2006-07-20 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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Mr. Kajikawa explained the various positions his Division has, which includes building inspectors, electrical inspectors, and plumbing inspectors, divided up between the east and west sides of the island. They recently received approval for a violations inspector to help them catch up in that area. They are also gradually increasing the number of clerks they have to process permits. Staff increases were not granted until last year, and the workload is there. Inspectors used put in overtime but were not allowed to claim it. Under his supervision, they are now allowed to claim the overtime. For inspections alone, he was allotted $18,000 in overtime, but they actually worked about $180,000 in overtime. The answer was always no when they tried to budget for overtime, but the workload finally got too high. He looks at the Building Division as the "dumping grounds" of the County. Whenever people don't know who to call, they call them. They are called for all kinds of problems and questions. The Chair explained that the Commission had six questions for Mr. Kajikawa to address and that these questions are being asked of all the departments. 1. Do you have any ideas about what your department can do to save money while not compromising essential services? Mr. Kajikawa said he didn't know about saving money, because they never had enough of it. The work was there, but the overtime pay was not. Previous chiefs would not allow overtime, which caused the workload to pile up. The personnel are willing to get the work out. The inspectors need to travel a lot by cars, and at one point they were running the mileage from 150,000 to 160,000 per car, as they were not budgeted for new cars. Two years ago they were given the go ahead, so they have been acquiring new cars. Nine new cars were acquired this year and he expects to acquire about twelve next year. Previously the inspectors were in harm's way because of the condition of the older cars. So he is pleased in this area. 2. Do you see any way to consolidate services, activities and functions of a similar nature within the County? Mr. Kajikawa said they are stretched out, and it would be hard to say yes. 3. Are there any services, activities and functions not necessary to efficient conduct of government that could be eliminated? Mr. Kajikawa said that because his Division takes care of the County facilities, every year they have to budget for electricity, rent, and water services. He feels the departments should pay for those things. Doing the budget is always a guessing game, and the electricity goes up each year. They also have "x" amount assigned for travel expenses each year, but air rates went up, as well as meals, and they do not have enough for traveling and conferences. The budget needs to increase with the times. His Division also pays for building insurance, and he feels that should be done by a different department, possibly Finance, where they have the personnel. Oj