2006-08-03 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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transfer to another department. The Police have the most important and the worst job, and it would help them if they were able to sharpen their focus. He received a copy of the County's annual budget, and in analyzing how many employees there are and the functions of each department, he did not realize the County was so complicated. There is a problem with the structure of the government. The Chair asked if there were any further discussion regarding the Police Department. Motion: Mr. Joseph moved to recommend that entry -level police officers be compensated at a higher level than they currently are, so that the County can recruit and retain officers. He said his motion is to recommend that the entry pay of entry -level police officers be increased. Mr. Sakaguchi seconded the motion. Discussion: Ms. Provalenko asked what type of increase Mr. Joseph proposed, and he said he just wanted the Commission to recommend an increase. Ms. Nicholson said the increase could not just be on the entry pay—it would have to happen all the way up, and Mr. Joseph agreed. He said he just saw the motion as a way of supporting the Department in general. Mr. Sakaguchi said Deputy Chief Kubojiri made a good case. If all the positions are not filled, it hits the County in overtime pay. Ms. Nicholson said SHOPO would be delighted to hear their recommendation. Since the police are all in one union, the pay increase would be state -wide. Essentially, the recommendation is that the pay rates for the police be increased state -wide. Vote: All members voted in support of the motion. Motion and Vote: Mr. Joseph moved that they support and recommend that the Police Department go ahead with their Mobile Data Terminal program. Mr. Sakaguchi seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. Ms. Nicholson said that Deputy Chief Kubojiri had two County -wide recommendations, which the Commission should hold onto in some way, for review later. The first was the creation of a County -wide Information Technology Department, and the second was about ensuring better building design and maintenance. Mr. Joseph said before he could support these, he would like more information from other departments on what they think. Rather than put it in a motion, they could question the various departments as they come before the Commission in the next couple of months and get their input and ideas. The Chair said they could do that. Ms. Nicholson said another issue they wanted to ask the departments about was going to the four -day work week, though at this point it was not relevant for the Police. The other issue was about splitting the County into two counties. The Chair said that could be one of the questions asked at the next presentation. Ms. Nicholson said other issues to bring up with other departments is the creation of an Information Technology Department. There is also the issue Deputy Chief Kubojiri brought up 12