2006-08-17 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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always for buying something that is already available. However, it would also be good if they could use the services of someone who already knows and understands the Planning Department, but that means pulling that person from his /her regular duties to some extent. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether Mr. Yuen would want a centralized computer information office or person, as each department seems to have a different computer system. Mr. Yuen said the Department has worked closely with Data Systems, which helped a great deal. He does not have an opinion about whether the County should have an information management specialist within Data or within the Department. He feels either way would work. Ms. Nicholson asked Mr. Yuen about how much personnel his Department has, whether there are unfilled positions, whether he has a hard time recruiting, and whether there are personnel problems. Mr. Yuen apologized that he does not have the numbers in his head, but they currently have about 37 to 38 bodies. They have several vacant positions. Five to six positions were added during the recent budget cycle, and they are in the process of writing position descriptions and then they can fill them. Hiring has been up and down. Some recruitments end up with very few people on the list, but more recently there were several well qualified people on the list. In West Hawaii, they have a lot of trouble hiring. Most people want to work on the Hilo side due to the cost of living and housing problems in Kona. Ms. Nicholson asked whether the Planning Department sends people to Kona or incurs overtime. Mr. Yuen said they used to do so three years ago. Lately, however, when work gets piled up in Kona, people will take boxes of work back to Hilo to work on, as both sides perform similar functions. Ms. Nicholson asked how Mr. Yuen felt about moving employees to a four -day work week, or being open on Saturdays to accommodate the community. Mr. Yuen said he has been open to flexible time for employees. Some employees have been allowed to work odd hours to accommodate personal or family situations. He feels the Civil Service system should afford managers and departments flexibility in allowing things like the four -day work week, or letting people work on a Saturday to reach their 40 hours. As long as there is a way of supervising these employees so they are productive, this should be allowed. Mr. Yuen did not feel being open on Saturdays was necessary, as most people drop off the work. Mr. Sakaguchi asked whether Mr. Yuen currently had the flexibility to provide his staff the opportunity to work four days per week, and Mr. Yuen said he was not sure, but he thought so. If an employee wants to work hours like that, he is open to it. He believes on the whole it would work out. Ms. Nicholson asked how Mr. Yuen felt on the issue of splitting the County into two counties, and for his thoughts on whether that would be more efficient and the cost implications. Mr. Yuen said he is completely against it. It is better to have one government for the island. The resorts in South Kohala could not operate without the workers who come in from other areas of the island, and they deserve to have some of the property taxes generated by the hotels benefit their communities as well. He agrees that the current setup is not right in all respects and that more functions need to be moved to the west side. There needs to be more power and decision - making that can be done in West Hawaii, as the decision - makers are largely centered in Hilo. From the planning point of view, splitting the County would also create many boundary issues. in