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Hawaii County Police Commission <br />Regular Session Minutes <br />January 16, 2009 <br />Page 4 <br />commissioners, they are all proud of what their police officers do, and they should <br />spotlight them as much as possible. He'll work with the committees on their goals. <br />Chair Whittemore stated that Corporation Counsel Ashida will work on a training <br />program for them as to where their boundaries are and where they can and cannot go <br />in their role as commissioners. A similar process was done about four or five years <br />ago. As commissioners, they need to be in sync with the police department so that <br />they perceive the commission in supporting role, not an intruding one. <br />Commissioner Kaoiwi stated that he listened to the County Council concerning the <br />microwave radio. Deputy Chief Ferreira gave a good synopsis of how much money <br />would be used, and where the money was coming from. If the grants do not come in, <br />they will run into problems. His main concern is that in 2013, the requirements will go <br />into effect. If they don't do anything now, they will run into trouble. So, they need to <br />lobby their council people. They need to express concern about finances. <br />Commissioner Kaoiwi stated that with the new appointments, the salary for the Police <br />Chief, Corporation Counsel, their Deputies, and their secretaries has to revert back. <br />He expressed his concern to some of the council people at the last confirmation <br />hearing, and some of them didn't realize that was happening. It's not right. <br />Chair Whittemore stated that the communications system has come up before, and <br />they did ask Chief Mahuna to give them a report on the whole thing. <br />Chief Kubojiri explained that the conversion from analog to digital is similar to what's <br />happening with TV. It is a more efficient use of band width. Come January 1, 2013, <br />there will be new VHF licensing requirements. The biggest kicker is that all the <br />frequencies will open up for commercial use, and public safety will not be able to knock <br />them off as they now do. Equipment will no longer be manufactured to handle the radio <br />they now have. The $89 million is for hardware, software, site location, new tower, <br />construction, everything. The county hired Macro Corporation to do the study. The <br />Mayor asked Macro Corporation to come and explain to him and the County Council <br />what the impact will be. Maui Police Department went through this years ago. They <br />agreed to review Macro Corporation's plans and give them feedback. Councilperson <br />Brenda Ford has been pushing this matter, is on top of it, and knows the deadlines. <br />Chair Whittemore asked that they be notified when the County Council hears this <br />matter. Commissioner Behenna asked for a copy of the study. <br />Commissioner Lassiter stated that they should not eliminate the Contractual Services <br />Committee because they have funding for it. If they delete it and lose the funding, they <br />might not have the funding if the need for a private investigator comes up. <br />Commissioner Behenna stated that he wants to better define the role of each <br />committee. His thought is that being up -to -date on the whole radio communication <br />thing would be a task for the Public Relations /Information Committee. He reminded <br />