2011-05-27 Cost of Government Commission Agenda

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Part 3 –Summary Conclusion of Recommendations The COGC Commissioners are concerned that the many recommendations contained herein may not be implemented. Therefore we have taken the following further steps to support the follow-through. a)A presentation of the final document of recommendations will be conveyed to the Mayor, County Council, and Department Heads before the end of the COGC term in June 2011; b)The written final document will be posted online for public view. c)The final document will be submitted to the two major newspapers on the Big Island (Hawai‘i Tribune Herald and West Hawai‘i Today). d) The COGC requests that the Mayor assign an administrative assistant to track the status of the tasks approved by the mayor and submit a report on a quarterly basis to him on all actions related to the recommendations. e) The quarterly reports shall be provided to the next term COGC at their first meeting. The 2010-2011COGC commissioners are pleased to provide an extensive list of recommendations.We would like to further submit a short-list of priority items from the comprehensive list, aside from what is currently in place, that we feel would realize the most cost-benefits to promote economy, efficiency and improved service in the transaction of the public business. We would be very pleased for the Mayor and/or County Council to take immediate action on the following: 1. Consolidate the enforcement responsibilities of Planning Department, Building Department, Real Property Tax, Environmental Management and the (State funded functions) Department of Health be consolidated into an Enforcement Division 2. Propose a resolution to the state allowing each county to negotiate collective bargaining contracts on behalf of the county. This would allow the county to be more responsive to the economic conditions and demographics of the areas served. 3. Create a position dedicated to focusing on health care and education industries to proactively address the essential function areas of county government responsibilities. 4. Centralize grant writing efforts by creating a Grant Specialist position to work with all departments in the county to improve the county’s ability to receive funds from various sources. 5. Develop and implement a county-wide technology management plan to strategically prepare for government service efficiency. 6. Implement the use of Laserfiche for all departments when and where practical. 7. Allow standardized housing that meets the minimum health and safety requirements and may include such things as minimum square footage, composting toilets and water catchment. 8. Eliminate the Homeowner’s Real Property Exemption for unpermitted dwellings.(November 17, 2010 minutes, page 21 and Comm. 2010-105) Appendices A. COGC Requests for Information B.Matrix of Responses to Questions C.Charter Provisions 13