2014-06-19 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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Mr. Perry, Mr. Espejo, and Ms. Kelly said they were not yet able to meet with departments but would be soon. Ms. Maddox said that John Mitchell was unable to come to today’s meeting, but he had been able to meet with the Finance Department. The commissioners discussed getting together with their various partners to schedule the interviews with departments, and exchanged contact information. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked whether they could discuss the contents of the meetings yet, and Ms. Garson said no, as it was not on today’s agenda. Anything they wanted to discuss would have to be on the agenda first in order to give fair notice to the public and the departments. This was necessary because members of the public as well as departmental staff need to be given the opportunity to be present and testify. The commissioners could prepare reports on their various meetings, and the reports could be agendized for discussion. An agenda should include details such as whether any recommendations were going to be discussed. An agenda needs to include enough information so people can decide whether they want to attend or testify. Ms. Garson said if any commissioner thinks of something to be discussed, just let the secretary know and she will put it on the agenda. Ms. Garson asked whether departmental staff had been cooperative in setting up the meetings. Ms. Kierkiewicz said Mitch Roth had told to her to go ahead and set up a meeting, but she had yet to hear back from his secretary, whom she had e-mailed. Ms. Maddox asked about the notes she takes at the departmental meetings and how to share the information. Ms. Garson said she could share the information however she wanted, but it would need to be on the agenda. For example, if she wanted to discuss recommendations about the Police Department, the agenda needed to be specific on what the recommendations were about, e.g., the subsidized vehicle program. If a commissioner wrote up a report on how a meeting went, the report could be listed on the agenda for discussion and even attached or made available. Ms. Maddox said she takes notes on key points but has not prepared a formal report. Ms. Garson said if she wanted to discuss her notes, it would need to be stated on the agenda. Whatever she shared with the commissioners would be public record. If she just used her notes for her own reference, that would be fine. Ms. Kelly asked whether it was preferable for them to share their notes in a discussion format or prepare a report based on their notes. Ms. Garson said it is up to them, but she believed they had decided earlier they wanted to be uniform in structure. Ms. Maddox explained that her notes provide context for the content of the report, but she is not at the point yet of making any recommendations. It would be good to come back as a group, discuss what they learned, and see what the questions are. Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer