2011-02-09 Board of Ethics Minutes

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BALSIS: Looks like I'm here all by myself. If I'm correct, and I'll be asking the corporate counsel for advice on this, because I'm the remaining member, and you need a quorum of at least three people. And we only have one other Board member at this time, and that's Arne, and he will be back in March. That would leave only two of us. And so we need to suspend the hearing of these petitions until such time that an the additional or one more Board member is appointed to the Board of Ethics. Am I correct on that? SCHOEN: I don't know if it's correct to say that you need to suspend hearing on this matter. I think the proper term is that this Board as it stands, with only two remaining members on items number 1, 2, 4, and S, is not sufficient for a quorum. And so pursuant to our Hawai `i County Charter 13 -4, subsection (i), which states an affirmative vote of a majority of the entire membership to which a board or commission is entitled shall be necessary to make any action valid. Also, HRS 92-15 also has a similar provision, which basically says you need a majority of the members to which the board is entitled. So you need three people. And so really the Board cannot take any action on this on all four petitions in light of the recusal of Chair Dill and Vice Chair. BALSIS: Would it be correct for me to say that we would put these on hold until such time that we have three people, then? SCHOEN: Yes. BALSIS: Okay. What I would do is I would ask Mr. Cole to please keep aware of when a new Board member is appointed, and at that time, without having to resubmit all the documents, that we would be able to hear and act upon your petitions. COLE [from the audience section]: May I speak at this time, or will I be called forward? BALSIS: Briefly, yes. COLE: No, that is not acceptable to me. I have already submitted the documentation to this Board. This Board has had ample time. The fact that I even had to submit it, with the involvement of extortion and secret letters before this Board, and the copious quantities of documents that I have submitted, and the fact that we are now playing a name game in the Charter, I will submit the documents as filed to the United States District Court, District of Columbia, and charge this Board as an accessory after the fact as principals and accessories to racketeering activity. BALSIS: I have nothing further to say. SCHOEN: Mr. Balsis, as I stated in the Charter -- citing the Charter and the Hawai `i Revised Statutes - -this Board cannot take any action, despite what he says. BALSIS: And I cannot refer it on my own SCHOEN: -- Correct