2006-08-17 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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The Chair asked for discussion or recommendations regarding the Planning Department. Motion: Ms. Nicholson moved to add to their recommendations that the Planning Department and Building Divisions explore consolidating the review of building permits. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Discussion: Mr. Joseph said he would have a hard time recommending this, as he felt that having both review applications created a checks and balance. If only one employee were doing the review, the odds of making a mistake, or the possibility of abuse, would run a higher risk. He felt sure there have been instances of applications being returned to Planning because something was not checked off or reviewed properly, as there is always human error. Mr. Sakaguchi said he felt the system needed to be expedited and that the person reviewing applications should be held responsible for errors. If having checks and balances is to be a concern, there will always be more than one agency doing the same thing, causing multiple layers of review. Mr. Joseph said an employee might be more accurate if he /she knew somebody else would review their work. The Chair questioned whether Ms. Nicholson's motion tracked the wording in Mr. Yuen's response letter to the COGC, which was to explore consolidating the review of "common residential building permits." Ms. Nicholson said she did not stipulate that, because the recommendation was to explore consolidating. She felt she did not know enough to stipulate which permit applications should be consolidated and which should not. She would rather be broad. The Chair called for a vote. Vote: All members voted aye except for Mr. Joseph, who was opposed to the motion. The motion passed. Ms. Nicholson said Mr. Yuen mentioned several times that he felt West Hawaii needed to be able to handle more Planning functions and responsibilities. He was not very specific on what he really meant, and she did not know if there was a motion to be made or not. Motion: Mr. Sakaguchi moved to add to their recommendations that the County and State explore the feasibility of having the State Land Use Commission transfer some of its responsibilities to the County Planning Department. Ms. Nicholson seconded the motion. Discussion: Mr. Sakaguchi said that although it is a big can of worms, he would like to see the LUC's land use classification function transferred to County control. He said he believes in home rule and likened it to the County taking over control of the State roads. Ms. Nicholson said she does not know enough about the matter to make that judgment. She believes there is some value in having checks and balances. Because the County is political, and department heads are appointed by the mayor, a situation could occur where a department head has a point of view which is not reflective of the public. Mr. Sakaguchi said the State LUC is very political as well, but there is still a duplication of functions. He said that in terms of checks and balances, there is always the court.