2006-12-07 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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f. Can you suggest any modernization projects that might streamline your operations in lieu of privatizing functions? Ms. Testa said that within their energy program, they are looking at ways to retrofit all the older County buildings around the island. They already have a grant to do this. On the County Building, they were able to save about a million dollars on energy costs alone because of the retrofits. They would like to retrofit the buildings not just in terms of electrical costs, but also to be more environmentally friendly, with basic things which don't cost much more but will save in the long run. They would like to have solar energy wherever possible, use hybrid cars, and educate communities to look at how their buildings are made and make recommendations through the working groups. They will try for grants as much as possible to do the retrofitting. g. Do you have any other ideas on how you can make your operations more efficient? Ms. Testa said she would like her department to be able to use flex time. She would like workers to be able to work out of different environments and avoid having to drive in. A portion of work could be done at home or in teams elsewhere, away from traffic. She would like to change the mindset of how government does business. It should be okay to do certain tasks not in lock -step form, because it could make more sense that way and save money or time. But there does need to be accountability. For her department, they will be building in that accountability in terms of the expected outcomes on the front end and be more product- and outcome - oriented. She knows that is not how things are usually measured. Mr. Sakaguchi said the public does not trust government employees, and there should be ways to measure their output. They are seen as wasting time and not knowing what they are doing. He told Ms. Testa that he wished she could conceptualize the idea of having community centers, to bring together leadership when there is not a crisis. Ms. Testa said they have it all designed and mapped, with about three different strategic options on how it could work. They have been planning it for years and are getting closer, but there always seems to be a piece that won't fit. If they can anchor some of the pieces in place, it should make a difference in how the government and communities think about costs and what is valuable. The people and the government need to work on how to become better stewards of this island. The Chair asked Ms. Testa how large her staff is. She said they have grown from a staff of 11 to 19 positions, with 16 -17 filled. In Kona, they went from one position to four. She said the County needs to be a presence in Kona and that it is too inefficient to drive two and a half hours to get there. After no further questions from the commissioners, the Chair thanked Ms. Testa and she left the meeting. (A recess was called from 11:20 to 11:26 a.m., at which time the Chair called the meeting back to order.) 7