COM 0804.015 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In March of 2003, 1 tasked one of our staff members to begin research into the creation of risk manager position for our County. This research included, but was not limited to, examination of similar positions in other jurisdictions in our State, an examination and evaluation of current risk management principles nationwide, and assembling data on past and present claims facing our County. A short summary of current risk management principles is attached. A committee was formed, comprised of representatives from the following departments: Police, Fire, Parks, Public Works, Civil Service, Safety, Finance, and Corporation Counsel. We have met monthly since early 2004, culminating with our final meeting on October 21, 2004. A multitude of issues were painstakingly discussed, including but not limited to where this risk manager would be housed within the County, whether the position should be appointed or civil service, who would be responsible for hiring this position, what types of individuals would we attract in the recruitment, how this risk manager should interact with County departments, where the money would come from in order to fund improvements recommended by the risk manager, and what would be the performance measures utilized in order to assess the success of the risk manager and the risk management program. We are prepared to make the following recommendations to Mayor Kim and the Hawaii County Council: • Creation of a County Risk Manager and the necessary support staff. These positions will be annexed to the Finance Department and come under the direct supervision of the Finance Director, who will be responsible for hiring these civil service positions. • Resurrecting the County's formal existing Risk Management Program, as found in the Finance Department's Procedures Manual (attached). It is our intention to continue our periodic meetings, and include Police, Fire, Public Works, Parks, and any other department that wishes to participate in this important committee. The reality is we need to spend the time, energy and money up front in order to reduce larger costs down the road. Risk management for our County needs to be proactive, and not reactive. It may be difficult to quantify tangible measures of success for a risk management program. Merely looking at money paid in claims, although relevant, may not accurately reflect nor capture the savings to the County from a catastrophic claim averted by responsible risk management activity. Please let me know if further documentation or information is desired. Encls. S: Depts/Corp Counsel/LSA Misc. Corresp./Risk Management Executive Summary 10-22-04/LSAmr 2