COM 0268.000 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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HCC, Section 2-166 (a), was amended to read as follows: "A protocol officer, who shall be [appointed] desi ne ated by the Mayor [and housed in the Office of chc Mayor], shall be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the formal agreement signed by the County of Hawaii and the sister city. The protocol officer serves at the discretion of the Mayor for the term of office of the Mayor and may be removed by the Mayor." Although no reference in the council minutes was found, we assume that "designated" is a more appropriate word than "appointed. "Appointed" suggests a more formal process and usually applies to department heads and members of board and commissions whose appointments are subject to council confirmation. Section 2-166(b) remained as follows: "The protocol officer shall be responsible for informing the County of Hawaii's existing sister cities of the terms and conditions of this article and shall submit an annual report to the council by December 31 of each year which summarizes the activities of the County of Hawaii's sister cities and identifies the sister cities for which no activity has occurred within five years, thereby resulting in an automatic termination of the County of Hawaii's sister city relationships." Protocol Officer Reports The latest protocol officer's sister city annual report dated December 18, 2002, states that because of a lack of activity over an extended period of time, the status of three sister cities (Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal; Tasmania, Australia and Legazpi City, Philippines) were described as being "in doubt." This lack of activity could mean the ending of the sister city relationship. However, before any termination process begins, some issues related to the Hawaii County Code should be noted. Problems with the Code as Written ? When Section 2-165(c) was amended, Section 2-166(b) was left unchanged; therefore, the language in these two sections is currently inconsistent. ? There is no language in Section 2-166(b) to specify the responsibilities of the protocol officer (and by extension the administration) in the process for terminating a sister city relationship. ? There are yearly appropriations for the sister city program. Section 2-165(b) mandates that "County funds shall be appropriated to provide for the exchange of gifts or goodwill missions to promote the newly established sisterhood and the concept of mutual understanding." People when reviewing or looking at the sister city program would inevitably ask -how much money was budgeted and how much and on what budget items was the money spent on? The current Protocol Officer report should reflect expense data that lists how much money was spent on what budgeted items. ? The due date of the report is currently December 31 of each year, but it is not clear what period the report covers. 2