2004-07-16 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawaii County Police Commission Special Meeting Minutes July 16, 2004 Page 5 Police department. If that were lobbying, then he would have to agree. But, the reality of it is they are making a statement to government as a citizen or as a collective citizen group that basically states that the department needs more money, and unfortunately that's just the way our system works. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that the Charter states that the commission reviews the annual budget prepared by the Chief of Police and may make recommendations to the Mayor and Managing Director. There's nothing in there about the council. That function is limited to making recommendations. The commission does not have any trump power over the Chief. He decides what's best and appropriate for the department. The commission's recourse, if they are aggrieved with the Chief's decision, is to remove him for cause, collectively. That's where the line is. Commissioner Bertsch stated that there are policies and procedures that they all must follow, but they also need to do their function to the best of our ability and sometimes that means going in front of the County Council and voicing their opinion whether solicited to or not. In the past, the Police Commission has gone in front of the County Council not as an individual group, but in conjunction with the Police department in submitting the budget. It's the Police Commission providing an affirmation of the budget that is being submitted. Commissioner de Silva suggested that they just think about it, and maybe in the future someone might ask Corporation Counsel Ashida for his opinion on whether or not it's proper for them to testify before the County Council. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that the Fire Commission has had active discussions with the administration and the County Council. He doesn't know if they were effective, but they did get funding for additional positions and a new station. • Office Management and Staffing (Muller /Mitchell): The committee had no report. • Rules and Policies (Bertsch /de Silva): The committee had no report. Contractual Services (Frazier): Commissioner Frazier reported that they received a report from the investigator and would like comments on the format. Vice Chair Manago expressed concern over the timeliness of the reports. Commissioner Frazier stated that this has been addressed with the investigator who now has nine complaints for investigation. • Public Relations (Hara /Lassiter): The committee had no report. CHIEF'S REPORT Including: