2006-07-06 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

Home

closer to home, but he would lose his seniority and move to the bottom if he accepted. So some employees may prefer to keep their seniority and drive back and forth. Ms. Provalenko asked whether Solid Waste was looking to fill a position in Kona, because if an employee is traveling there, he is actually covering a vacancy until it is filled and thus not moving his home base. Mr. Sakaguchi asked why an employee would want to travel to Kona to cover a vacancy. The commissioners discussed the difficulty of hiring employees in Kona. Reasons appeared to be the County pay scale, the lack of incentives, and the cost of living and housing expenses in Kona. The Chair said that there could be a motion to accommodate people that have to travel to Kona if there is an opening there that can't be filled. Ms. Garson suggested that when the COGC meets with the Civil Service Department, they ask questions on the issues of incentives and recruitment, as well as on ideas for how to fill the positions in Kona. This may help the COGC form a recommendation on the issue. Ms. Nicholson pointed out that they were accumulating many issues to discuss with the Civil Service Department and should possibly keep a separate list on them. One of the issues is that of incentives, which more than one department had brought up. Mr. Sakaguchi said another Civil Service issue would be how supervisors do not have the flexibility or authority to hire quickly. He said the problem may rest with our own bureaucracy and that recruitment could possibly be out - sourced. The Chair asked if there were any other suggestions or recommendations. Ms. Nicholson said that Mr. Dworsky had spoken about having to do everything through the procurement system. She said division heads possibly should be given the authority to decide whether it is appropriate to go through a procurement versus a bid process. Ms. Garson explained that procurement and the bid process are actually the same thing, and that "procurement" refers to the whole umbrella of government purchasing. Within the umbrella of purchasing, there is a provision for small purchases, for bidding, requests for proposals, as well as emergency procurement and professional service procurement. So when a division head determines what is needed, he /she also determines which method of procurement to use. Ms. Nicholson said that Mr. Dworsky indicated he was stuck with the procurement process and felt it would be easier to bid on things, so perhaps he was unfamiliar with the process. Ms. Garson said both are options. If you know exactly what you want, it is appropriate to go with a bid. If it is a conceptual idea, then you go with a request for proposal. She did not know what Mr. Dworsky meant about being bound to do the request for proposal, and he may have had the opportunity to go with a straight bid. Ms. Nicholson said that Mr. Dworsky was frustrated because the procurement process was lengthy. Mr. Sakaguchi said that it is a bigger issue, as no one sat down with Mr. Dworsky and told him how to operate, nor was he provided with any staff, so he has to run around and do everything himself. in