2006-05-04 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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The commissioners thanked Ms. Beck for her presentation and she left the meeting at 11:38 a.m. The commissioners expressed satisfaction at having learned about wastewater and that Ms. Beck was very knowledgeable and familiar with the process. The Chair asked if there were any suggestions to add to their list of recommendations. Ms. Nicholson said the County should explore the issue of the two -week payroll lag. And although Ms. Beck had suggested hiring a grants specialist, she was concerned because she believed the Research and Development Department had hired additional grant writers to serve the various departments. This should be looked into. She also felt having incentives for employees would be a good thing, as well as exploring the possibility of telecommuting within the County. Mr. Sakaguchi said that governments like to centralize things but that it may be better to decentralize the grant writers, since some of the departments are very technical and specialized. The DEM's grant writer needs to be an engineer. Ms. Stremski said investing in training, including sending employees to the mainland, would be a good investment. This would apply to all departments, not just DEM. Mr. Sakaguchi said he liked the idea of making money off golf courses, using the recycled wastewater. Ms. Nicholson said it would be good to expand that to include parks, nurseries, and other landscaped areas; and Mr. Joseph said it should include anything that is irrigated, as long as it is safe for human contact. Mr. Sakaguchi said sending employees to the mainland to learn how things are done makes more sense than hiring consultants. Ms. Nicholson said they needed to agree on some language for a real recommendation here, so it would be on the record and stand out as a recommendation. She said one recommendation would be that the Wastewater Division work with the Real Property Tax Division to ensure that when title is transferred on a property, if it is feasible for that property to connect to the sewer, the new owner should be required to do so. The other recommendation would be for the County to explore ways to financially assist home owners who cannot afford to connect to do so, possibly through a grant effort or financing. Mr. Sakaguchi said he wanted a recommendation regarding promoting computerization, and also one to limit the hiring of consultants. Motion and Vote: The Chair asked if there was a motion to put the recommendations regarding connecting to sewers and looking for ways of financing on their list. Ms. Nicholson so moved; Ms. Stremski seconded; and all members voted aye. Ms. Nicholson asked whether they wanted to make the computerization a recommendation, and the Chair pointed out that Data Systems is No. 5 on their list of priorities. 13