2024-07-25 Fire Commission Minutes

Home

Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes July 25, 2024 Page 11 respected, and knowledgeable about the department. Chief Todd is confident that the new deputy will be well-received and will positively impact the department. The new deputy will be introduced at the Fire Commission meeting in Kona in August. Commissioners Perrin and Mattos expressed support for the internal selection process, while Commissioner Magsalin inquired about the gender of the candidate, which Chief Todd confirmed was not a consideration in his decision-making. He emphasized that the selection is based on merit and qualifications. Chief Todd announced that he has secured approval for the State Fire Marshal position at the State level and is working on its creation. This new role will assume some responsibilities previously held by the State Fire Council, to establish state-wide standardization. He mentioned that while he values the benefits of external personnel and the fresh perspectives they can bring, he has many highly qualified and capable individuals within the department. Given this, he felt there was no need to consider external candidates for this position. With no further questions or comments, the commission thanked Chief Todd, and he exited the meeting. NEW BUSINESS Discuss the Fire Chief's annual evaluation process. Commissioner Hirakami reported he has made significant progress. He took the evaluation template from the last evaluation and converted it to Word. He broke down the six performance components—leadership, communication, strategic planning, resource allocation, safety, and emergency management—into specific indicators, sent a draft to Chief Todd, and set up a meeting with him that lasted an hour. He explained that the process will be similar to that used by the Water Department, involving a self- evaluation by the Fire Chief and a final review by the commission. Commissioner Hirakami proposed that the commission review the draft, discuss it, and amend it as needed at the next meeting. The Fire Chief would then provide his self- evaluation by November, with final evaluations and scores completed by December. Chair Kosaki approved of the process, thanked Commissioner Hirakami for his efforts and decided to keep this matter as unfinished business on the agenda. Commissioner Cushnie inquired whether commissioners could visit fire stations to talk to personnel and gauge communication, as part of the evaluation process. Chair Kosaki responded that while commissioners can visit stations, they cannot directly ask personnel about the chief's performance. Counsel had previously advised that commissioners should not inquire about the chief's performance during station visits.