2006-04-06 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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through the bidding process and finalizing exactly what needed to be done that they looked bad for the following year's funding. The Technical Services Division is also working on large capacity cesspool conversions, which is an unfunded mandate as a result of a lawsuit at the federal level. When the federal government made that mandate, they had no idea of what it would mean to Hawaii. This will take maybe ten years to comply with. Mr. Ho stated that the County has to fulfill the cesspool conversions and that there is a memorandum of agreement with the EPA that states the County will do so many millions of dollars worth of projects over a period of nine to ten years. This has disrupted things awhile and has delayed the DEM's compliance with its original sewage treatment plant. The Technical Services Division has allocated dedicated time just to comply with this unfunded mandate. He mentioned that the Big Island is way ahead of Maui and Kauai counties on this mandate. Mr. Ho also mentioned that there have been improvements in coordinating projects with the Public Works Department, e.g., if they are fixing a roadway, they'll arrange to put in sewer lines right behind them. Ms. Bell said that a lot of the time, there are problems not because of lacking to think about things or to recognize problems, but because of implementation, which is why they now have the Business Services Section, which Robin Bauman heads. This section does all the payroll, billing, and accounts receivables and payables. It has 13 employees and 600 landfill customers. They are still a few months behind on the sewer billing, though Ms. Bauman works until late at night. Ms. Bell said her department is moving in the right direction, but not quickly, and that collecting revenues and paying vendors and employees is important. They have numerous small businesses involved in recycling and several small consulting firms. They try hard to pay people on time and even go out of their way to hand -walk documents so people can get paid. It is important that their department's word be good. Ms. Bell stated that her department is generally on its own. They have gone to the Council to raise tipping fees, and they also asked for sewer fee increases. Also, property owners are now ultimately responsible for paying their sewer bill, as the sewer accounts receivable used to be out of control due to tenants not paying the bills. Ms. Bauman said that the tipping fee ordinance was proposed to the Council, as well as other requirements to help ensure that customers pay their bills more timely. Their residential credits are tied to keeping their accounts current and providing more incentives to keep their accounts current. Ms. Bell said her presentation was concluded. The Chair asked her to go through the questions on the agenda, to give her first thoughts to the COGC. Ms. Bell said a problem has been the Sunshine Law. Though she is a major proponent of open government, the Law has been a hindrance. She has tried to have informational 4