Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2021

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dealing with the public health crisis facing the community. In order to aid the state and local governments in their struggle, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"), which awarded the County with $80 million to address medical, public health, economic support and other emergency response costs resulting from COVID-19. This is only one of the numerous federal grants that the County received during fiscal year 2021 to address the fallout of the pandemic that reached each governmental function and forced the County to alter its operations to meet the needs of the community. Major Initiatives For the Year Public Safety — One notable accomplishment during Fiscal Year 2020-2021 was the Department's implementation of a Body Worn Camera (BWC) program for uniform officers, joining the rest of the police departments throughout the state in deploying this technology. In July 2020, the department acquired all of the BWC equipment purchased from AXON with funding from the prior fiscal year and began the process of deploying the BWCs, which was completed by the end of the fiscal year. The BWC program has proven to be a valuable resource with regards to ensuring the professionalism within our department as video footage has been utilized during administrative investigations to discredit or support allegations of misconduct. The Hawaii Fire Department participated in extensive co -training events during the fiscal year with the Pohakuloa Training Area Fire Department and the State Airport Rescue and Firefighting Department. The Department also placed three new fire pumpers and a wildland tanker that was donated into service. Public Works — Over the past fiscal year the Department of Public Works (DPW) completed major projects in our community including: The Pu`u Noho Culvert Reconstruction, valued at $0.5 million, was completed in November 2020. The project included replacing the collapsed culvert, reconstruct concrete headwalls, reconstruct the roadway pavement structure, and striping. It was also a project funded partially by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in connection with the Hurricane Lane disaster. The Plumeria Street, valued at $1 million, was completed in December 2020. The project included pavement rehabilitation, installing pavement markers, and striping. Culture and Recreation — Parks and Recreation continued to provide response to the COVID-19 pandemic by developing policies and rules for safe implementation of classes, programs and facility use. Assisted the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency by providing facilities and personnel island wide for COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics. -3-