2018-02-21 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board February 21, 2018 And I that's why I say—when I say, "I like him"—and when people say, "I like Bill"—I think that's a very positive quality that he has. The other reason, like I said is, I trust Bill. We wouldn't have hired him if we didn't trust him. And we trusted him enough that I see my friend, Duane Kanuha is here—Duane didn't really need a Deputy Director of Planning because he had Bill Brilhante. Tom Brown, when he was at Mass Transit doesn't have a deputy director but great—he didn't need one because he had Bill Brilhante. When we sent Bill out on client assignments, he would basically take that department—talk about have ownership over that department—and help lead that department. And that was a very reassuring feeling for me as the administrator because I would get feedback from the clients, from the department heads and said, "Hey, Linc, do me a favor." I said, "Sure, what is it?" "Never take Brilhante away from us." Yeah, as good to hear—and I heard that from two department heads—one who's here today—handsome bugga here today—and Tom Brown. But, you know, Bill is human. We—nobody's perfect. When there were issues concerning issues, like, for example—I'll always tell people couple things, yeah. When you're in the County Number 1, you got to be nice to everyone all of the time. And, Number 2, pretend everybody's watching all of the time because they are. And when there are perception issues, I said, `Bill, there's perception issues. I know you coach tennis, Waiakea High School. But instead of just going to your practice, it's okay to tell people you're on flex time that you've gone to coach the kids at Waiakea. It's okay to be open about that because the transparency is important." And he was very amenable to that. So, he's very—in that way, no pun intended but he's very coachable. He recogni—and when you confront him withI want to say shortcomings—but, issues like that, he receives it really well and he does something about it. And to that end, I've seen a lot of maturation on his part over the years. He's not the same guy that we hired. What is it, Bill—has it been, like, 13 years? 12-13 years ago—he's not the same man. And to his credit, he'sI think he's a better man. Like I said, I don't know how else but to say that I like him and I trust him. And I was telling my friend, Glynis, that since I left the County 4 years ago, I've, kind of, laid low—haven't come out. But this was one time where I felt—Bill doesn't owe me anything and I don't owe him anything. But, when I saw it playing out in the newspaper, when I knew that he was going toI contacted him and asked him if he was putting his hat in. He said, "Yes"I told him that I would come out because I wanted to come out, because it's the right thing to do. And I think with that I thank you for your attention. It's much appreciated. I wanted to commend the other applicantsI don't know who they are, but for them to come forth and put their hat in the ring. I just wanted to congratulate them also. And, most importantly, thank you for your dedication, your hard work. Thank you very much. Page 3