2024-01-17 Salary Commission Minutes (Draft)

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Salary Commission January 17, 2024 CHR. PAVAO: Maybe we can ask Managing Director Sako for some input. (At this time, Ms. Deanna Sako, Managing Director, Office of the Mayor, came forward.) MS. SAKO: So, I initially walked up because we did the director or the administrator that's being appointed to the temporary position is—does not start till February I", so I'm here representing that administration. And so, it is a work -in -progress, exactly as Commissioner just said. And so, we're starting as a brand new agency for our County. We've never had one before. It is the Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience. So, in the County we have agencies and offices and we have departments. They're not clearly defined anywhere in the Charter or our Code that we could find. But, historically, an agency or an office has been headed by an EM, right—someone excluded from collective bargaining. But they are hired individuals that, just like our Controller, or another position is actually a permanent employee of the County. So, this is very unique for us to have an agency with an appointed department head. So, in my mind, just with my experience at the County, normally the agencies are much smaller and do very more limited scope work than what—for a department would do. That may be a factor you want to look at. So, most of the agency heads are EM's and they're EM3's or 5's and so several of our agencies have EM3's—and that was, actually, how the initial salary was determined was the mid-level of a EM3. And so, what we do know that this agency will kind of grow and morph into whatever is needed by our community. You're right, I mean, we have more challenges than ever on our island. We've gone through more disasters than any other island in our State. And so, they may or may not be working with Civil Defense. We do have a Climate Action Plan—Research and Development has been working on that. We've worked with the departments, we have maps, we know where sea level rise is expected. This department is probably not going to be the one to do the construction projects to maybe have to move roads or make buildings—and they're going to advise other departments. They will work closely with Department of Public Works, for example. I'm sure they'll to continue to work closely with Research and Development. But, so, if anything, we would prefer probably to start out on a lower end of a spectrum and work its way up as we determine more what is going to be on the plate of this individual. Page 6