2009-01-16 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawaii County Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 16, 2009 Page 6 • Traffic: AC Pacheco summarized the written report. There was a drop in accidents, fatalities, and arrests. Their grants for roadblocks have not been affected by the budget crunch. They had one fatality this year. Commissioner Behenna stated that he was struck by the zero in all the child restraint columns. Chief Kubojiri stated that last year, Hawaii County had the highest compliance rate for seatbelt /child restraints. Personnel: Major Kanehailua reported that as of January 5, they had 9 sworn and 8 civilian vacancies. A recruit class of 17 will graduate at the end of the month. They have four intergovernmental requests to transfer to Hawaii County Police. A sergeant who transfers over will start as a PO II, but patrol officers will start as patrol officers. A lot of officers, who left the department, want to return. Kay Oshiro was promoted to County Finance, and they are looking for a new accountant. They had two vacancies in dispatch, but a new person started today. • Finance: Deputy Chief Ferreira reported that Accountant Kay Oshiro was promoted to County Controller. She has return rights for four years plus an additional four years. He summarized the written report. They had a meeting with the budget office which was on the bleak side. They calculated a 5% cut this past year and now need to make a 10% cut. Chair Whittemore asked for a copy of the CIP projects as soon as possible. • Commendations: Chief Kubojiri reported receiving 10 commendations since the last meeting -- South Hilo 7, Puna 1, and Kona 2. • Other Departmental Activities: Chief Kubojiri reported that the Mayor put a county- wide freeze on all civilian positions. A committee was set up to review all requests to fill vacancies, and they look at its impact. Sworn positions have not been affected. They prioritize their immediate needs and send out requests to fill as a priority. Commissioner Politano Steckel thanked the police and fire departments for their handling of the New Year's Day fire on her street. Their response was very quick, and it was done with a minimum amount of disturbance. Commissioner Kaoiwi stated that he visited the Waimea police station that morning and is concerned that they have only one clerk. If she is out sick, someone has to be pulled off the road. Some time ago, he went to the Keaau Police Station, and a computer was down. At that time, there were a lot of new computers at the Hilo station set for administration. The rural districts need to be taken care of also, not only administration. Chief Kubojiri stated that Hannah Thornton was his police operations clerk when he was in Waimea and when Chief Mahuna was there. She runs the district, and the captain knows that. They have sworn people who know her duties and are put there