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HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONPage 21 of 41
<br />HERKES: A copy of Maui County’s budget and gave it to a couple of people in the County. I really
<br />think that being able to relate what a service costs to the taxpayer is very important. It builds support for
<br />that, but it also builds maybe a more efficient way of doing something and they can help do it. I really,
<br />really want to know if there’s wording that we can insert or if there is wording that we can remove from
<br />the County Charter that will make program budgeting more -, will heighten the awareness of program
<br />budgeting, if we can make that more important to people, make people more aware of how well that
<br />works rather than going back to the strict item, line item budget which just doesn’t tell anybody
<br />anything.
<br />TAKAHASHI: Well, I think -, I think there is a trend toward being more accountable, be more efficient,
<br />because right now, even at the legislature, you know, they have a committee called Managed
<br />Competition, and they’re charged with developing a process by where, you know, the government unit
<br />will be compared with the private sector. But in that process, there is also this requirement that a costing
<br />th
<br />element be developed. And from that, you know, I have a State official coming in on June 7 to present
<br />to us a costing model, not necessarily meaning that that will be the model, but it could possibly be -.
<br />HERKES: An example.
<br />TAKAHASHI: The model. Everybody needs to know what it costs to deliver services so, you know, we
<br />are taking measures toward developing costing.
<br />HERKES: So if you see items in the County Charter that can further that or things that we can work
<br />toward, I’d sure appreciate your point them out to us.
<br />TAKAHASHI: Fine.
<br />RAY: Okay. Other questions? I have a couple comments. Harry, in regard to the qualifications for the
<br />Finance Director and the Deputy Finance Director, that’s, by the way, on Page 28. It’s not in the chapter
<br />on Department of Finance, but it’s at the top of Page 28, those qualifications that are in the Charter now.
<br />Do you have any comment on those, if they’re sufficient, in your mind?
<br />TAKAHASHI: Yeah, I believe -, you know, this would just be the minimum qualifications that you’d
<br />expect someone to have, and then the final decision really rests with the Council, you know, whether
<br />they feel the person can -, is the right candidate for the job or not.
<br />RAY: Okay. And then one other thing, this whole question of internal auditing. You know, my sense is
<br />that, you know, we’re going to have a very lengthy, somewhat controversial discussion around this
<br />whole area of mandatory program reviews because they are really problematic from a, you know,
<br />realistic, functional standpoint for the County right now, and we’ve already gotten input from, you
<br />know, several departments in regard to that as far as, you know, what’s realistic. So I just want to alert
<br />you that I think we’re going to need some real help with that in terms of, you know, making a case to the
<br />general public as far as, you know, what’s realistic and what’s, you know, sufficient, and what’s
<br />reasonable and what’s responsible if we decide to make a change to that, so we are going to need a lot of
<br />help with that, I think. Okay. Any other questions for -?
<br />IRVINE: I forgot one thing. Quite often we’ve been without a Deputy Finance Director; at this point, we
<br />have one in place.
<br />TAKAHASHI: Yeah.
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