COM 0760.001 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the County Council, County of Hawaii Page 2 March 30, 1998 Moreover, the transfer of support functions to the Office of the Corporation Counsel would probably produce a far greater potential for conflict of interest and confusion of roles than the status quo. The Corporation Counsel's office currently provides legal counsel to both the Board and to County agencies which appear before the Board, such as the Planning Commission and the Department of Public Works. Presumably, any other County agency which appears before the Board would also be represented by a Deputy Corporation Counsel. Thus, there is already a potential for claims of conflict of interest within the Corporation Counsel's Office. This potential would only be exacerbated by the transfer of the administrative functions of the Board to the Corporation Counsel's office. Then, not only would the Office be providing legal counsel to multiple parties and the Board, but would also be handling the filings, correspondence recordkeeping and scheduling of the Board as well. The potential for administrative confusion and misrouting of documents and communications is obvious. This would increase the possibility that counsel for parties would be accidentally given privileged communications between the Board and its Counsel and should a document be "lost" or mishandled to the prejudice of any party, the Corporation Counsel's office might be suspected of preferential treatment. In addition, this concentration of functions could undermine public confidence in the integrity and independence of the Board. If the Corporation Counsel's office provides counsel to the Board, to County agencies and also controls administration of the Board, the public may perceive an appearance that the Board is an appendage of the Office of the Corporation Counsel, and that the latter controls the Board. Untrue as this would be, the Board strongly objects to any changes that might create such perceptions. The Planning Department understandably may want to relieve its excellent staff of the Board duties. However, we understand that the Corporation Counsel staff is also overburdened, and that additional staff is being considered to handle the Board duties. We respectfully suggest that the more direct and efficient solution would be to add an additional position to the Planning Department instead. This would preserve the excellent administrative support the Board presently enjoys, and give Planning the augmentation it needs. Based on the foregoing, the Board opposes moving from the Planning Department to the Office of the Corporation Counsel for administrative purposes. The Board is also concerned about the Bill's proposed removal of the phrase stating that "expertise in construction or planning" is not a prerequisite for membership. The Board is concerned that there not be undue restrictions preventing otherwise qualified and experienced