2012-07-20 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes July 20, 2012 Page 3 AC Kealoha stated that the last accident was in North Kohala when a 16 -year old girl struck a bicyclist. Chair Ono asked if the County or State seek their advice when they look at improvements in the road. AC Kealoha stated that they do. They also submit reports of traffic hazards and make recommendations. For the past month, they have been educating the public on the 35 mph speed on Ane Keohokalole Highway (area of West Hawaii Civic Center). Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported having 33 sworn vacancies. They continue with the recruitment process. Their training sergeant recently retired. The promotion process for detectives and lieutenants continues. The process for filling civilian vacancies continues. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) will be conducting an on -site assessment August 5 -8. A required public hearing will be held on August 7, 2012, from 5:00 -7:00 p.m. in the Puna Conference Room of the Hawaii County Building. A call -in phone line will be available. Finance report of budget and expenditures: AC Kanehailua reported that in closing fiscal year 2011 -12, they were under budget as in the last few years. Staying below budget was due to the good work of each district commander, area operations, and administration in working harder with less. They started their new fiscal year with pretty much a status quo budget. They had a reduction of about $300,000, but then there was an increase for the purchase of portable radios. Chair Ono inquired about funding and long -term plans for maintenance and replacement of county owned marked vehicles. A.C. Kanehailua stated that they have absolutely no funding for replacing the vehicles. Costs for repairs and maintenance continue to climb. They tried to budget to cover those expenses, but could not get enough of what is required. AC Kealoha stated that two vehicles, one in Kona and one in Hilo are no longer in services. Sometimes the cost for repairs is higher than the value of the vehicle. Chair Ono stated that much of the outcry for marked vehicles emanated from Kona. He is looking at the future where the marked cars slowly go out of service. Someone is going to ask why they are not being maintained and the Police Department will be blamed. There are benefits for both marked and unmarked cars. A lot of his friends were 100% for marked cars. As less of the cars are on the road, the issue will be raised again. AC Kanehailua stated that the cars are about four to six years old. They try to run them for two shifts for 16 hours. Chief Kubojiri stated that they had $1 million appropriated annually into their budget for the purchase of marked vehicles. When the economy went bad, the funding was