1999-09-29 Charter Commission Minutes

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HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONPage 20 of 51 KOKUBUN: Can I just mention something very quickly, Commissioner? In terms of what you just asked about how does this actually happen - a one-stop shop. SUMADA: Yes. KOKUBUN: I think a practical example that, maybe, many of you have had experiences with, is actually what’s happening in our Kona office now. The Kona office actually now is shared by these three branches, basically, Engineering, Planning and Building, with one counter. We just didn’t have enough money to spend for three separate offices, but basically now, a person will come into the Kona office and have all three departments, or responsibilities, taken care of at once, and there is dialogue going on between our Planning Department and Engineering and Building, so things do get done, I think, in a lot more efficient and expedient manner, so that’s just a practical example of what’s happening. RAY: Kevin, finished? BALOG: Okay. Anyway, my real comment was more that if something like this happened, even if you could cut a position, if you’re looking long range, I would think that it’s better to train people, and as work increases, instead of worrying about having to create a position in two, three years. It’s better to train your staff along the way, work out the bugs, and then, as your workload increases, ‘cause it probably will, ‘cause things keep growing, and people would retire then, if you are at the point of being efficient, then you may not need to fill a position, but not necessarily cutting positions, yes? I know you’ve talked about it, but if something like this was done, because one Department Head said, possibly positions could be eliminated, the other Department Deputy said, no they’re not looking, so there’s two differences of opinion from the Administrative arm of our government, so I’m just wondering, when you put your heads together, are you putting it together one thing, one thing, one thing, the other, or are you guys kind of putting it together and saying, we want to just look at it, that we want to be more efficient and we aren’t looking at it to cut positions? We’re just looking at it to be efficient, as a whole. SUMADA: Maybe, Commissioner, I need to explain things. I look at our Department as a whole. We have seven divisions within the Department of Public Works, which includes Wastewater, Engineering, Building, Automotive. Just because we do this, doesn’t mean the others go away, and that was in my reference to the other regard that Engineering Division, this proposal basically splits them in half. That half of it, maybe not exactly half, but a portion, goes to this Permitting Division and we still need to provide that service whereby certain County functions, that we can build new roads, do major construction projects on roads, assist Parks and Rec in their projects, so that engineering function, the construction side, or the engineering design side, of Engineering still needs to be done, and that’s still under the purview of the Chief Engineer’s Office, so that’s the part I look at in totality, and for me, I don’t see that, when we do this, or undertake this, that it’s going to necessarily mean a reduction. It might be different for the Planning Department, but I think the essence of what you’re trying to say is that the Planning Department and Public Works need to coordinate our efforts together, and we will very definitely try to do that, as we move along through this process. GOLDSTEIN: I think, if I read you right, also, Kevin, is that you’re saying that we’re doing this for the sake of efficiency, not necessarily to look only at the reduction in the bodies. I think that’s true. If it comes to that kind of reduction, that’s where things fall, but overall the goal is to get an efficient kind of operation. BALOG: So like bodies is the last thought on your mind? GOLDSTEIN: No, it’s not the last thought. It’s a thought that has to be taken into consideration. If file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 9-29-99.html7/1/2011