2008-06-25 Board of Ethics Minutes Regular Session

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responsibility of recommending improvements to our tax laws is a huge and complex undertaking. Multiple proposals must be developed and subsequently recommended for approval, and he also says what is viewed as fair by one taxpayer may be a curse to another and as a property owner the motives of the finance director will inevitably be questioned as he strives to serve a greater purpose. I think he really says that not only as a finance director, but other people in the government as they strive to do their jobs run into that issue. So— CHAIR: - -Well, I agree with you- LUM: - -it says we do everything to avoid the appearance of conflict. You know I feel like he's aware and that you people in that department are aware that it's a tough thing. It's the pocket book nerve, and I'm satisfied that they were open with what they did and how they would be affected by it. CHAIR: Mr. Takai, when you were with the Finance Department, did you enforce any conflicts of interest or view any —what was the standard procedures in terms of trying to identify any conflicts of interest by you or your employees? TAKAI: I don't recall any time that we needed to do any of that because all we did, whatever benefits the employees or myself had, were benefits we got like any other tax payer or homeowner. Like I said in my letter, if you are a homeowner or occupant of your property, you are eligible for the homeowner's exemption, you have to file a claim. There's I think thirty-four thousand people that qualify for it. There's also a non - speculative residential dedication which was passed first in 1992. It's a ten-year dedication, you can freeze your value for ten years and you could renew in the year 2002. That program, there's sixteen hundred people in it. So I think there are programs that benefit the whole County, but taxpayers will have to apply for it and it's just a voluntary program. So there's three programs. I'm in the non -spec, I'm in the affordable rental, and my homeowner's exemption. Those are available to any qualified property owner. CHAIR: Okay. I think you're right and in the fact that the Finance Department is under a microscope especially if there's -1 think there's sufficient mechanisms in place to prevent conflicts from getting out of hand. So what we are tasked with - LUM: - -There is one thing, the materials that were submitted to us this morning from the Petitioner. She does make one thing about not finding financial disclosures with County Clerk, and I'd just like the record to show that these financial disclosures come to the —those particular ones come to the Board of Ethics and are not at the County Clerk, so that we do have copies of those. Those financial disclosures come from these types of jobs come through this Board rather - -the County Clerk is for elected officials and I think that's it, right. So we do have those financial disclosures on file? CHAIR: Well, I think we need to, in our opinion, specifically deal with that because of what the Petition states citing three sections. LUM: Okay. CHAIR: Do you guys have any other questions for Mr. Takai? 22