2019-07-10 Fire Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Fire Commission Minutes of July 10, 2019 Page 3 • Public Relations: Commissioner St. Ambrogio reported that the Fire Department sent personnel to talk to her neighborhood watch volunteers about disaster preparedness. The fire fighter did an excellent presentation, and she truly thanked him for that. • New Projects/Business: The firefighters contract was approve for all four counties. • Other Departmental Activities: Deputy Chief Uchida will do a presentation on hiring and promotions at the next meeting. Fire Commission IDs were made. • 2019 Program of Work Update (None reported.) UNFINISHED BUSINESS Discussion on the commission's oversight of personnel matters of the Fire Department and compliance with the Hawaii County Charter and Hawaii Revised Statutes. Chair Henkel reported that a letter was sent to the Human Resources Director and Legislative Auditor inviting them to this meeting. He stated that Legislative Auditor Bonnie Nims called him and advised that they speak to Corporation Counsel on this matter. HR Director William Brilhante came before the commission. He stated that he's at this meeting because he is not sure what the commission was requesting. Chair Henkel stated that they want to know what their oversight is and the administrative duties of the Fire Department. Mr. Brilhante stated that he looked at the Charter and their duties. He would like to give them a general overview of the hiring process. In 2000, there was a reform that removed HR from being the central hiring center. They were allowed to delegate. The Fire Department's HR staff determines the minimum qualifications for the position. His staff handles all the new prospects, the new fire fighters. This is called onboarding. They determine if an applicant meets the MQs. The list of all applicants who meet the MQs is given to Jean Viernes, Fire Department's HR Specialist. It is not given to the Chief. They take extra precautions in securing the confidential process. He relies on his staff, and there is always communication between his staff and Fire HR. He briefly explained the process. He also mentioned that audits are being conducted of different department's hiring process. If the commission has concerns, they should bring it up with their Corporation Counsel. When you have 30 applicants for 1 opening, they know they will have 29 unhappy applicants. Chair Henkel stated that if someone from the public has this concern, he doesn't think it's appropriate for them to approach one of them. Ms. Schoen stated that the 29 applicants could make an appeal to the Merit Appeals Board. For employees, it is the grievance process. In response to the Chair's inquiry, Ms. Schoen stated that the Legislative Auditor has not done an audit of a board or commission. The majority of their time is doing financial audits.