2010-08-11 Board of Ethics Minutes

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5. NEW BUSINESS a. Petition No. 2010 -04: Initial review of petition alleging that two County officers did not file gift disclosures for meals at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The Chair introduced Deputy Corporation Counsel Adrianne Heely from the Maui Department of the Corporation Counsel. Ms. Heely was to represent the Board for this petition due to a conflict of interest in having Renee Schoen do so, since Mayor Kenoi was one of the respondents to the petition. The Chair stated he wanted to go into Executive Session to discuss the confidentiality issues surrounding the petition. Motion and vote: Ms. Lum moved to go into Executive Session, Mr. Henricks seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. 10:03 a.m.: The Board left Regular Session. Everyone stepped out of the meeting except for the Board members, Ms. Heely, and the secretary. 10:10 a.m.: The Board returned to Regular Session. CHAIR: Okay, thanks, everybody. We're back in Regular Session for item S on the agenda, New Business, Sa, Petition No. 2010 -04. Like I mentioned before going into Executive Session, there are some confidentiality issues surrounding this, and today we basically are just going to be deciding how to move forward with this. We have our options to either dismiss it with good cause or to schedule an informal advisory opinion at a future date in which the confidentiality issues will be worked forth. And our rules allow us to keep the petitioner's name confidential for the time being, and the other thing what we decided in Executive Session was to refer to the petitioner in today's meeting as the petitioner, out of respect. Again, it's Petition No. 2010 -04 pertaining to Planning Director BJ Leithead- Todd and Mayor Billy Kenoi, and the lack of filing a gift disclosure form as referenced in Hawaii County Ethics Code Section 2- 91. S(a). And if I can point out to everybody, that section, reporting of gifts, has three requirements or thresholds that have to be met in order to be in violation. I'll read it real quick. Every officer and employee shall file a gifts disclosure statement with the County board of ethics on June 30 of each year if all of the following conditions are met. And number 1, the officer, employee, or spouse or dependent child of an officer or employee, received directly or indirectly from one source any gift or gifts valued singly or in the aggregate of excess of $100, whether the gift is in the form of money, services, goods, or in any other form. I'm not sure this petition states HEELY: -- Sorry, Chair LCM: -- You've got to read the other two. 2