COM 0758.004 2008-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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C RUDELE ItE DE LIMA May 18, 2010 ATTORNEYS AT LAW '.y Chairman Yoshimoto and Members of the Council Hawaii County Council C C) County Building �—c, m Hilo, Hawaii 96720 °o C, ) -° Dear Chairman Yoshimoto and Members of the Council, ti ;>; 0 I am Brian De Lima and I am an attorney representing Kamaaina Pumping, Inc. = lwspeak. opposition to Bill 230. Bill 230 has a purpose section and I am here to oppose the provisions outlined in the purpose section of Section 1 pertaining to the prohibition against County employees and companies from contracting with the County when that employee has a controlling interest. 1 am not here to oppose the provision regarding banning County employees from representing third parties. Bill 230 was examined by the Hawaii County Board of Ethics. The Board of Ethics, made recommendations that would amend Bill 230. We had no objections to the recommendations of the Board of Ethics. The Board of Ethics is the body that will determine whether there are any violations of the Code. The members of the Board believed that the recommended changes of Bill 230 were not in the interest of the public. The Board of Ethics recommended several amendments to Bill 230 that would ensure that special duty police officers would continue to operate in the manner that they are currently employed. It is important to note that the County contracts with private companies and charges a commission for each special duty police officer and as such under the strict reading of Bill 230 that continued practice would be prohibited. Also prohibited would be any stipend or contributions to County Employees who may provide services to senior citizen and youth groups as part of on -going programs. such as swimming lessons or ukulele or hula lessons. The Board of Ethics addressed those concerns by proposing amendments to Bill 230. Frankly, Bill 230 was generated by the administration because the purchasing office prepared bid specifications that were viewed as being too narrow. The inaccurate and incorrect perception is that the County Employee that had an interest in the company somehow influenced the bid specifications. The matter was investigated and determined that the employee had nothing to do with the bid specifications. In any event, the sealed bid process that ensures that the County benefit from competition, was recognized by the Board of Ethics as the mechanism to ensure that the public interest is protected. Comm. No. 7 5 a Ref. To, Ref. Date MAY 1 2. 101 AUPUNI STREET • SUITE 133 • HILO, HAWAII 96720 • (808) 969 -7707 • FAX (808) 969 -6606