - 1. Evaluate impact of adding new permanent positions. 2. Include HR review of Form B-52. EVALUATION AND FINDINGS: There should be more fiscally sound evaluation of the long-term need for new positions,which add to the ever-increasing personnel costs,which is a major budget item. For example, several new.permit reviewer positions were recently approved to help reduce the immense permitting backlog, even though the new EPIC system is taking hold. What will all these additional people do once permits are reviewed and approved in a more acceptable, timely manner? Will they continue to be efficiently utilized?Would not temporary employees conforming to collective bargaining rules have been a better interim solution, especially when any new hiring will not help for many months given the difficulty in rapidly hiring permanent employees (people don't want to work, competition with other businesses, high cost of living, etc.)? Department heads use Form B-52—Request for Council Action—to ask for new or additional resources. These submittals should be checked by Human Resources before they are sent in for approval to ensure they align with available Civil Service classifications and organizational structure. 30 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS • Volunteers RECOMMENDATION: - 1. Increase use of volunteers to reduce costs and backlogs EVALUATION: The County has several volunteer groups that assist and supplement staff: The major force is the Fire Department volunteer program,where individuals receive extensive training in return for their services. The Retired Senior Volunteer Program(RSVP), run by Parks and Recreation. Volunteers man reception booths, assist with putting together events, fill in for answering phones and have other clerical assignments. Boy Scouts have helped with gym and bus stop graffiti clean-up, sanding,painting, trash collection and weeding...supplementing County duties. Although the County Prosecutor is a different leg of government and its chief executive is elected by the people, the department uses volunteers in the areas of clerical, legal research, victim assistance, domestic violence and youth-focused initiatives. And there are Community Service workers who are ordered by a judge to devote time to county efforts. There are also many summer interns, County Council assistants,AARP volunteers, those who help during elections and some who do public area cleanup. This volunteer support saves tax-payer money. There may be other areas where such assistance can be used while avoiding conflict with union collective bargaining rules regarding County employees. Examples might be manning information booths, answering phones,helping with selection of board/commission members, and assisting the people who are queuing in lines at County facilities. A good start might be assigning an ad hoc group to investigate new opportunities. 31 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Vehicle Registration and Licensing (VRL) RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Clarify web site information regarding renewal of REAL ID Gold Star driver's licenses 2. Consider new IT position 3. Evaluate increase in vehicle registration fees EVALUATION: Repeat documentation is not required for driver license renewal if the information is the same as provided in-person during a previous issuance of a REAL ID Gold Star Hawai`i driver's license. VRL staff are supposed to accept REAL ID licenses if there are no changes.New or additional documents will be required if there is a difference in names or other key data since the REAL ID was issued.New photos are still required, and applicants are advised to bring confirming documents just in case. This procedure should be clarified on the County's website. VRL had(as of late August) 9 vacancies in Kona(1-5 year turnover), 2 in Hilo. This, combined with vacation and sick leave, creates delays and limited response to public inquiries. Difficult to hire new employees. Need dedicated phone answerers, greeters. Main concern -website changes are difficult, time consuming for staff, lack of training, and knowledge. IT helps as much as possible,but a designated IT specialist in VRL would improve public service. Hawai`i County fees are lowest in the State. Vehicle registration fees could be raised. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Nation-wide security rules resulting from the 9/11 attack require permanent driver's license issuing facilities to have special area access security and equipment which would be too costly to upgrade Hawai`i County offices. County instead issues temporary licenses, then all applications, tests, documents and photos taken by the County are scanned and electronically"uploaded"to a server. Permanent licenses are then processedand mailed directly to applicants. Licenses can be renewed only by mail following procedures on the County's web site if a medical report and certificate of eye exam is provided in lieu of testing at a County facility. A new State-to-State system is coming soon to improve and expedite data exchange and minimize duplication. 32 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Recent approved legislation(Act 159), which will take effect on January 1, 2023, changes driver license renewal periods as follows: every 2 years for those ages 80 or older; every 4 years for ages 24 or younger and ages 71 to 79; every 8 years for ages 25 to 71. Renewal frequencies are based on data,but in Hawai`i,most accidents occur between the ages of 16 and 72 and may be attributed to health,inexperience, slow reaction time, etc. Hawai`i and Rhode Island still have stricter requirements for 80 and over. County eye testing machines are changed out/upgraded frequently. 33 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report APPENDIX 34 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report APPENDIX A DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK 35 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report y-ypJa�•f" 07, Michael Konowiicz,Chair Y . !, Neal Herbert,Vice Chair , Matthias Kusch itrlitchei1 D.Roth +�4:.: c IF , .� Chan tee 5hiroma • Mayor f Madeline Greene Shannon Matson 4....Nt#ice Kenneth Ohenski Daniel Matakie In Karie Wakat County of.Hawaci`i Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni SUM,Seitt 2603,Hite,Hawaii 4%TM (54151%t-$2l I 14.5544 Ars Keohukiaole thvy..Okla C.Krialaui Korai,Hawaii 96746 (808)323-4444 July 8,2022 Via electronic atoll(only) Steve Pause,Acting Director,Department of Public Works RE: Feedback solicited from Building Division Permitted Interaction Group Aloha, As required by law,the 2022 Cast of Government(COG)Commission has been convened to study and lnvestcate the organization and methods of operation of all departments,commissions,boards,offices and other instrumentalities of all branches of the county government,and determine what changes,if any,may be desirable to accomplish the County's policy to promote economy,efficiency,and improve service in the transaction of the public business in the legislative and executive branches of the County. A"Building Division Permitted Interaction Group',which includes the undersigned COG commissioners, has been authorized to:explore making communication more efficient between employees of DPW with each other and the public;examine ways to streamline the permitting process;examine the applicable County Code provisions and its impact on efficiency;and analyze permitting costs and exemptions. Enclosed are specific questions to consider as you review these points.We request your feedback on these items or other related aspects pertaining to the Building Division you may wish to discuss.A meeting with you within the next month will be helpful in fulfilling our mandate to report our findings and recommendations to the Managing Director and the Council in a timely manner Please contact Commissioner Herbert at 808-935-1946 or by email to efherbertetwc,.om to arrange an initial meeting or if you have any questions. Thank you for your participation;we look forward to hearing from you. ' Sincerely. is/Dan Malakie tsINeal Herbert Commissioner,District 7 Commissioner,District 1 1st Matthias Kuscfl jsl Chantee Shiroma Commissioner,District 2 Commissioner,District 3 Enclosure • Courzy of tlawai i is on Equal Oppaittuauty Provider and Employer. 36 Permitting Questions 1. Is there a way to issue provisional permits to further reduce construction delays and permitting backlog?This may be acceptable for professional design architects/engineers and licensed contractors,once planning approval has been given and while plans,specs are under review by other County departments.Discrepancies would be provided to these entities as reviews progress for correction as construction proceeds,but without halting such construction except For major Code non-compliance or safety reasons.Designers and contractors would be fully responsible for making corrections and be subject to financial penalties for non-compliance.Failure to do so would result in certificates of occupancy not being issued until work passes final inspections.What code changes would be required? References: liawai`i County Building Code,Section 5-2-24,Modifications;Section 5-3-21.Permit exemptions.City of Austin,TX Code§25-11-35-Temporary Building Permit: "The building official may issue a temporary building permit to authorize construction of a portion of a building,structure,or building service equipment before the plans and specifications for the entire project have been submitted or approved if the applicant files information and detailed statements describing the activity to be performed and the building official determines that the activity complies with this title." The permittee under a temporary building permit proceeds with construction at the perrnittcc's risk. A temporary building permit does not guarantee that a permit for the entire building or structure will be approved.A permittee does not acquire vested rights under a permit issued under this section. 2. Similarly,can/should all permit reviews be completed before informing applicant of discrepancies instead of intermittent advisories which delay permitting until applicant responds each time? 3. Can/should conditional permits be issued if X months pass without feedback from DPW?Should fees be refunded if applicant is subject to unnecessarily long delays or inaction? 4. Can abbreviated,quicker permits be issued for minor situations such as additional screening or portable window AfC's?Can personnel Iower than a Plan Reviewer approve these permits? 5. What is the current average time line for issued permits...add-ons,new builds?Which reviews arc causing the biggest delays?Is shortage of inspectors affecting processing time? 6. How many,what kinds of errors typically found during review...technical,administrative? 7. Are permitting fees adequate to cover costs for processing?Can/should fees be lower for low- income applicants?Should owners be compensated for permit delays that are out of an acceptable turnaround timeline by the county?is there a(written)pathway to getting an unpermitted buildingiaddition/structure up to code? B. Permitting process has a project value range for plumbing and electric that correlates with the costs of a permit-do the building permits also have this type of range? 9. Can the separate processing(review)fees and the issuance fees be combined into ono charge? 10.How many unpermitted structures exist?How are they checked/managed by the County?Does allowing such action create a disincentive to get proper permits?Code conformance should not be a social issue.How many facilities breakdown/fires,etc.? 11.What's the extent/impact,if any,of reviewer shortages in other departments; impact on DPW? What staffing per department would be needed to expedite the process?What costs are associated? 12_Can/does same reviewer cover same applicant upon re-submittal? 37 13. What are the common questions made to DPW about permits?How long does it take to resolve an issue? 14.How aro complaints handled,and what is the process from complainant to violator fixing the problem? 15.Can/should pre-authorized designs that meet Code requirements be expanded to expedite permitting? 16.Should the inspection and enforcement responsibilities of the Planning Department,new Building Department,Real Property Tax Division, Department of Environmental Management,and the Department of Health(as contracted to the county)be consolidated into an inspection and enforcement division? 17,How many inspectors do we have serving each Big Island district? IS,Are inspection reports to owners in writing vs oral to minimize miscommunication and re- inspections?Are there any recurring deficiencies that inspectors are seeing in the field?If so,are there any awareness measures taking place? 19. How many deficiencies?What types are found with inspections of permitted structures? 20.Are special inspections required ofperm itees redundant to county inspections? Do they help expedite county inspections? 21,What are the amount/types of Board of Appeal variances regarding permits? 22.What Public Training/Advisories exist to highlight reasons for permitting delays._.feedback to designers/contractors-quarterly bulletins? 23, Is it feasible to employ a tracking system on top of EPIC so applicants and DPW know the number of permit applications in the queue,being reviewed,project day(s)to completion? 24.Could an EPIC kiosk or two be situated in the County permit dept for community use to reduce errors and wait times for permits...alter nnte clerks weekly for assisting people with the process? 38 APPENDIX B DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS PROVIDED FEEDBACK • 12 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report • • Mitchell D.Roth .:4. ,� t ;� � , . � Stephen M.Pause,P.E. mayor "t '='s_ Acring Direcrnr Lee E.Lord hla • ,;y I� (,fit rrtugirgDircetnr if Ioun f g of e�., tillalLt DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Aupuni Center 101 t au1u Sired,Suire 7 Hilo,liawat'i '76720-4224 OM 961-8321•Fax 008)061-8630 public uK rk ethawaiieounty,goc• MEMORANDUM To: Cost of Government Commission Anention: Commissioners of the Building Division Permitted Interaction Group From: Stephen M.Pause,P.F.,Acting Director Date: July 14,2022 Subject: DPW/Building Division Permitted interaction Group Aloha— At the request of the Mayor and Managing Director,the Department of Public Works is presently working with a professional consultant whose work scope is to assess the Building Permitting system. It appears that the COG Commission is requesting similar information that is being looked at as part of their assessment. Attached is a copy of the Project Charter which details the work being conducted. We expect to have the results of the assessment oniby September 15,2022.(Please note—MD Lee Lord has requested that if the Project Charter document be made public further than the Commission that he he contacted prior to the release) We kindly request that the COG commissioners allow us the lime to work with the consultant in completing their assignment. Once the assessment is complete and report is generated,we will share the results with the Commission_ If at that time the Commission has additional questions,we will gladly provide responses. Should you have any questions or concerns,please do not hesitate to contact mc. Thank you for your time and consideration. cc: Managing Director,Lee Lord County of Hemel•i ix en arra Optvirtunily Provider and Employer. 40 Kickoff kickoff.pmi.org Project Title : Epic Permitting System Assessment — Phase One Project Charter IONS Capture the Detrw,r defogs about your prtrltttst. Mime sure you invoive your spr uIortrt r to help art c ulattx each part Or the pro eot fl Project Details Business Need/Project Objectives: A- Review the factors of the Epic Permitting System. Project Requirements: 1-Look at the Process Trail from Submission to delivery of approval to applicant 2-Look at line staff's interaction with the process, staffing, duties. touch points, reasons for rejections/start overs. interaction with applicants, communication 3-Look at Electronic Processing Epic tool from initial input to final output 4-Look at interactions and interfaces with customers. Product Description/Deliverables: Identify and describe the bottlenecks/areas that need attention to bring the whole Epic Permitting Process to the expected standards of model systems according to state, national and regional standards i~ M , Project Charter 1 41 Kickoff kckoff. rni.or g Project Does Not Include: Phase 2 — Interpreting, evaluating and implementing suggested alterations from consultant Pre-assigned Resources: 1- Managing Director's time (Fiscal, Consultant oversight) Ensuring continued progress 2 — Consultant's work 3 - DPW Staff as information sources (from top to bottom of chain of command) 4 — Planning Director's time to review progress reports, provide needed oversight, ensure input/collaboration 5— Project Team meetings and time (Mayor, Managing Director. DPW Director, Division Director, Division Deputy Director, Planning Dept. Director, Consultant) participation may in/decrease. 6 — Community stakeholders INSTRUCTIONS: Document all the stakeholders involved in this project, so that everyone is clear on his or her responsibilities. d Stakeholders List Name Title Role/Responsibility LEE LORD Managing Director Consultant Mgt. Fiscal Mgt. Progress accountability STEVEN PAUSE Acting Dept. Director Staff Buy-in, supervisor of Div Dir and Deputy Div Director JULANN SONOPQ1URA Bldg. Div Director Bldg. Staff supervisor. Staff Buy-in, Info facilitator NEAL TANAKA Bldg. Div. Deputy Div. Director Bldg. Staff supervisor, Staff Buy-in, Info facilitator IH M „e : Protect Charter 2 42 2Kickoff kickoff.pmi.org Collaborates with DPW ZENDO KERN Planning Dept. Director Director, Reviews proposed changes at DPW and EPIC/ annrnnriatanacc fnr Planninn —Developers, Contractors. Provide information, provide Community Stakeholders — Builders, Realtors feedback, 1 or 2 Reps on Project Team MITCH ROTH Mayor Approve direction and outcomes. Communicate with community Perform Assessment. JAMES TINNER Consultant communicate with Project Team INSTRUCTIONS: Name the milestone and assign a date. Then, describe the milestone in more detail, so anyone who views this document can understand what the project is all about. fl Summary Milestone Schedule Milestone 1 : Consultant meets via Zoom, Meetings, or conference call Date: by July 8, 2022 to share stages that will be followed and resources needed. Milestone 2: Consultant analysis of information as it is provided by jurisdictional staff and prepares initial findings report for Date: by July 27, 2022 Steve Pause. Follow up telephone or video conference with Steve Pause and other relevant personnel to discuss findings. Date may change at Steve's discretion. Milestone 3: Visit jurisdictional staff at Hilo offices to discuss findings of the initial analysis in person and meet with relevant Date: TBD Mid to late August managers and line staff to understand detailed workflow 2022 within the building division. ar,iect rim e+L Project Charter 3 43 T,. Kickoff kickoff.pmi.org Milestone 4: Prepare report of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Present the report to Lee Lord for Date: September 9, 2022 distribution to relevant staff. After staff has had time to review the report, consultant will meet virtually at the jurisdictions' convenience to discuss the report and amend as needed. Milestone 5: Prepare final findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Copy to be sent to Lee Lord's to be Date: September 15, 2022 distributed as he determines is appropriate. INSTRUCTIONS Capture the betaw d rl aft your project Make sure you involve yot,a t nr orts)to help rtacuIate each part of the protect fl Project Considerations High-Level Risks: Low response from staff(at all levels)when information gathering is happening Current staffing vacancies interrupt information gathering or enacting solutions Acceptance Criteria: Consultant provides identification of bottleneck/areas of concern, with recommendations for remedy clearly described. Assumptions: P Pt Project Charter 4 44 Kickoff kickoff.pcni.org County Staff will provide contact information and names of community stakeholders Community Stakeholders will actively participate Staff with boots on the ground currently working the process will actively participate in the process of providing information and discussing issues where improvements can be made Constraints: A-Concerns that we are aware of now that could be issues in Phase 2 1 - Difficulty/time consumption to change amount or duties of staff positions if not currently in union agreements. 2 -Changing the number of staff in the various class of service positions is difficultitimely B —Current work must continue during Phase 1 and Phase 2. 45 APPENDIX C SUMMARY OF RESPONSES FOR SURVEY ISSUED TO DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES 46 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Results complied below are from 14 respondents within the DEM Department. All responses were received before the SurveyMonkey response link closed on July 25th, 2022. Q1 What do you think your department does particularly well in regards to management/interaction with other departments/interaction and service to the public/efficiency/productivity? These are all just ideas, feel free to share any areas you think your department excels at. Keep facilities up and running even with severe staffing shortages. Operating our wastewater treatment facilities.The staff does a great job while being understaffed and underfunded. It's impressive we manage to continue to provide services when the rates we charge are unsustainable to operate and maintain our infrastructure and facilities. Not unique to my department,I believe all departments are too siloed. Especially these days when staffing is such an issue,being short staffed puts an enormous burden on existing staff, not wanting to get behind and wanting to do their normal good work. Morale suffers. Overall, it is my observation that the administrative staff for DEM is very hard working-I cannot comment on the staff in the field except for mine, in the Recycling Section. My department out of necessity does quite a bit of cross training(staying within union guidelines of course)necessitated by staff shortages -and I believe that benefits the department,which in turn benefits the public. Maintenance and operation of our old equipment under adverse conditions. I think we have great customer service skills with customers and fellow co-workers. Sharing of resources(labor, fleet,tools,contract vendors, etc.). Give in to the complainers even though it's not within the departments responsibilities to appease others and make the department or County look good With regards to management: This current management is reactive, lacks to ability to ask for understanding of programs,processes,policies. As for the interaction with other departments. This current management will make obligations of its own divisions to assist other departments with out first consulting with the divisions any its daily operational impacts. 47 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report For the interaction and service to the public. With this current administration, the public is "right" and the divisions need to make the accommodations. Because of this, there is little to no efficiency, and productivity of the ground level employees are at its highest.The work level has increased,because our awareness has increased. Our Solid Waste Division within Department of Environmental Management helps other departments such as DPW and P&R in regards to disposal of large quantities of refuse, assistance in hauling aggregate, and removal of prohibited items within their base yards left from the public at various county sites. As for the public, our division provides additional services such as recycling programs for green waste, metals,white-goods,cardboard, glass, household hazardous items and e-waste products. I wish our division could provide more recycling services in other aspects to prevent illegal dumping but it comes to extra expenses in the budget. We are a department that has the word"Environment" and we should do more to protect it. SWD's core function is to safely and efficiently move rubbish from the collection sites (22 stations and 1 reload stations)to final disposal at the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill. Despite daily challenges with manpower and equipment, SOW is still able to provide that core function. SWD was given the additional functions to manage recycling and abandoned vehicles which added burden to the already heavy workload Q2 What do you think your department's biggest struggles are? This could include internal/external challenges including, but not limited to: staffing, funding, overly burdensome restrictions or regulations, inefficiencies, redundancies, waste, time management issues, anything else? Underfunded for decades therefore gotten into the habit of using consultants instead of using permanent staff. The rates we charge don't cover wastewater treatment plant and collection system maintenance. There is a lack of transparency from the Finance Department and OEM's Business Services Group, so we get denied access to money that was already approved in the CIP budget for maintaining our wastewater infrastructure and planning projects. Therefore,we cannot create the financial program requested by the EPA to show we are good for matching grants or that we are working in good faith to comply with Federal Laws. Pay is far below market value. We can't attract talent to the Department if they have to take a 23%pay cut. Those hired know they are not paid enough to give their all to the job. Top on the list is the budget to perform the "must have" is insufficient as it is.The performance of"nice to have" without the commensurate budget is an impossible task. Most recent example is the enforcement of certain suntan lotion fell on SWD's lap. Online payment, automatic payments,paperless options. 48 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Making doing the right thing difficult such as disposing trash at the transfer station and recycling.Need to made easy as possible for people to adopt as a normal routine. Finding funds to support and maintain facilities. Doing the right thing within budget constraints. Current admin is creating lots of new positions and hire staff that have no supervisors or guidance that these new employees admit they have nothing to do or don't know what to do! I believe our biggest challenge is funding which affects staffing and especially in Recycling, services that the public wants,demands - and to some extent,rightly so. By not instituting an actual user fee for residents, i.e. Pay As You Throw for rubbish disposal, we are continuing to subsidize excessive generation of rubbish-no incentive to reduce,reuse, recycle. Also -and the entire country struggles with this is the lack bodies to fill the positions. The inefficiencies we face(e.g. procurement process)are inherent in many of the government processes that are a necessary part of the checks and balances required. They are complex and burdensome and I believe sometimes this can appear to the public as drastic inefficiencies - which is not untrue. I don't think it can be avoided.It does seem though that it could be beneficial for an expert government processes to analyze how our systems and make suggestions for County wide improvements. There is such a strong ethos of, "Well,that's how we've always done it...." and that benefits no one when it comes to inefficiency. On a more specific note, and perhaps our biggest obstacle for the Recycling(Waste Diversion) Section, about the Solid Waste Division of my department, is the lack of conveyance to ALL the solid waste workers that Waste Diversion, Recycling,Waste Reduction IS part of Solid Waste management, and not just an annoyance created by the Recycling Section.This lack of communication creates ongoing friction in our division. We, the Recycling Section,more or less do not feel supported by the Division,just another extra thing they have to "help" us with. Waste Diversion- sustainable materials management- is an inherent component of Solid Waste Management. Insufficient funding. insufficient staffing/high turnover. poor communication and decision making. Direction, funding, staffing Personnel. Workers do not feel respected or listened to, which leads to frustration and a breakdown in morale. Department office personnel and field workers do not intermingle. I have never even met the department leaders since they came on board. Limited Budget. Necessary repairs on both rolling stock and capital assets have been deferred the piper" (equipment poor due to budget reductions in the past. It is now time to "pay p p failures, conditions). Management: Management lacks an understanding of many processes which help to make a government entity work and be successful. 49 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report Management has an open door policy with almost anyone who has some idea to sell, without going through the appropriate processes. Staffing or understaffing of those who are in the HGEA unit, SR 17 level and below. The work flow has increased(billing, invoicing,procurements)yet staff is not being hired or promoted. Funding -FY 21 and FY22 was by far the worst level of administrative funding action I have witnessed in 10 years. It is extremely difficult to continue to cut back a budget when expenses continue to increase. The biggest challenges our division faces is staffing because I believe some employees take advantage of the sick leave but that's an issue the employer and the union needs to come to a resolution. I wish both parties could come to an agreement where an employee must physically work 40hours per week before overtime kicks in. Also,our division operates 7 days a week, 10 hours per day and only shuts down 3 days a year for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. With that being said, our equipment is constantly being over worked resulting in break downs. We are not like other divisions that usually operate 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Some of our equipment is over 10 years old and majority of those parts are obsolete. In my opinion,our division/department in whole need to look at leasing equipment so every 5 years,equipment can be rotated out for new ones and a service package included to cut down on costs. Lastly, the divisions should be able to control their own budget and not ask permission from finance to do purchases. If a budget is set forth in the beginning of the fiscal year, it should be their responsibly to manage their own budget. If the divisions exhaust their budget before the end of the fiscal year and need more money,then it becomes a discussion between finance and the director and/or division chief. The procurement process tends to take a long time for approval when it comes to repairs or purchases especially when operations are limited in inoperable equipment. Q3 What projects that are in the works currently are you particularly excited about and/or do you think will make a difference in your productivity or efficiency or ability to serve the public? Additional bodies have been approved(RTF). SWD is heavily regulated by the State DOH and EPA. Meeting the requirements of 25 permits with limited resources is a difficult task. There are projects that if implemented will make a difference in your productivity or efficiency or ability to serve the public. Those projects will need upfront capital to implement but the ROI is will pay for the upfront costs. Repairing and replacing several wastewater treatment facilities. Excited about the Waiohinu Transfer Station upgrade which will provide a better service to the kau residences. Installation of a new refuse chute, stalls for metal/cardboard/glass/white-good bins. Majority of our transfer stations across the island are out dated and need upgrades due to increase in population.You need to figure out that these transfer stations were built decades ago when the population was much lower than it is today. I know it takes time and money but if we 50 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report can start making small progresses, the community will be happy knowing their tax money is well spent. Nothing. This admin could not pick up from where the previous admin left off Feels like our dept is going backwards Interested in repair and replace projects Creating a master contract and project schedule for DEM. Contract development and project management tends to drag on and lack transparency. The process should be public so we can id bottlenecks,provide support, streamline processes and id resource over allocation that leads to burnout. We are currently working of the Life Cycle Assessment to evaluate some of our recycling programs. The results may or may not be received positively by the public, however we feel it is important that decisions we make are in the best interest of the environment. The project has had several delays due to staff shortages and unfortunate decisions NOT to fill vacant key positions when they were first vacated. Upgrading the Hilo wastewater treatment plant that will cost$170 million. Q4 Anything else you'd like to share? County needs to develop a financial program to fund wastewater program at least for a ten year horizon. SWD is an operation division that was given added functions through the years. SWD's very limited technical staff will need to be augmented in order for SWD to perform the added functions. SWD will need to create career path to change the current set up of just entry level and chiefs'position so that there's a good mix of skill set to keep the division moving forward Projects that do get done seem to be secret. Input from the workers is not gathered, or taken into consideration. The end result has been that what we get isn't really what is needed. The WHSL scale is a prime example of a project badly done. The people who are working should be asked for input, and respected for it. Feedback isn't welcomed or received well by management. Not much respect anywhere Need funding to so can have permanent staff and stop using consultants. Having online payments or automatic payments would greatly reduce the amount of phone calls we receive and the amount of time spent in those calls. To save money,need to do more continuous duties in house instead of hiring consultants. Using too many consultants for duties that are needed to be conducted all the time. Morale in the rank and file needs boosting. It is unnecessary to "give something" to "get something". It is "very necessary" to support supervisors in managing their staff There are 40 to 51 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report 50 employees for each supervisor. They don't feel heard. The good employees that come into work everyday,work hard, stay positive, and perform as well or even better than expected lose their morale when coworkers come late, don't put out the same work effort,and nothing happens to them(the message this sends is that"its too hard to discipline"), and morale suffers. This new admin does not believe in following the County procurement or HR process. Things are being done as if we are a private company and they can bypass the system, over ride who is recommended for hire and purchase things that look good while we have to sacrifice the things employees need! We should adopt County-wide(enterprise level) asset management,project management,permit management and contract management software for streamlining procedures, improving departmental communication and tracking operations. KPI metric should be established and reporting should be required. We must be accountable for using these softwares at every level. We need transparency and a County data/reporting strategy so we can improve and become more efficient. 52 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report APPENDIX D OUTBOUND LETTERS SEEKING FEEDBACK ON COUNTY-WIDE FLEET 53 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report v c; Michael Konowicz,Chair Neal Herbert,Vice Chair ,'. Matthias Kusch Mitchell D.Roth ••'•��? �'� •. Chantee Shirorna Mayor Madeline Greene . ti;+•. �. Shannon Matson •M�+< Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie III Katie Wakat County of Hawai`i Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603.Hilo,Hawaii 96720 (808)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.Bldg C, Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 (808)323-4444 July 8, 2022 Via electronic mail(only) to the recipients listed below RE: Feedback solicited from County-wide Fleet Permitted Interaction Group Aloha, As required by law, the 2022 Cost of Government (COG) Commission has been convened to study and investigate the organization and methods of operations of all departments, commissions, boards, offices and other instrumentalities of all branches of the county government, and determine what changes, if any, may be desirable to accomplish the County's policy to promote economy, efficiency and improve service in the transaction of the public business in the legislative and executive branches of the County. A"County-wide Fleet Permitted Interaction Group," (PIG)which includes the undersigned COG Commissioners, has been authorized to explore the efficacy of standardizing maintenance of vehicles and equipment across the County and sharing or pooling department/division vehicles. Specific areas for discussion: 1. Evaluate commonality of vehicle and equipment inventories; 2. Compare maintenance staffing, equipment, and facilities; 3. Examine potential ways to standardize and to combine procurement; 4. Review clean energy initiatives, EV charging and grants for experimentation and testing We request your feedback on these items or other related aspects pertaining to the Department/ Division you may wish to discuss. A meeting with you within the next month will be helpful in fulfilling our mandate to report our findings and recommendations to the Managing Director and the County Council in a timely manner. Please contact Commissioner Malakie by email at danielmalakiea.vahoo.com or 808-227-6295 to arrange an initial meeting, or if you have any questions. Thank you for your participation; we look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, /s/Dan Malakie Is/Neal Herbert Commissioner, District 7 Commissioner, District 1 County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 54 -or.OF N4s��� Michael Konowicz,Chair I Neal Herbert,Vice Chair ,,y% Matthias Kusch Mitchell D. Roth '� . Chantee Shiroma Mayor - Madeline Greene • +r '' . • ��MF•.'�.... Shannon Matson ,rEOF - Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie Ill Karie Wakat County of Hawai`i Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603,Hilo,Hawaii 96720 (808)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg C, Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 (808)323-4444 August 1, 2022 Via electronic mail(only) to the recipients listed below RE: COG Commission letter dated July 8, 2022— Feedback solicited from County-wide Fleet Permitted Interaction Group Aloha, We have been asked to clarify the information requested in our July 8, 2022 letter. Here are some specific questions to assist you in responding to our inquiry: - What is current inventory of non-specialty(I.e.fire trucks, custom police cars)vehicles and heavy equipment? - How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? - What support facilities and staff are available for administration/maintenance? - When can facilities, baseyards, equipment be visited by COG Commission? - What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? - Who prepares procurement requests? - What are plans, available grants for experimentation, testing and conversion to EV vehicles and charging stations? At your earliest convenience, please contact Commissioner Malakie by email at danielmalakie(avahoo.com or 808-227-6295 to arrange an initial meeting, or if you have any questions. Sincerely, /s/Dan Malakie /s/Neal Herbert Commissioner, District 7 Commissioner, District 1 Recipients: Moe Mesinna, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator, Mass Transit Agency Ramzi Mansour, Director, Department of Environmental Management Talmadge Magno, Civil Defense Administrator, Civil Defense Agency Keith K. Okamoto, Manager-Chief Engineer, Department of Water Supply Kazuo Todd, Fire Chief, Hawaii Fire Department Paul Ferreira, Police Chief, Hawai'i Police Department Deanna Sako, Director, Department of Finance County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. 55 To: Steve Pause, Acting Director, Department of Public Works Maurice Messina, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation John Andoh, Mass Transit Administrator, Mass Transit Agency Ramzi Mansour, Director, Department of Environmental Management Talmadge Magno, Civil Defense Administrator, Civil Defense Agency Keith K. Okamoto, Manager-Chief Engineer, Department of Water Supply Kazuo Todd, Fire Chief, Hawai'i Fire Department Paul Ferreira, Police Chief, Hawai`i Police Department Deanna Sako, Director, Department of Finance County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 56 APPENDIX E RESPONSES TO COUNTY-WIDE FLEET PERMITTED INTERACTION GROUP REQUESTS FOR ' INFORMATION 57 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report COUNTY-WIDE FLEET RESPONSES HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT (HPD) The Hawai'i Police Department currently utilizes a small number of "Blue & White" marked police vehicles which are spread out among all districts island-wide. Each of these vehicles is equipped with police radios, lights, sirens, prisoner transport equipment, and safety equipment. While we do have an on-site radio shop located at the South Hilo Police Station for the installation and removal of all police radios and safety equipment, all other maintenance to these vehicles is performed at various commercial automotive shops. The use of these vehicles is specific to the role that they are outfitted for, and their use by other departments/divisions is not only against policy, it is also highly impractical. The remainder of our vehicles are police subsidized vehicles, which are privately owned or leased motor vehicles that are utilized as police vehicles for official business. Should centralized maintenance facilities become available for County owned vehicles, this would alleviate the need to utilize commercial facilities for repairs and maintenance. Lastly, while electric vehicles (EV's) may be trending as a clean energy alternative, there is much debate regarding their use in law enforcement. It is argued that they are not large enough, that they are too expensive, and that they don't have enough range prior to needing to be charged. Should this become an option for the County of Hawai'i in the near future, these are some of the challenges that we may face when considering them for use. FIRE DEPARTMENT What is current inventory of non-specialty (I.e. fire trucks, custom police cars) vehicles and heavy equipment? Fire Department doesn't have a pool of non-specialty vehicles (generally speaking, there is sometimes a floater when a replacement vehicle is purchased) Got 2 used P/U trucks from DPW this year; other used vehicles from Oahu, Maui, but 20+yrs old. - How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? We have no pooling, all vehicles are assigned to a specific purpose or person. 8 prevention bureau inspectors use 4 WD SUV's- now using chiefs car to supplement. -What support facilities and staff are available for administration/maintenance? 58 We have our own mechanic shop to handle repairs and maintenance (Waiakea station). Some repairs are sublet by mechanics to local dealers (Ford, Toyota). Some work overtime. Should'consider consolidating vehicle repair facility near Mass Transit facility where County owns 30 acres...common parts, repairs, storage, equipment, supervision, eliminate isolation/separation. Should have one in Kona as well as Hilo...costs $1 K for commercial tow truck to Hilo. Maybe combine with State facilities at Kona airport. New agreement to service PTA vehicles for being pursued. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? Insufficient $for new ones. We have about$1 million in a revolving line item to purchase new vehicles. This is estimated to be about 20% of what is needed to replace fire apparatuses at an acceptable rate. -Who prepares procurement requests? Fire administration prepares specification, finance handles procurement process. -What are plans, available grants for experimentation, testing and conversion to EV vehicles and charging stations? None. The only electric fire trucks have proven to have issues which make them unsustainable. I would prefer hydrogen fire trucks over EV if we are looking to the future. Other Dept is following up on recent audit recommendations. Review of cover standards for Hawaii County underway. Assign apparatus from high volume stations to low volume stations to extend the usable life. Vehicle replacement targets will help HFD better understand when it is no longer cost-effective to maintain vehicles while providing budget justification. Work with other departments to revise the County's Vehicle Use Policy, specifically the refill gas section, to include provisions for electrically powered vehicles. Need proper specialized training facility/combine with police; burn building; better if recruits train together, careers parallel, better knowledge, communication, cooperation between departments; check State facilties. Cross-train EMT's with firemen. County Annual Report should include HFD report info/data...what was done, results/improvements over time. WATER SUPPLY As a background, the DWS-County of Hawaii, is a semi-autonomous 59 agency established by the Hawaii County Charter. With our semi-autonomy, we are required to annually set a balanced fiscal year budget based on anticipated revenues (from the sales of water delivery) and expenses. Our department does not receive any revenues or budget from the County of Hawaii. In addition, DWS is recognized as its own purchasing agency and DWS' Manager-Chief Engineer serves as the department's Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), which is responsible for ensuring DWS follows all applicable State Procurement Codes and policies. That being said, DWS is always looking for ways to improve our procedures when there are proven fiscal or efficiency benefits. - Evaluate commonality of vehicles and equipment inventories. Having common vehicles and equipment could provide the following benefits: Common routine servicing needs; common parts that can be sourced and stocked; county mechanics could become more familiar with a limited number of vehicle types versus a wide array of vehicles; regular procurement of common vehicles/equipment could provide an economy of scale and could possibly result in lower relative initial purchase costs. - Examine potential ways to standardize and to combine procurement Combining procurement could possibly provide an economy of scale and could possibly result in lower purchase costs. However, it is too difficult to predict and ensure these results, since the County does not control or influence the supply inventory of vehicles and manufacturers' costs. In all likelihood, DWS would continue to procure necessary vehicles based on our needs assessment, available budget, and when the vehicles will be needed. DWS could potentially participate in a County-wide vehicle bid if the timing works out. However, a memorandum of understanding between DWS and the lead County Purchasing agency would be needed to define the framework for the procurement. - Review clean energy initiatives, EV charging and grants for experimentation and testing. DWS has no current clean energy fleet initiatives. DWS investigated participation in the State Electric Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Services contract with Sustainability Partners, but it wasn't financially feasible to pursue, partially because DWS does not have a large inventory of vehicles that can participate (sedans/suvs, which currently have an electric equivalent). DWS plans to periodically revisit this contract as the electric vehicle industry continues to develop and produce a wider variety of electric vehicles. -What is current inventory of non-specialty (I.e. fire trucks, custom police cars) vehicles and heavy equipment? DWS currently has 146 non-specialty vehicles and heavy equipment. 60 - How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? DWS typically assigns vehicles to a Division (i.e. Operations, Engineering, Finance or Administration) once the vehicle has been procured and acquired. Then the vehicle is typically assigned to a sub-group such as a Branch (i.e. Water Quality Assurance & Control Branch) or Section (i.e. Field Operations Section). -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which-existing items will be replaced? DWS is preparing for a vehicle bid this fiscal year(July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023). -Who prepares procurement requests? The respective DWS Division Head will prepare the appropriate procurement requests and related bid documents at the justified time. DWS' Contracts Branch assembles and advertises the bid documents and coordinates the opening and awarding of bids. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (DEM) - How is vehicle use/poolinq managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? Most pooled vehicles are used on daily basis -What support facilities and staff are available for administration/maintenance? Solid Waste Division has two Construction Equipment Mechanic positions, though both are vacant and difficult to fill. Most vehicle repairs and maintenance are handled by DPW—Automotive. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? Admin: Small SUV—replaces CH1913; :Hybrid 4-door sedan— New for new positions Wastewater: Class 3 pickup—West Line; Class 3 pickup— East Mech; Pre-owned trucks (4); Pick-up, 3/ton, 4 wheel drive; Pick-up, 1/2 ton, 4 wheel drive (2); UV. 2 wheel drive (2); Vehicle Disposal: 4x4 SUV; 4x4 pick-up. Solid Waste: Pick-up Truck; Semi-Tractors (6); Walking Floor Trailers (4); Compacting Trailers (4) -Who prepares procurement requests? 61 Each Division is responsible for submitting their requests and equipment specifications. -What makes/models are assigned to division Various -Who uses vehicles (how requested/assigned) Operations staff are assigned vehicles with their daily assignments, others will request as needed. - Key security...who/how issued May vary by Division, but generally, a supervisor or other trusted position maintains the keys in a central location and assigns vehicles or issues keys as needed. - Refueling process...cards Fuel keys issued by DPW Automotive for use at County fueling stations, keys are vehicle specific and require a code and odometer reading -What happens to used vehicles...are they still used after new ones arrive? Yes, if still usable and needed -Who disposes...can other depts get if needed? Department initiates a disposal request, vehicle can be transferred to other departments if needed otherwise they are generally placed on auction. Any sharing of vehices with other div/dept Each Div/Dept generally uses their own, but vehicles are shared when there is a need and their own vehicles are not available. FINANCE DEPARTMENT -What is current inventory of non-specialty (I.e. fire trucks, custom police cars) vehicles and heavy equipment? Latest inventory lists 1344 County-owned vehicles, including specialty and trailers. - How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? Vehicle and equipment use is managed by individual departments, 62 divisions...no apparent exchange or pooling. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? Financial lease vs buy discussions are underway. R& D is evaluating usage/sharing by each department. -Who prepares procurement requests? Each department develops its own requests using Form B-202- Request to Budget New Equipment. Expense Review Board then evaluates need, specifications for major items before placing in County budget plan. After money is approved by County Council, Purchasing Div then prepares bid documents and buys vehicles. Purchases are made throughout the year, attempting to standardize. Bulk purchases are not made to lower costs. County could review process to achieve better quantity savings and minimize vehicle, equipment, tools and servicing equipment variety. MASS TRANSIT AGENCY (MTA) -What is current inventory of non-specialty (I.e. fire trucks, custom police cars) vehicles and heavy equipment? Only a few SUV's for administrative use...all other vehicles are buses, service trucks or heavy equipment unique to MTA needs. - How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled; what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? All vehicle use managed within MTA...no sharing or pooling with other departments. -What support facilities and staff are available for administration/maintenance? Some positions are being reclassified to cover maintenance of new electric fleet because current auto mechanic wording doesn't include EV's. If future study of man-hours shows in-house costs per operating hour to be significantly higher than by contract (Roberts), then only way to possibly make more cost-effective use of remaining auto mechanics would be to reassign them within County. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? MTA is constantly revising bus and van purchasing and acquisition of used transport from other counties to more accurately fit ridership usage and anticipated needs. Grants are covering free bus fares thru 2023; some $ being 63 applied within agency. Roberts drives all buses at$80/hr and maintains its own for$120-150/hr. Costs to County per passenger is about$18-23/hr. -What are plans, available grants for experimentation, testing and conversion to EV vehicles and charging stations? Special bus EV chargers are planned. Third parties may be willing to install EV chargers on county property at their expense and for their profit. Hydrogen buses will be evaluated going forward. CIVIL DEFENSE -What is current inventory of non-specialty vehicles? CD Command Post - How is vehicle use/pooling managed and frequency? Used for emergency response by Fire, Police and Civil Defense. Used when needed by department. -What support facilities and staff are available for dministration/maintenance? CD staff officers maintain and deliver to emergency/incident. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? None -Who prepares procurement request ? CD administration -What are plans, available grants for experimentation to EV vehicles? None DPW-AUTOMOTIVE DIVISION -What is current inventory of non-specialty (I.e. fire trucks, custom police cars)vehicles and heavy equipment? Department of Public Works Vehicle&Equipment Listing as of: 8/19/2022 DIVISION VEHICLE EQUIPMENT_ TOTAL Administration 4 2 6 Automotive 39 4 43 64 , Building 68 5 73 Engineering 21 15 36 Highway Maintenance 191 149 340 Traffic 44 10 54 367 185 552 -How is vehicle use/pooling managed, controlled;what is frequency of use (monthly or per existing records)? Each County department/division separately manages their own usage, not an Auto Div responsibility except for their assigned components. Silo effect...no apparent sharing/cross-usage. -What support facilities and staff are available for administration/maintenance? Main base yard/auto shop in Hilo, others in Kona and Waimea. Each have own equipment. Centralized admin in Hilo. DPW services all County vehicles/heavy equipment except Fire, Police, Water Supply and Mass Transit,which have their own budgets and refueling facilities. Centralized maintenance, although to a degree duplicative under current arrangements, not practical or feasible as presently organized. Existing facilities,staff maxed out. Computerized diagnosis used for repairs, but must pay for specialized equipment and software (varies depending on vehicle manufacturer). Parts/tools inventories not computerized. Items are paid for by Auto Div, except certain parts costs are invoiced to other departments. County maintains coded access and records for refueling. UPW relationship good. -What vehicle/equipment procurement is planned and which existing items will be replaced? DPW fleet mostly 15+years old; many require non-computerized diagnosis. This leads to many different vehicle types being purchased which requires variety of servicing, repair, parts. County should consider more procurement commonality where possible,with more bulk purchasing for volume savings in both acquisition and maintenance expenses. -Who prepares procurement requests? Individual DPW divisions prepare their own procurement requests -What are plansavailable grants for experimentation,testing and conversion to EV vehicles and charging stations? 5 EV vehicles purchased in 2012; only one remaining. Replacement batteries expensive (—$8K), must pay $4K shipping costs once vehicle warranty (5 yrs) expires. Purchasing extended warranties directly from manufacturers at time of purchase would be more cost-effective. No State disposal system.6 week delay to get new ones. Lack of commonality makes pre-stocking spares impractical. County should avoid EV, hydrogen, new technology testing...should purchase proven vehicles. Heavy corrosion on island affects batteries, EV charging stations (more and widely dispersed stations needed). DPW- HIGHWAY DIVISION -What makes/models are assigned to division 65 4 vans admin; mostly Fords. Some forks lifts. -Who uses vehicles (how requested/assigned) Each section assigns their own; can get cross-use; some are special use; vehicles/equipmentt usage- Hilo area-80%+; 75 % in 7 districts; some mechs in Waimea/Kona- 1 in Kau. On-call overseers/chiefs take home assigned vehicles. - Key security...who/how issued-lock boxes Admin-supervisors control - Refueling process County facilities - Is usage/mileage tracked/recorded No -What is replacement plan/procurement process Div does own in budget and procurement-DPW reviews -What happens to used vehicles...are they still used after new ones arrive? Some are auctioned or transferred to another div-word of mouth (not often) -Any sharing of vehicles with other div/dept Some sharing with Bldg div. No EV's DPW -TRAFFIC DIVISION -What makes/models are assigned to division- 4 vans admin; mostly Ford. No EV. Some forks lifts -Who uses vehicles (how requested/assigned) Section assign-safety rotates; can get cross-use-some special-80%+ in use - Key security...who/how issued-lock boxes Admin-supers - Refueling process 66 County - Is usage/mileage tracked/recorded No -Who does procurement Does own in budget and procurement-DPW reviews -What happens to used vehicles...are they still used after new ones arrive? Auction or transfer to another div-word of mouth(not often) -Any sharing of vehices with other div/dept- Share with Building Div 67 J APPENDIX F OUTBOUND LETTER FROM BOARDS & COMMISSIONS PERMITTED INTERACTION GROUP REQUESTING INFORMATION 68 2022 Cost of Government Commission—County of Hawai'i -Final Report J�SV Os q` Michael Konowicz,Chair +'` Neal Herbert,Vice Chair • '~ We Matthias Kusch Mitchell D.Roth •i, � : �f/. :°' •' Chantee Shiroma Mayor Madeline Greene ►'•• _- Shannon Matson . +*F°F N.�+ Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie III Karie Wakat County of Hawai`i Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603,Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 (808)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy.,Bldg C, Kailua-Kona,Hawai`i 96740 (808)323-4444 July 18, 2022 Aloha Chairperson of a Hawaii County Commission or Board, As required by law, the 2022 Cost of Government (COG) Commission has been convened to study and investigate the organizations and methods of operations of all department,commissions, boards,offices and other instrumentalities of all branches of the county government,and determine what changes, if any, may be desirable to accomplish the County's policy to promote economy, efficiency and improve service in the transaction of the public business in the legislative and executive branches of the County. A Permitted Information Group of three COG commissioners has been authorized to explore the following areas within your board/commission: -efficacy/value of your commission/board; -adequacy of your commission/board size and makeup; - frequency of your meetings; - limitations in meeting quorums; - ability to achieve positive results; -reduction or elimination of commission or board specific budgets; - changing to a County commission/board-wide dedicated support staff; - sharing of IT related technology platforms across commissions/boards such as virtual meeting technology; -changes to County Charter, if appropriate. Enclosed are some specific questions to consider as you review these points. We request your feedback on these items or other aspects of your commission/board you may wish to discuss. A meeting with you within the next month will be helpful in fulfilling our mandate to report our findings and recommendations to the Managing Director and the Council in a timely manner. Please contact Commissioner Neal Herbert at 808-935-1946 or by email nfherbert@twc.com to arrange an initial meeting or if you have any questions. County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. 69 Thank you for your participation; we look forward to hearing any feedback from you with regards to your board/commission no later than Tuesday, August 9, 2022. 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized?Is island-wide representation optimized? 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person?What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as,permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? Mahalo, /s/Michael Konowicz /s/Neal Herbert /s/ Shannon Matson Michael Konowicz, Neal Herbert, Shannon Matson, Chair Vice-Chair Commissioner 70 County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. APPENDIX G RESPONSES TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS PERMITTED INTERACTION GROUP REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION 71 Environmental Management Commission (EMC)/Dept of Environmental Management(DEM) From Georjean Adams, EMC Regarding the Environmental Management Commission, in general, I think we are doing pretty well. 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? No. I'm not aware of another commission with an overlapping charter. However, there is a still standing Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) whose charter was met(advising DEM on updating the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan 2019). I was on SWAC and have never received any official closure notice. There has been no activity(cost) since the Council approved the plan in early 2020, so maybe it's a moot issue? 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? Yes. Having representation from each district is a good idea, as issues vary by each. Unfortunately, EMC has been plagued by vacancies (only missing District 3, right now, though). 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? I think we've shown value by influencing the priorities and direction of the DEM and supporting them with the Council. 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Once a month works well. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? We had a tough time with an appeal hearing trying to maintain quorum - but mostly due to Covid absences. Being able to Zoom has helped make quorum. 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? 1 believe we are conforming to our charter-although I find myself trying to keep EMC fucsed on DEM's jurisdiction, rather than other issues that are the responsibility of DOH(eg private cesspools). The only change I wish we had is driven by the state Sunshine Act which prohibits us from brainstorming and collating information and issues between meetings so we can be more efficient in laying out recommendations for voting during public meetings. I admit I'm trying to do my first PIG and having difficulty getting timely work product from members- which is a separate issue. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? No. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? We've been doing pretty well, although there has been a lot of turnover in Corp Counsel in the last year or so. We have benefitted from the experience our current counsel(Keyra Wong)has with other boards. Our secretary(Peter Sur) is a gem, but he may feel a more dedicated assignment could help. 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? I defer to our secretary. We've been pretty successful with remote services, with the possible exceptions of needing better audio quality from the DEM Director, and our District 4 commissioner and the public in Na'alehu have connection issues when using the phone for meetings. Being able to have a public meeting site helps some, but it's still a long trek to Kona or Hilo for them. I wonder if it'd help to be able to have participation at council members'district offices? Finding an available room can be challenging (again, I defer to our secretary). 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or https://webmail.spectrum.net/mail 1/2 72 equivalent)? Our commission prefers the Zoom option. It saves a lot of gas and travel time. We get more public participation in our meetings as well. Plus we have a video of the meeting for reference by everyone, including commissioners who miss the meeting. Being able to offer in-person participation helps for those with poor connections (at the cost of travel). From Peter Sur, DEM on Question 9 above: Some of the equipment 1 use is personally bought and some is supplied by the County. Because each meeting room is different I bring everything in the car and hope to figure it out in the hour between when I arrive on site and when people start logging in to the Zoom. So far we have not had to cancel for lack of AV connection, although we have had drop outs of up to a minute or two due to a spotty connection. At minimum I can start a Zoom with a laptop, an Ethernet cable, a webcam, and an HDMI cable to connect to the TV screen. If the room has less equipment then I have to plan to bring more: DEM's projector, if there is no TV screen, and also a sound system, external microphone, wireless mics, a MiFi device from Department of Information Technology, and so on. Chair is right that finding a Zoom-capable room can be a challenge. DEM has conference rooms at its offices in Hilo and Kona so we won't ever fully run out of space, but they are not at the main county building locations, and so are less convenient for the public to find, and cannot fit everyone comfortably if we were to go 100 percent in person. That's the theory. In practice we usually have only the District 4 commissioner attending every meeting in person. From a cost of government perspective, Zoom saves the county thousands of dollars due to unclaimed mileage. Lastly, the system works because I have had a year and a half to figure it out, but what if I'm not there? What if 1 get exposed to COVID? Is the meeting just canceled? 1 am looking at going on a trip in late June 2023 and do not have a backup. In this case having support staff well versed in hosting a Zoom—one in Hilo and one in Kona— would be useful. We could see if IT would be up to the task, or you could recommend borrowing a secretary from another department, in the same way that deputy corporation counsels have backups https://webmail.spectrum.net/mail 2/2 73 KAILUA VILLAGE DESIGN COMMISSION (KVDC) Cost of Gov Questionnaire Response - Completed by Shaun Roth, KVDC Chair, July 25, 2022 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? Not for KVDC since it has a very limited scope, and it operates very efficiently now. It would probably be a drag on any other board that it was combined with. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? If all seats are filled, then it is optimal. It can be more difficult to operate when there are vacancies. More members would be cumbersome and would not necessarily improve representation or performance. Fewer members would mean that some interest groups would not be represented. Island-wide representation for this commission is not appropriate. The commission is made up of people who live and work in the Kailua-Kona area. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? I feel that this commission has been very successful with balancing the interests of many different stakeholders. The commission has made its best effort to apply the village guidelines in a manner that is fair and supports a positive atmosphere in the village. In some cases, the County's lack of enforcement tools and resources ends up diminishing the potential results. 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Yes. We don't have meetings when there is no business to conduct. If the scheduled meetings were farther apart that would be a costly burden on village plan review applicants and would encourage illegal work. The proper legal process needs to be easy for people to comply. The amount of business per meeting typically allows the meeting to be completed in a very reasonable time. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? I think there has only been one time recently when business had to be deferred due to quorum. We have had several occasions where we had to delay the meeting start due to lack of quorum. We have had many meetings where we just barely make quorum. This is primarily due to unfilled positions. Commissioner attendance is generally very reliable. 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? Yes, to conforming, no to changes needed. The commission set up works well. In the past there has been some discussion about updates to the County sign code and code enforcement; these issues don't directly have anything to do with the commission organization or operations procedures. A while back there was some discussion about updating the Kailua Village Design Guidelines; they are from the 1990s. It was quickly decided that this was a task that was clearly outside of the commission's mandate and capacity. We also did not have a strong list of items that people thought should be changed. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? No. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? The Planning Department staff currently help administer this commission. They are doing a good job. There have been times when they have felt that Public Works was not being as helpful as they could regarding sign applications. Recently though there has been acknowledgement from Public Works that Planning has been covering for them and Public Works has stepped up and helped when asked. 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? After the initial COVID pandemic shut down the Kailua Village Design Commission meetings have been remote only with resources available at the County facilities for commissioners or the public to 74 get onto the remote meeting. At the beginning there were several technical glitches that slowed meetings down and made things a bit cumbersome. Once everyone got up to speed on the technology meetings have been going very smoothly. In many cases the presentation of material is superior to what was available at the in-person meetings. These remote meetings are all recorded with both audio and video, so it seems that the meeting record keeping is also more complete that the previous in-person only. In the current setup/policy for this commission public testimony is only being taken prior to the meeting. Applicants can make live presentations and add information at the meeting, but the public is only allowed to watch. Before the pandemic this commission typically had very few occasions where public testimony was given at a meeting. I am guessing less than six times since I have been on the commission. So, the availability of last-minute public participation seems minor, however, ideally we would be able to go back to a policy where a member of the public could sign up for testimony right before the start of the meeting similar to how it was back in the in-person days. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? The Zoom meetings are more efficient in many ways. All the commissioners and applicants are saving 40 minutes +/- of driving time and gas. There is less air conditioning load in the planning department meeting room. Record keeping is better. Commissioners and applicants can attend even if they happen to be outside the Kailua-Kona area on the meeting day. Hilo side County staff can assist without driving over. Because the meetings are video recorded the public and go back and look at it even if they were not able to attend live. The main drawback to Zoom is that the quality of in-person meeting interaction is better than remote. Also, everyone does not have equal access to high-speed internet and I don't know how the County Zoom set up accommodates those with hearing or visual disability 75 PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN-ACTION COMMITTEE (CDP-AC) By Franny Brewer- on Puna CDP-AC Since 2018 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? Not really because it's Puna specific. Would be good to connect with other CDP's around the island-to get more lateral involvement as many of them are having the same issues and are dealing with the same roadblocks or attempting to implement similar programs. Maybe twice a year island-wide meetings could help reduce redundancy and increase overall efficiency to be able to get CDP's to work together and share ideas. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? No, Puna specific- but could definitely have more upper Puna representation to be inclusive of our entire LARGE district. Doesn't seem to be a priority for administration to fill the vacancies. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Eruption focused due to lava eruption in 2018/recovery focused, it's been an effective channel of communication and information to public post-eruption. It has suggested and implemented ideas specific to the lava recovery. Not sure what it was doing pre-eruption, and finding it hard to shift away from eruption and lower Puna focus. Frustrated because some of their suggestions have been ignored by the County/Planning Department, so sometimes it feels like what is the point of the work they are doing. Solutions would be to make sure there is follow through within the departments/administration, and also that they actually listen to the feedback that is sent to them by the committees/community and actually implement it. ***County of Hawaii Hazard Mitigation Plan- done by a private contractor but didn't consult with local experts on the local issues- didn't include enough info on the albizia issue, instead focused on pine trees that we don't even have here. What is actually being done with these expensive and time consuming plans being done by mainland contractors? These plans could be useful, but instead they seem to be a waste of time and money and not actually serving the public or our planning departments. 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Hard to meet when coordinating 5 peoples schedules and if even ONE of them can't make it then they don't have a quorum. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? Yes/no- only 5 currently on the committee. It restricts the ability of the group to meet since they only have the exact number for quorum. 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? It is conforming as far as she is aware. Planning staff are very helpful and conscious of Sunshine Law. Have been meeting virtually with in-person option for hybrid/public testimony. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? No, because no expenses/budget. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? Yes, of course, but only if staff with some sort of sway in the administration would be useful. 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard AN equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? It's been done well- good public access and meetings run well. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? Hybrid is good. 76 TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION Meeting with Michael O'Laughlin, Chair Adequacy of your commission/board size and makeup. 9 districts. 2 vacancies recently filled, now fully appointed. Frequency of your meetings. Every 3 months is adequate, no missed meetings in past year. Agendas and minutes are now posted online. Limitations in meeting quorums. Quorums met in at least last 6 meetings. Ability to achieve positive results. Significant improvements in Mass Transit and public awareness in past year. Reduction or elimination of commission or board specific budgets. None suggested at this time. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? An existing MTA clerk provides assistance to the TC; there is no full-time employee needed for support. Special knowledge of MTA business is essential here. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? Probably not given specific function/responsibilities. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? Not at this time 77 COMMITTEE ON STATUS OF WOMEN From Farrah-Marie Gomes, Chair 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused?Absolutely. Our committee struggles with adequate administrative support from the department that is assigned to us, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. They appear to be very busy as evidenced by the attached emails. It is a constant struggle to be productive and gain efficiency in working with this office. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? Size of board is optimized. Island-wide representation is not. Prior administrations attempted to appoint members from districts across the island. However, the current administration has appointed based on who submits their application first, which puts us in the situation of having 7 out of 9 members from Hilo. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Yes, value to community is something that our committee ensures happens, even if it means committee members purchasing items out of pocket because we cannot get them procured through the County. 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Yes, once a month is a good frequency for our committee. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? In the past and usually when members near the end of their term, this has been a problem. This could be avoided if the administration was prepared to make appointments as soon as terms end. However, this hasn't been our experience. 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? No code changes are recommended at this time. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit?A financial audit is not necessary since our budget is only$10,000. However, a Business Process Analysis or some other similar evaluative process could probably benefit the County is identifying what is needed and how that can be provided to maximize community member contributions to the boards/commissions processes. Something like that would clearly show that the CSW is working hard to ensure that our responsibilities are met, but we do not get reciprocal support from our assigned department. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? Yes, this would help with the challenges described above and included in the attached. Also, we have been through four different lawyers just this past year. (Malia Kekai, Dakota (Cody) Frenz, Sinclair SalasFerguson, Suzanna Tiapula) 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? Zoom has worked well for the most recent months. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? In-person when it's safe, but always available via Zoom to increase accessibility to the public. 78 VETERANS ADVISORY COMMITTEE From Michael Doolittle, Chairman 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? We have over the past 5 years brought the VAC into the present day need of Veterans and a more representative committee. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? It may be possible in some areas to combine Commissions, but not for the Veterans Advisory Committee. This is a committee looking at the lives of Veterans, and how we address the issues they face. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Yes 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Yes 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? We have not had any difficulty in having a quorum for our meetings 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? We have over the past 5 years updated and revised the statutes &codes of our committee 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? I doubt that an audit of our committee would be of any value 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? I am not sure that having dedicated staff support for our committee would be of any benefit. The Parks & Rec staff that supports us now, has a combined responsibility for oversight of the Veterans Cemeteries 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? Currently we hold our meeting via Zoom, this eliminates the need for meeting rooms and actually promotes maximum attendance. I would encourage all committee meetings to be held remotely. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? I would encourage that whenever possible hold meetings via Zoom. 79 PENSION BOARD Walter Lucas, Chair This board's charter covers non-civil service entities. With recent law changes, the only group left in this category is the County Band. Once the existing 10-12 non-civil service band members retire, the Pension Board itself will serve no purpose and should be eliminated. 80 • Grrtm. �-� �� �' � JN Michael Konowicz,Chair /�+Y• .os�':�,;• Neal Herbert,Vice Chair r : • t,�._ Matthias Kusch Mitchell D.Roth ;�•l !`, ='��••' Chantee Shiroma . .� s•r= Madeline Greene Maya' .? :19 , Shannon Matson �. Kenneth Obenski Daniel Malakie Iil Karie Wakat County of Hawai`i Cost of Government Commission 25 AEpuni Street,Suite 2603,Hilo,Hewer i 96720 (80$)961-8211 74-5044 Ane Keohokalolo Hwy„Bldg C,Kallua-Kona,Hawai'i 96740 (808)323-4444 July 18, 2022 Aloha Chairperson of a Hawaii County Commission or Board, As required by law, the 2022 Cost of Government (COG) Commission has been convened to study and investigate the organizations and methods of operations of all department,commissions, boards,offices and other instrumentalities of all branches of the county government,and determine what changes, if any, may be desirable to accomplish the County's policy to promote economy, efficiency and improve service in the transaction of the public business in the legislative and executive branches of the County. A Permitted Information Group of three COG commissioners has been authorized to explore the following areas within your board/commission: • -efficacy/value of your commission/board; -adequacy of your comrission/boal'disize and makeup; -frequency of your meetings; -limitations in meeting quorums; -ability to achieve positive results; -reduction or elimination of commission or board specific budgets; -changing to a County commission/board-wide dedicated support staff; - sharing of IT related technology platforms across commissions/boards such as virtual meeting technology; -changes to County Charter, if appropriate. Enclosed are some specific questions to consider as you review these points. We request your feedback on these items or other aspects of your commission/board you may wish to discuss. A meeting with you within the next month will be helpful in fulfilling our mandate to report our findings and recommendations to the Managing Director and the Council in a timely manner. Please contact Commissioner Neal Herbert at 808-935-1946 or by email nfherbert@twc.com to arrange an initial meeting or if you have any questions. County of Hawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. 8l • Thank you for your participation; we look forward to hearing any feedback from you with regards to your board/commission no later than Tuesday, August 9,2022. 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? Yes 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized?Is island-wide representation optimized? Yes 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Yes 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Yes 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? No 6. Is your board/commission conforming to t1 p County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? es 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? No 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? NO 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions,as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely age in-person?What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person(as permitted)and via Zoom(or equivalent)? Yes. Howevep,pue to like of cell phone service in South Kona along with internet this makes it very difficult to use Zoom.. Mahalo, /s/Michael Konowicz • Is/Neal Herbert /s/Shannon Matson Michael Konowicz, Neal Herbert, Shannon Matson, Chair Vice-Chair Commissioner County of Hawaii is an Equal Opponuniry Provider and Employer. 82 Mitchell D.Roth Mayor Lee E.Lord Managing Director • v15:4!-°i j! Gerald A.Takase Robert H.Command =c°• Director • Deputy Managing Director �'• • • ce• �'1 c•- Liquor Commission -res Liquor Adjudication Board d Dawn• Raymond, Cha �f,�'��e�;.�� : Ronald Ibarra,Vice Chair Dwayne Mukai,Chair 4(14 to Doug Espejo,Commissioner Sidney Fuke,Vice Chair Laurisa Nishimoto,Commissioner Michael Hughes,Board Member Allen Salave'a,Commissioner Howard Kelly,Board Member County of H awa i`iRiley Smith,Commissioner Arthur Taniguchi,Board Member Paula Thomas,Commissioner ComDEPARTMENT OF LIQUOR CONTROL Jennifer Va at ndCommis;oneoner Hilo Lagoon Centre, 101 Aupuni Street,Unit 230,Hilo,Hawai'i 96720-4261 Phone: (808)961-8218 Fax: (808)961-8684 E-Mail: cohdlc@hawaiicounty.gov DATE: August 9, 2022 TO: Cost of Government Commission FROM: Gerald Takase, Director Department of Liquor Co t of RE: Response to Communication Dated July 18, 2022 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? We don't believe that the Liquor Adjudication Board and the Liquor Commission should be combined because they perform entirely different functions and responsibilities. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? In regard to the Liquor Commission, yes and yes, because representation comes from all nine districts of Hawai'i County. In regard to the Liquor Adjudication Board, the size seems to be sufficient and represented island-wide. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Yes. The Department of Liquor Control works with applicants, licensees, and community concerns, therefore making decisions as a Commission very positive. 83 Hawai'i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Cost of Government Commission Page 2 of 3 August 9, 2022 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? In regard to the Liquor Commission, yes, we believe the frequency is fine. There are manageable items on the agenda each month. We need to be responsive to the community, and to hold an applicant hostage by us not having a meeting impacts them, so we agree that monthly is good. And, the other thing that the Department does that works really well is that the staff are willing to approve things that we ratify later, and not hold up an applicant when they're compliant with the intent of the rules, we think that's very good. In regard to the Liquor Adjudication Board, meetings are held as needed. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? No. 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? Yes, we are conforming to the County Charter. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? No. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other county employees be prudent? No. We don't perceive from our experience that a pool of lawyers and secretaries is necessary. 84 Cost of Government Commission Page 3 of 3 August 9, 2022 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard AN equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in-person? What equipment, systems and facilities are you using in this regard? We suggest increased standardization and support from the County for use of AN equipped meeting rooms, to enable access to ICT capabilities for remote participation. Facilities being used currently are the Liquor Control Hilo Meeting Room, Kona Council Chambers, and Building G Meeting Room in Kona. Equipment being used are recorder, laptop, webcam, microphones, speakers, projector/screen, and conference phone. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? Yes. We think the way our meetings have been going has been good, by giving meeting attendees the option to attend in-person or virtually is nice and has been working well. Act 220, effective January 1, 2022, has given the Boards and Commissions the ability to meet in person or electronically, and should take care of this problem. We also need to be cognizant of the cost to the County and to the public too, so we support hybrid meetings. 85 Mitchell D. Roth .-JN Y c ', Gabriella M. Cabanas Mayor %o...L q •. A Chair %-,l•yei \. Met ventura y\L'.i;il ` +: . , vice-Chair ,I\,•14 OF M p�= County of Hawai`i Merit Appeals Board Aupuni Center * 101 Pin Street,Suite 2 * 1-filo, I-tawai.'067-2O (808)961-8361 * Fax (808)961-8617 September 7, 2022 Sent via email only Mr. Michael Konowicz, Chair and Members of the Cost of Government Commission 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, HI 96720 Aloha, Chair Konowicz and Members of the Cost of Government Commission: Thank you for reaching out to the Merit Appeals Board ("MAB") to request our input on what changes, if any, may be desirable to promote the County of Hawai`i's policy to promote economy, efficiency, and improve service in county government. MAB met on August 30, 2022 to review and discuss the July 18, 2022 letter from the Cost of Government Commission ("COGC"). Below are our responses to the questions posed. 1. Can redundancy and waste be reduced by combining boards/commissions that are like focused? Response: No. The authority of the MAB comes from Hawaii Revised Statutes 76-14 and the statute does not allow for MAB to integrate with another board or commission. 2. Is the size of your board/commission optimized? Is island-wide representation optimized? Response: Yes to both questions. 3. Has your board/commission retained its value to the community and achieved positive results? Response: Yes. 4. Is your meeting frequency optimized? Response: Yes. 5. Has lack of quorums been a problem and affected effectiveness? Response: No. Kate De Soto,Charles Kunz, Ga'LJ Mathews,Met".&bers 86 F-tawc L L count is an Equal Opportunit j Provider and Evuplo jer. L Chair Konowicz and Members of the Cost of Government Commission September 7, 2022 Page 2 of 2 6. Is your board/commission conforming to the County Charter or should any code changes to guidelines be suggested? Response: Yes, MAB conforms to the requirements of Hawaii County Charter Section 7-1.2 and Hawaii Revised Statutes 76-14. No changes are needed. 7. Would an audit of your board/commission be of any benefit? Response: No. 8. Would employing a support staff of secretaries and lawyers for the exclusive use of the Commissions and Boards so as to not distract the workload of other County employees be prudent? Response: No. 9. What suggestions might you have for using standard A/V equipment and resources across boards and commissions, as well as standardizing how the community can interact with each board and commission remotely and/or in- person? What equipment, systems, and facilities are you using in this regard? Response: MAB uses the Hawaii County Council room for meetings as well as Zoom for remote accessibility. We recommend consideration be given to utilizing an automated transcription service to reduce the amount of staff time needed to draft the minutes for each meeting. 10. Should all meetings be held both in-person (as permitted) and via Zoom (or equivalent)? Response: Yes. Sincerely, /11&IA t.t-Utt.) . ea fran.4 Gabriella M. Cabanas, Chair Merit Appeals Board GMC: gy c: J Yoshimoto, Assistant Corporation Counsel 87