2009-11-19 Board of Ethics Minutes

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was not to be used by the Mayor to further his political end. He further stated his objection to the use of a deputy corporation counsel from Maui to represent Mr. Ashida in his petition today. The Chair told Mr. Pranke that his time was up and that he had signed up to talk about item 6 on the agenda. Mr. Pranke said item 6 is about using the Corporation Counsel to deal with the Board's business. He said it would be a conflict of interest for the Board to consider changes to the Code while receiving advice from the Corporation Counsel, who is appointed by the Mayor. He said he wanted to make sure the Board members understood that. He said it would also be a violation of the Code for the Board to receive advice from the Corporation Counsel regarding his petition about Mr. Ashida. Mr. Pranke stated that he wanted the Board to understand that he would not lay down and roll over about the Corporation Counsel giving advice regarding his petition about Mr. Ashida. The Chair said that matter could be discussed when they came to Mr. Pranke's petition regarding Mr. Ashida (Petition 2009 -10), and thanked Mr. Pranke. Mr. DeLima stated that he was there representing Kama` aina Pumping, Inc., regarding the Mayor's proposed changes to the Ethics Code. He said that at the prior meeting he spoke about special -duty police officers. He learned that their special -duty pay does not go towards retirement, and that it is separate and apart from their regular pay. The County contracts with them independently and makes a percentage of each hour paid. One of the purposes is to avoid moonlighting by officers. The issue at the heart of it all is self - dealing, which the existing law avoids. The Mayor's proposals, if adopted, could allow people to manipulate their ownership status of a company. There is also ambiguity in what the term "controlling interest" means. He said the best course of action is to keep the current Code but to be more vigilant in ensuring that the law is complied with. He hoped the Board's recommendation would be to enforce the existing law, which would take care of the concerns that have been raised and not create more problems. The Chair stated that the Board was still in the information gathering stage and would be accepting written input from the public until December 4, 2009. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the October 14, 2009, Regular Session. Motion and vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to approve the minutes, Ms. Gentry seconded the motion, and all members present voted aye. 4. COMMUNICATIONS a. Communication No. 2009 -81: Email to the Board dated 10/16/09, "urging the Board of Ethics to reconsider the decision rendered on Petition 2009 -7." 2