2006-08-17 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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The Chair said he would not support the motion, as it would involve every island and the governor and was too big to look at. Mr. Sakaguchi said he felt it was the COGC's responsibility to make recommendations to check out whether things are feasible or possible or make sense. However, he said a benefit of the COGC is that it can make seemingly outrageous recommendations which nobody else would want to make. The Chair called for a vote. Vote: Mr. Sakaguchi voted aye. All other members were opposed. The motion did not pass. Motion: Mr. Sakaguchi moved for the COGC to recommend, for the future, that when mayors appoint department heads, measures are taken to ensure the candidates have some professional background appropriate to the department. Ms. Stremski seconded the motion. Discussion: Mr. Sakaguchi said he felt that Mr. Yuen did not have much planning background and did not seem to know what was going on in his Department. The Chair said that Mr. Yuen has vast knowledge of the island and knows the background of each district. Mr. Sakaguchi said that Mr. Yuen is not a good manager and does not know how the essential procedures within his Department work. The Chair said it is not Mr. Yuen's obligation to manage each individual in the Department, as his position is more broad -range and includes enforcing the General Plan of the island and making bigger decisions. The deputy director is more responsible for personnel matters. Ms. Stremski said she agrees that Mr. Yuen is articulate and intelligent, but she seconded the motion because some departments seemed to have directors who were not knowledgeable in the area of their department. Ms. Provalenko stated that a mayor may not have a vast array of qualified people to pick and choose from, and Ms. Nicholson said she would have a hard time believing that a mayor would appoint someone who he did not feel was qualified. However, the motion on the table is so broad, and she has enough faith in government, that she believes whoever is mayor will appoint people he believes are qualified. Ms. Garson said that in the County Charter, there are some positions which have specific requirements, such as being engineers in the Public Works and Water Supply Departments, as well as being attorneys for the Corporation Counsel's office. She does not know of other requirements or qualifications, but she offered to get that information for the commissioners. Ms. Nicholson said it would be good to discuss later whether they should recommend that the Charter specify qualifications for each department head, with a regular review of those qualifications. Motion Withdrawn: Mr. Sakaguchi withdrew his motion, with the understanding that at some point the issue would be added to the agenda for discussion. Ms. Stremski withdrew her second. M